Modernism was an art movement which started in the early 1900's which used a new style, new tools and new artists appeared. Constructivism was a part of Modernism which held a dominant part in Russian Propaganda.
El Lissitzy's 'Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge' is a modernist work of art which is a lithograph during the Russian Civil War in 1919. The Red wedge is a representation of the Russian Revolution edge which were against the 'white' anti-revolutionaries - Capitalists.
The wedge is shown to be breaking into the white circle with shards coming off. This denotes 'invasion' or breaking something. In this case a, group/army of people. Even though the lithograph is in Russian, due to it's bold visual display, it can be depicted by anyone. This was handy during the revolution due to many working class people not being able to read, they could still read the propaganda, allowing more people to understand the political meaning behind the poster.
The red triangle is a sign of strength, it dominates the image thus denoting the stronger side.
The words on the image actually simply saying 'beat the whites' or 'beat whites' so is even simple to other classes who can read the poster. Although the words do not stand out on the poster due to the dominating strong shapes.
(2012). Utopia/Dystopia. Available: http://utopiadystopiawwi.wordpress.com/constructivism/el-lissitzky/beat-the-whites-with-the-red-wedge/. Last accessed 25/04/2013.
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