Hysterical Speech, Historical Invasion (TASS Poster 1006)

ClassificationsPrinted Materials-advertisements

Publisher Tass News Agency

Artist Kukryniksy

Artist Profirii Krylov

Artist Mikhail Kupriianov

Artist Nikolai Sokolov

DateJune 27, 1944

Made AtMoscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia, Europe

MediumHand-painted stencil on paper

Dimensions41 3/8 × 47 7/8 in. (105.1 × 121.6 cm)

Credit LineBowers Museum Collection

Object number2019.14.1

DescriptionTitled Hysterical Speech, Historical Invasion’ the poster was created on June 27, 1944 by the Artist collective Kukryniksy. This collective consisted of three men Profirii Nikitich Krylow, Mikhail Vasil’evich Kupriianov, and Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sokolov. They formed the collective in 1924 using pieces of each of their names to form the signature Kukryniksy. As a collective they primarily worked for the TASS News Agency creating propaganda posters during the Second World War, but previously worked for the Krokodil, a Moscow based satirical paper. The TASS News Agency, a Soviet government owned company originally formed in 1904, was the sole news outlet that had authority to gather and control information throughout the Soviet Union. The poster depicts Hitler hysterically describing a future cross channel invasion of the U.K. in the first panel, followed by a P.A. system describing the Allied invasion of Europe to a worn out Hitler in the second panel. The words at the bottom of each panel say Hysterical Speech and Historical Invasion. This poster was in celebration of the Allied invasion at Normandy in June 1944. The words hysterical and historical sound very close in Russian, implying a play on words for the panel titles. The poster was made on short-fibered pulp paper; similar to newspaper quality, and then a stencil cut out was used to individually paint each copy by hand. Any additional pieces were glued on top of each copy.

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