Youth in Uniform: Selections from the Gift of Steven Heller

August 7–November 17, 2009
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

In 2009, The Wolfsonian’s outstanding collection of twentieth-century political propaganda grew thanks to a generous gift made by prolific graphic designer and author Steven Heller. In preparing Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State (2008), Heller amassed a considerable body of rare books, periodicals, and ephemera produced by Italian Fascists, German National Socialists, and Soviet and Chinese Communists. According to Heller: “Branding totalitarian regimes is not as benign as branding frozen peas, but the techniques used to build identity recognition are not dissimilar. The artifacts in this collection suggest that one borrowed from the other, although it’s not always clear which came first—politics or commerce.”

Youth in Uniform, a small installation by The Wolfsonian Library, highlighted one area of strength from Heller’s donation: propaganda aimed at the young. Totalitarian regimes from both political extremes forged powerful symbols and employed persuasive graphic artwork to indoctrinate the more naïve and susceptible younger members of their societies. Heller argues that all of these dictatorships created “visual codes” to appeal to “a need among youth to belong to a club. Uniforms, badges, flags, and posters contributed to the cultish allure, not unlike the marketing campaigns that sell everything from music to soft-drinks aimed at youth today.”