With a spear our foe is done, then we did him with a gun, as before with steel we fought him, so we smash him where we spot him! 1941

This propaganda poster, "With a spear our foe is done, then we did him with a gun, as before with steel we fought him, so we smash him where we spot him!", was made by the group of Soviet artists known as Kukryniksy. It’s an image of graphic simplicity, deploying a restricted palette of black, red and yellow. You can almost feel the speed of its production: the Kukryniksy were working during wartime and immediacy was key. Look at the way the red arrows slash across the top panel, meeting their target with violent force. The colours are laid down in flat blocks, with no blending or modelling, heightening the sense of urgency. This isn’t about finesse or subtlety. It’s about getting the message across, direct and unfettered. The cumulative effect is one of brutal energy, with a dose of dark humour. Like Grosz, Kukryniksy use caricature as a weapon, stripping the enemy bare. Art like this reminds us that artmaking is always a process – a conversation, an argument, a call to action.