An alcoholic during the Gorbachev Prohibition period drinking three household products simultaneously for their alcohol content. Colour lithograph after V. K︠︡iunnap, ca. 1987.

  • Ki︠u︡nnap, Vladislav Iogannesovich, 1923-
Date:
[1987?]
Reference:
656918i
  • Pictures

About this work

Description

He is a "polyglot" in two senses: he speaks a lot of languages and he is a multiple glutton (swallows a lot). On his table are several Soviet products (the insecticide Carbofos, the aftershave Attaché, and Denaturat methylated spirits) together with foreign ones: Satin silver High Shine Polish; shampoo spelled with a Czech š; Losion oguretschni (cucumber lotion) with Finnish orthography. He rests his elbow on three foreign-language dictionaries: English-Russian, Finnish-Russian and French-Russian). The implication is that this "polyglot" is learning foreign languages in order to cadge alcohol-products off foreigners, and to be able to identify the products from the labels

Publication/Creation

[Leningrad] : Izdatel'stvo "Khudozhnik RSFSR", [1987?] ([Leningrad] : Izokombinat "Khudozhnik RSFSR")

Physical description

1 print : lithograph, printed in colours ; sheet 44 x 32.8 cm

Lettering

"Polyglot". Shirok diapazon ego natury: Ot kerosina i do polituri︠u︡. I nikomu ne vedomo poka, ... Kak vrazumit' takogo ... "Znatoka!" Khudozhnik V. K︠︡iunnap. Stikhi V. Suslov. Bears device (palette and pencil) of Boevoĭ karandash, with legend "Boevoĭ karandash. Izdatel'stvo Khudozhnik RSFSR" Paraphrase of lettering: His nature is boundless, he brings everything from kerosene to polishing liquid, and nobody knows for the time being how this "sage" can be reasoned with.

Reference

Wellcome Collection 656918i

Creator/production credits

Produced by the Leningrad group of artists called Boevoĭ karandash (Militant pencil), in the satirical series I smekh i grekh (Laughter and sin). Some of the anti-alcoholism posters which they produced in the late 1980s are reproduced in Stephen White, Russia goes dry: alcohol, state and society, Cambridge 1996, pp. 73, 143, 149. The name of the artist K︠︡iunnap is of Finnish origin which may explain the Finnish themes in the work

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores

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