Fee: $8, members; $10, nonmembers.
WOOCard holders receive $2 off admission fees.

In a search for a means of visual communication to convey communist ideology to the varied cultures of the new Soviet Union, artists appropriated the iconography of traditional Russian icons. The methods of representing theological hierarchy in icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saints were replicated in official imagery of communist leaders.

This informative lecture explores how artists working for the Soviet Communist party commandeered traditional Orthodox iconographic visual manifestations and styles for use in their propaganda graphics. By co-opting these familiar color palettes, illustration styles and symbols, they constructed an historical framework or invented tradition from which they could psychologically gain the support of the masses.

Dr. Douglas Zullo, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York where he teaches Art History Research and Methods, Buddhist Art and Introduction to World Cinema. Dr. Zullo has given a presentation on Orthodox Icons and Soviet Socialist Realism at the Graduate Research Forum, The Art Institute of Chicago. He received his Ph.D. in 2005 from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio