Artistic Expression Techniques and Visual Rhetoric of Ukrainian Wartime Posters

Abstract

Ukrainian wartime posters created to resist Russian aggression serve as a conduit for ‘cultural communication’ among Ukrainians. Ukrainians, victims of war, express the pain of war, fear, and hatred toward the invaders through posters, and sometimes punish them in those posters. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, professors and students of the Department of Graphic Design at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts and Kyiv University of Culture created a team “creative resistance” for carrying out a poster design project. Instead of guns and knives, participants decided to use their artistry and creativity to express the voices of Ukrainians in posters. This study focuses on analyzing the artistic expression techniques and visual rhetoric used in Ukrainian wartime posters created in the above-mentioned project. This study also discusses the characteristics of propaganda, themes, and content shown in those posters. In this process, we will identify the similarities and differences between Soviet-era posters and current Ukrainian wartime posters, as well as differences between Russian and Ukrainian propaganda and narratives about the war. Through this, we will be able to understand in detail the Ukrainian people's narrative and feelings on the war, and their thought on the future.