Lot Essay
This lot was designed to accompany Abram Room's 1927 social drama Ukhaby (Potholes). Shunning traditional compositional models, the poster is split vertically along the diagonal, framing images of the film's heroine, actress Ye Olgina. A common feature of Constructivist work, the use of disproportionate size of images lends the work expressivity and is consistent with the drama of the film. The lack of background ornament reflects a modern approach to design and allows the artist to explore innovative typographics; text set at right-angles to Olgina's face highlights the importance of her character in the film's narrative.