Blog 2- Mckay and Haider

The poster in question is titled "Greetings to the Fighters against Fascism" by Viktor B. Koretsky, famous Soviet artist and propagandist.

The poster targets Fascism however there is no doubt in the fact that it can be taken to point towards the notion of 'anti-colonialism' and particularly 'togetherness' of which both McKay and Haider spoke. There are four men in the foreground, one hovering over them, and a sculpture in the background. Limited colours have been used in the poster, and they are mostly darker tones which emphasise all the important aspects of the image-the people.

These are ordinary fighters, but even so they are not. They are all different from one another, clearly different, and yet they stand on the same plane for the same cause. They are presented as equals, as people that take up this space as their own and fight for it. This is what both McKay and Haider talk about. They talk about the feeling of being in a space where they are allowed and encouraged to inhabit it as it is their own, as they have a right. All four figures in the foreground of the poster are presented at the same heights, with the same positions, a similar manner of clothing. The Asian and African-American man are easiest to identify, and this diversity is one that makes this poster easiest to link to the the one that Haider also speaks of. His 'Indo-American Group' was one of individuals of all backgrounds, clearly shown in the poster. His group was similar not only in their differences, but also in their ideals and beliefs, also obvious here.

The anti-colonial factor of the poster is brought into light not necessarily by the fact that these men are armed and ready to fight. It seems heightened by the mere fact that these men are together. The same differences that were used to identify these people and their oppression are now a significant factor in their collective struggle. Just by being with one another in the way that they are, in the way that Haider speaks of, is a completely unheard of circumstance when for so long these people were made to erase their own selves. Here and now, however, it is the very fact that these people are different from one another which speaks louder than ever before. They have taken the difference that was used against them and displayed it proudly and to fight for that which they believe in.

The sculpture in the background is also immensely significant. It is titled "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman", and is of a man and woman standing together holding in their hands a hammer and sickle, symbols of the proletarian struggle. This is significant because it presents several dimensions of diversity other than those of just race or nationality. Here there is also the diversity of classes, and the fact that the sculpture and poster include women is monumental. Not only do we have men of different races, we have a woman from the proletariat class, one that seems to be standing over the rest. No matter what history we look into, women are constantly delineated as if not part of any struggle in equal parts to men. Here, however, we see again that those often removed and erased from history are included as important figures.

This notion of diversity and 'togetherness' as equals that Haider and McKay talk about seems simple enough, but reading the accounts of both makes one realise just how foreign of a concept the act of being recognised as a human can be. These accounts show us the unbelievable transformative power of spaces that allow one to feel human, as someone, can be. The significance of not just this poster but all those that promote the same diversity and human-ness transcend time in that their representations serve as constant reminders as to where we have failed, and where we continue to rise time and time again.