Comparative analysis of the representation of collective memory on the Soviet posters of the 1950s – 1980-ies

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of the artistic representation of collective memory in Soviet mass art on the basis of comparative and semiotic analysis of Soviet posters of the 1950s and 1980s. The peculiarities of the image of memorial signs and symbols in the dynamics from the late Stalin era to the «perestroika» are revealed. Analysis of visual sources and their comparison helped to track changes in the process of constructing the Soviet version of the collective memory of the «new man». It is shown that the representations of memorial signs and elements were affected by the evolution of Soviet society, its structure and the specifics of the attitude of totalitarian society to its own memory. The influence of agitation and propaganda on the reflection of the teacher-student relationship in the semiotic text of the poster is clarified. The dynamics of changes in memorial reflection are revealed on the example of the analysis of posters, creolized text and symbols of cultural memory. The commemorative semiotic code, the influence of the indoctrinal Soviet counter-myth on the collective memory and the everyday life of citizens in the artificial reality of the propaganda poster are analyzed. An attempt was made to recreate the fragments of collective memory represented in the field of the official poster, to compare the artificial and real plans of life of Soviet educators. The importance of the analysis of the Soviet poster by social spheres influencing the formation of historical memory is shown: the politics of memory, historical education, memorial culture, media discourse. The study of the collective memory of Ukrainian society is crucial at the present stage of Ukrainian statehood. A comprehensive study of this phenomenon, especially a reflection of our Soviet past, allows us to look in a new way at the historical and memorial processes of the present. The article proves the importance of studying the memorial processes that are necessary for understanding the social processes of modern Ukraine.