Culver City,
California
x
Maker: Unknown
Untitled
Date Made: n.d.
Country: Soviet Union
Measurements: 60 cm x 90 cm; 23 5/8 in x 35 7/16 in
The painting shows a far out perspective of a planet with geometrically patterned rockets sticking out of its surface at different angles. Instead of outer space behind the planet, there are black and white lines that mimic the black and white squares on the sides of the rockets. At the top left of the poster, written on a yellow piece of paper also painted into the background, reads the sentence in Russian, “The world community is concerned with the violence against the environment in the sixth part of the world,” which directly references the 1926 Dziga Vertov film entitled “A Sixth Part of the World.” The film uses the travelogue format to show a combination of found footage and newsreels from all parts of the Soviet Union, combining shots of fur trappers, Kirghiz eagle trainers, and Siberian shamans with text that invites the viewer directly into the film. The film shows viewers the possibility of uniting all parts of the Soviet Union in one complete socialist society; this is the sixth part of the world. The reference to the film and its message of Soviet unification in conjunction with the concern about the “violence” directed at this socialist part of the world speaks to the nuclear arms race, the buildup of weapons, and the overall tensions between the democratic and socialist parts of the world.
Accession Number: 2009.053.176
Item Name: Painting
Credit Line: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris
Collection/Series: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris