Revolutions in Design: Russian Suprematism and Constructivism

Flashcards on Russian Suprematism and Constructivism

Suprematism

An art style devised by Kasimir Malevich around 1915, characterized by colorful squares and rectangles floating in infinite space.

Constructivists

A group of artists who based their aesthetic on Vladimir Tatlin's pioneering sculpture and sought to serve the Soviet state after the Russian Revolution.

Counter Reliefs

Non-objective sculptures by Vladimir Tatlin that experimented with geometric shapes using everyday industrial materials.

Productivism

A term coined by Constructivists to indicate their desire to make works that served a practical purpose within the context of the communist cause.

UNOVIS

A group of Suprematist artists dedicated to the Bolshevik cause, whose name translates to 'Affirmers of the New Art.'

Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge

A poster by El Lissitzky that demonstrates the use of Suprematist principles as propaganda in service of the Russian Revolution.

Engineer/Constructor

A term used by Constructivists, rejecting 'artist', to define themselves as practical social figures integrated with industrial technology.

Dobrolet State Merchant Air Service

The first comprehensive corporate identity ever seen in Russia, designed by Alexander Rodchenko for the Dobrolet State Merchant Air Service.

Ad-Constructor

An advertising firm formed by Alexander Rodchenko and Vladimir Mayakovsky to create advertisements for state industries.

Photomontage

A composite image made up of a variety of photographic source materials.

Dziga Vertov

A Russian filmmaker who rejected traditional storytelling in film and sought to energize the viewer with documentaries of everyday life.

Kino Glaz (Cine Eye)

A film by Dziga Vertov celebrating post-revolutionary Russia, advertised by a poster designed by Alexander Rodchenko.

Gustav Klutsis

Constructivist artist known for using photomontage to glorify the communist leadership.

Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg

Brothers who revolutionized film poster aesthetics, using exciting compositional techniques to reproduce filmic vision.

Proun

Lazar' Markovich Lisitskii's own manner of abstraction based on Suprematist principles, adding elements of three-dimensionality, rotation, and texture.