Born in 1895, Gustav was drafted into the Russian army in 1915 and helped overthrow Tsar Nicholas II in 1917. Discharged a year earlier, he became a card-carrying member of the communist party. In 1919, he studied art in Kazimir Melevi's studio and began to experiment with constructivist-influenced politically-infused photomontage for posters such as Dynamic City and Lenim and Electrification, each of which supported Soviet state ideology.
In 1920 Klutsis began teaching colour theory at Vkhutemas, the state-sponsored art and design school. It was here that he met and married the art student Valentina Kulagina, with whom he would collaborate for the rest of his life. Under Stalinism, Klutsis used illustration, photography, sculpure and mostly photomontage (often referred to in his particular case as potential photomontage) to celebrate the values and ideals of the communist state.
One of Klutsis's most famous works, Under the Banner of Lenin (1930) overlays Lenin's face with that of stalin.
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