USSR: Space Optimism in the 1960s’ Design

Authors

  • Renata Canevari Universidade de Vigo
  • Sofía Venzel Universidade de Vigo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-revsocial.v9.2526

Keywords:

Design, Space Age, Optimism, Society, USSR

Abstract

This paper is based on a review of historical events in the USSR, which took place against the backdrop of the golden decade of the Soviet space age - the 1960s - and its relationship to the institutionalization of design in the country. The Soviet space design, little mentioned in the prevailing discourses of the discipline’s history, was a vehicle for the propaganda of socialism and holds interesting facts about social pride and optimism for the space. The interpretation of everyday artifacts from that Soviet period reaffirms the rhetorical power of design and consists of a meaningful representation of its material and visual culture.

References

Aleksiévich, S. (2015). El Fin del Homo Sovieticus. Barcelona: Acantilado.

Azrikan, D. (1999). VNIITE, Dinosaur of Totalitarianism or Plato's Academy of Design? Design Issues, 15(3), 45-77. DOI: 10.2307/1511884. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1511884 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1511884

Bayazit, N. (2004). Investigating Design: A Review of Forty Years of Design Research. Design Issues, 20, 16-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/074793604772933739 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/074793604772933739

Cardoso, E.C.S y Santos, J.M. (2019). Utopia no fim do homem soviético. Intexto, 44, 236-254. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19132/1807-8583201944.236-254 DOI: https://doi.org/10.19132/1807-8583201944.236-254

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (24 de julio de 1959). Transcription Kitchen Debate. U.S. Embassy, Moscow, Soviet Union. Recuperado de https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/1959-07-24.pdf

Cropley, D. H., Cropley, A. J. & Sandwith, B. L. (2017). Creativity in the Engineering Domain. In J. Kaufman, V. P. Glaveanu, and J. Baer (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity Across Domains, Chapter 15, 261-275. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316274385.015

Devezas, T. et al. (2012). The struggle for space: Past and future of the space race. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 79, 963–985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2011.12.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2011.12.006

Fry, T. (1989). A Geography of Power: Design History and Marginality. Design Issues, 6(1), Design in Asia and Australia, 15-30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1511575 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1511575

Gerovitch, S. (2015). Soviet Space Mythologies: Public Images, Private Memories, and the Making of a Cultural Identity. Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt15nmjd1

Idov, M. (Ed.) (2011). Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design. New York: Rizzoli International Publications.

Iron Curtain. Encyclopaedia Britannica [version electrónica]. NewYork, EU: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Iron-Curtain

Karpova, J. (2013). Accommodating ‘design’: introducing the Western concept into Soviet art theory in the 1950s – 60s. European Review of History: Revue européenne d’histoire, 20(4), 627-647, https://doi.org/10.1080/13507486.2012.763160 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13507486.2012.763160

Langrish, J.Z. (2016). The Design Methods Movement: From Optimism to Darwinism. Proceedings of DRS 2016, Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference. Brighton, UK, 27–30 June 2016 https://www.drs2016.org/222 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.222

Malashenko, U. (02 de abril de 2019). The First Group of Female Cosmonauts Were Trained to Conquer the Final Frontier. Smithsonian Magazine. Recuperado de https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/first-group-female-cosmonauts-trained-conquer-final-frontier-180971900/

Margolin, V. (2005). A World History of Design and the History of the World. Journal of Design History, 18(3), 235-243. https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epi043 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epi043

Margolin, V. (2009). Design in History. Design Issues, 25(2), 94-105. https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/desi.2009.25.2.94 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/desi.2009.25.2.94

Maurer, E., Richers, J., Rüthers, M. y Scheide, C. (Eds.) (2011). Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Societies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307049

Moscow Design Museum (2018). Designed In The USSR. 1950 – 1989. London: Phaidon Press.

Powaski, R. (2000). La Guerra Fría. Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética, 1917-1991. Barcelona: Editorial Crítica.

Redacción BBC News (29 de julio de 2018). El excepcional debate entre Jruschov y Nixon que tuvo lugar en una cocina en plena Guerra Fría. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-44986980 Recuperado el 05 de marzo de 2019.

Russia Beyond. History. (12 de abril de 2018). How did posters make people proud of Soviet success in space exploration? (Pics). Russia Beyond. Recuperado de https://www.rbth.com/history/328012-soviet-space-posters-make-proud. Recuperado el 15 de enero de 2020.

Rospopina, S. (15 de septiembre de 2015). How space exploration replaced religion in the USSR. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/ussr-space-exploration-religion-russia. Recuperado el 21 de mayo de 2019.

Sankova, A. y Druzhinina, O. (2018). VNIITE: Discovering Utopia - Lost Archives of Soviet Design. London: Unit Editions.

Siddiq, A. (2011) From Cosmic Enthusiasm to Nostalgia for the Future: A Tale of Soviet Space Culture. In Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Societies. Maurer, E., Richers, J., Rüthers, M., and Scheide, C. (Eds.), 283-306. London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307049_21

Turkina, O. (2014). Soviet Space Dogs. London: Fuel.

Woodham, J. (2004). A Dictionary of Modern Design. New York: Oxford University Press.

Woodham, J. (2005). Local, National and Global: Redrawing the Design Historical Map. Journal of Design History, 18(3), 257-267. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3527286 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epi044

Documentales:

“Мода на космос”(Moda espacial). Burkova, E. (productora). Digovtsev, M. (director) (2016). Сделано в СССР” (Hecho en la URSS) [serie de televisión]. Rusia. Productora: Мир 24.

«История российского дизайна» (La historia del diseño ruso). Sankova, A. y Chirkov, S. (autoras) Chirkov, S. (guionista) (2018). Rusia. Productora: Moscow Design Museum.

Web:

Moscow Design Museum. http://moscowdesignmuseum.ru

Museo Estatal de Historia de los Urales del Sur. http://chelmuseum.ru/english_ver

Astronaut. http://astronaut.ru/

Published

2020-12-15

How to Cite

Canevari, R., & Venzel, S. (2020). USSR: Space Optimism in the 1960s’ Design. SOCIAL REVIEW. International Social Sciences Review / Revista Internacional De Ciencias Sociales, 9(3), pp. 191–206. https://doi.org/10.37467/gka-revsocial.v9.2526

Issue

Section

Research articles