Untitled 1945

This drawing by the Kukryniksy collective is a sharp, satiric jab, probably made with ink and crayon around 1945. The way they use these simple materials to capture the gnarled expressions of the judges, well, it's pure genius. The faces seem to grow out of the paper, all sharp angles and bulging eyes. It's clear they're masters of caricature. There's a real sense of movement here, too; the hurried gestures of the courtroom, the flying papers – as if the whole thing is about to burst into chaos. Look at that tiny, squat figure in the foreground, almost submerged by the pile of papers. You get a sense of how the figures are all drowning in bureaucracy. The acid-yellow background makes it all the more biting. Kukryniksy's graphic style is similar to that of George Grosz, who took an equally skeptical look at social institutions in his work. It reminds us that art isn't just about pretty pictures; it can be a powerful form of social commentary, where meaning is always slippery.