A trove of 20th- and 21st-century propaganda imagery used by regimes around the world, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and beyond.
Do you know what propaganda looks like? A mural showing Saddam Hussein on horseback. A poster featuring Chinese climbers carrying a bust of Mao to the summit of Mount Everest. A film of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un parading an intercontinental ballistic missile. A Pakistani newspaper advertisement calling for “Jehad” [sic]. A soldier firing condoms from his gun in a Ugandan AIDS awareness and prevention campaign. A painting depicting American and Soviet crew members of the 1976 Apollo-Soyuz mission riding horseback across the heavens above earth, their respective flags held aloft.
Juxtaposing a wide range of material originating from conflicting ideologies, “Propagadopolis” presents a wealth of shocking, unusual and visually arresting images. Spanning an array of regions worldwide (with a particular focus on the US and the USSR) and ranging from the early 20th century to the present, the selected materials demonstrate how propaganda has been wielded to evoke emotions, rally support or instill fear.
