Big Paintings, Little Package: Soviet Postage Stamps Based on Fine Art

• In Event: Postal Materials as Forms of Visual Political Commentary

Abstract

The art of -- and the art in -- the Soviet postage has largely been neglected as an area of academic inquiry. These little gems of visual culture can be analyzed to tell us not just about the broader cultural context but the political situation as well. Stamps that feature reproductions of Russian and Soviet fine art will be utilized as a case study to investigate postal art’s affect on Soviet culture and politics. In this way postage stamp art can move from the margins to the center of art and history.

Author

• K. Andrea Rusnock, Indiana U South Bend