A prostitute going out in a taxi to a client to steal his wallet; advertising the reality of prostitution in the Soviet Union. Colour lithograph after E. Osipov, ca. 1987.
- Osipov, E.
- Date:
- [1987?]
- Reference:
- 660340i
- Pictures
About this work
Description
Before the Gorbachev era the existence of prostitution in the Soviet Union was officially denied, hence the significance of the assertion that it exists. In this work the woman sits in the front seat of a taxi on a summer night and winks at the viewer inviting connivance in her scheme. The lettering describes her evening excursion using the word that describes letting the horses out to pasture on summer evenings
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
Contributors
Lettering
V nochnoe. Zamanit' klienta--umysel, / Obobrat' klienta--zamysel, / K sozhialeni︠︡iu, ne vymysel / Ikh nochnoĭ porzornyĭ promysel. Khudozhnik E. Osipov. Stikhi A. Shkli︠a︡rinskogo.
Bears device (palette and pencil) of Boevoĭ karandash, with legend "Boevoĭ karandash. Izdatel'stvo Khudozhnik RSFSR"
Paraphrase of verses: To lure the client is the idea, To pickpocket the client is the plot. Unfortunately it is not a fiction. Their night-time occupation is a reality
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
Reference
Wellcome Collection 660340i
Type/Technique
Languages
Where to find it
Location Status Access Closed stores