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Comrades It's Over

Poster
1990 (designed and printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is the most popular poster from the first free elections in Hungary following the collapse of communism - both in Hungary and internationally. Calling for the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from the territory of Hungary it expresses the desire of the whole population to be free and independent. The motif of the fat nape of a neck has a long tradition in the visual culture of social criticism (for example in the painting of Gyula Derkovits, in German activism and in Billy Wilder’s film ‘Five steps to Cairo’). In this new context there are several connotations: the cruelty of a faceless power, going away and being shot through the back of the head. The Russian inscription was legible for all Hungarians, who were obliged to study the Russian language. The poster was one of three designs made by the artist of his own accord and offered to the Hungarian Democratic Forum. ‘конец’ (‘the end’ or ‘it’s over’) was the word that appeared on movie screens at the end of Soviet films (shown in large numbers in all Soviet Bloc countries).
Imitating the appearance of a woodcut print is a characteristic feature of the artist’s style. The historicising effect gives a sublime quality to an accusing and bitter image and evokes a rich cultural inheritance stretching back to the woodcut sheets of the Reformation.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Comrades It's Over (generic title)
  • Pro-democracy Poster Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Colour offset lithograph printed on paper
Brief description
"Comrades It's Over", poster by Istvan Orosz. Colour offset lithograph, Hungary, 1990
Physical description
Poster
Dimensions
  • Height: 980mm
  • Width: 680mm
Subject depicted
Summary
This is the most popular poster from the first free elections in Hungary following the collapse of communism - both in Hungary and internationally. Calling for the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from the territory of Hungary it expresses the desire of the whole population to be free and independent. The motif of the fat nape of a neck has a long tradition in the visual culture of social criticism (for example in the painting of Gyula Derkovits, in German activism and in Billy Wilder’s film ‘Five steps to Cairo’). In this new context there are several connotations: the cruelty of a faceless power, going away and being shot through the back of the head. The Russian inscription was legible for all Hungarians, who were obliged to study the Russian language. The poster was one of three designs made by the artist of his own accord and offered to the Hungarian Democratic Forum. ‘конец’ (‘the end’ or ‘it’s over’) was the word that appeared on movie screens at the end of Soviet films (shown in large numbers in all Soviet Bloc countries).
Imitating the appearance of a woodcut print is a characteristic feature of the artist’s style. The historicising effect gives a sublime quality to an accusing and bitter image and evokes a rich cultural inheritance stretching back to the woodcut sheets of the Reformation.
Collection
Accession number
E.2034-1990

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Record createdAugust 13, 2004
Record URL
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