Constructivism Midterm

The Wanderers

Members of Mamotov’s Circle

Focus on Russian folk art

Relationship between life and art

Inspired many future avant-garde artists

Lubok prints

Prints intended for Russian serfs

Often referenced by later avant-garde artists

Religious

Mikhail Larionov

Founder of Rayonism

Attended the Moscow School of Art where he met Goncharova

Natalia Goncharova

Founder of Rayonism

Attended the Moscow School of Art where she met Larionov

Born from a noble background

Adopted a “Wanderers” aesthetic

Rayonism

Founded by Larionov and Goncharova

Focused on movement outside of the blank canvas

Very short movement

Futurism

Romanticization of violence/war

Erasure of past with focus on the future

Liberation from tradition

Enlistment in the war that often resulted in their own deaths

Museums as “mausoleums to dead ideas”

Still from Drama in Cabaret #13, Larionov & Goncharova, 1914

Still from Drama in Cabaret #13 Significance

Focus on performance between the couple

“Bringing art to the people” (mostly unsuccessful)

Use of costume and makeup for theatrics

The Evangelists, Goncharova, 1910-11

The Evangelists Significance

Censored at the Donkey’s Tail exhibition

Inspired by the average proletariat

Mix of rebellious art style and religious subject matter was controversial

The Cyclist, Goncharova, 1912

The Cyclist Significance

Fusion of cubism and futurism (cubo-futurism)

“Speed” of futurism and methods of synthetic cubism

Fishes, Larionov, 1906

Fishes Significance

Influence of impressionism

Use of pinks/pastels (will later be dropped for muted palette)

Soliders II, Larionov, 1909

Soldiers II Significance

Influence of primitivism (horse…)

Muted color palette showing Goncharova’s influence

Mixture of image and text

Kazimir Malevich

Impoverished and mostly self-educated

Obsession with the “cosmos”

Founder of Suprematism (pure painting)

HATED Tatlin

Unovis

Malevich’s teaching method/artist group

Focus on “pure painting'“ and suprematism

The Knife-Grinder, Malevich, 1912

The Knife-Grinder Significance

Example of cubo-futurism (cubism + futurism)

Depicts a member of the proletariat (working class)

pre-Suprematism

An Englishman in Moscow, Malevich, 1913

An Englishman in Moscow Significance

Continued influence of synthetic cubism

pre-Suprematism

Suprematist Painting: White on White. Malevich, 1918

Suprematist Painting: White on White Significance

The act of “pure” painting (suprematism)

Breaking down painting to its bare essentials

Visuals over function

Vladimir Tatlin

Founder of Constructivism

Did NOT get along with Malevich

Function over form

The Sailor, Tatlin, 1911

The Sailor Significance

Inspired by Tatlin’s time as a sailor

Shows an early interest in mixed media

Monument to the Third International, Tatlin, 1919-20

Monument to the Third International Significance

State-sponsored propaganda

Never fully created, only idealized

If built, would be Empire State Building height

Ideally built of glass and steel, spinning constantly

Lyubov Popova

Originally trained as a teacher

Worked for IZO NARKOMPROS

Joined the staff of Vkhutemas

Practical application of Constructivism

Varvara Stepanova

Trained as a painter before moving to textiles

Artistic partner and wife of Rodchenko

Practical application of Constructivism

Painterly Architectonic, Popova, 1917

Painterly Architectonic Significance

Application of suprematism

Not yet for the people yet thinking of the people

Spatial Force Construction, Popova, 1921

Spatial Force Construction Significance

Continued application of suprematism

Design for The Magnanimous Cuckold, Popova, 1922

Design for The Magnanimous Cuckold

Influence of Constructivism on set and fashion design

Stage as the perfect setting for application of Constructivist ideas

Shift away from gendered clothing

Layout for USSR Under Construction, Rodchenko and Stepanova, 1931

“Layout for USSR Under Construction” Significance

Pro-Stalin propaganda magazine

Sold for $5 and intended for wealthier/foreign readers

Design for An Evening of the Book, Stepanova, 1924

“Design for An Evening of the Book” Significance

Continued use of the stage as a space for Constructivist ideas

Sports uniforms clad with letters

Comparing pre and post revolutionary literature

Constructivist Dress, Stepanova, 1924

“Constructivist Dress” Significance

“Blowing up” past references

Liberates the body from constriction

Influence of sport/game attire

NOT popular among non-artists

Alexander Rodchenko

Trained as a painter before becoming a graphic designer/photographer

Artistic partner and husband of Varvara Stepanova

Known for adjunct-prop

Love for counter-objects

Counter-objects

Response to Tatlin’s objects

Not concerned with appearance, more focused on function

RATIONAL!

Compass and Ruler Drawing, Rodchenko, 1915

“Compass and Ruler Drawing” Significance

“The future of making is not with the hand of an artist but with the straight edge of a compass”

Mechanical exploration

Shown at The Store Exhibition

Cover for Mayakovsky's About This, Rodchenko, 1923

“Cover for Mayakovsky's About This” Significance

Use of photomontage

Functional cover for literature

Integration of art and everyday experience

Literacy Poster, Rodchenko, 1924

“Literacy Poster” Significance

Promotion of literacy via adjunct-prop

Activation through color, graphics and text

Contains Rodchenko’s signature

Paid for by a state publishing house (Leningrad GIZ)

Workers' Club at the Paris Expo Soviet Pavilion, Rodchenko, 1925

“Workers' Club at the Paris Expo Soviet Pavilion” Significance

Functional artist working space

Featured a range of Constructivist design

Temporary space usually built in tent structures

Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, Lissitzky, 1920

“Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge” Significance

Commissioned by IZO NARKOMPROS

Adjunct-prop

Symbolizes communist (red) vs anti-communist (white)

Embroidered Folk-dress, Lamanova, 1923

“Embroidered Folk-dress” Significance

“Mining” slavic history

Using traditional embroidery techniques

Book Kiosk, Gan, 1923

“Book Kiosk” Significance

Breakdown of art to its pure function

Poor translation into the real world (only prototypes)

Intended to increase literacy and provide literature to the proletariat

Mayakovsky’s For the Voice, Lissitzky, 1923

“Mayakovsky’s For the Voice” Significance

Collaboration between artist and poet

Call to arms for artists in the revolution

Constructivist application for art

Futurism Manifesto

Written by Marinetti

Romanization of war/violence

Focus on speed/future

INCREDIBLY misogynistic

Will be read by Russian artists and semi-adopted

Museums as “mausoleums of dead ideas”

A Slap in the Face of Public Tastes

Manifesto of Russian futurists

Focus on urbanization/technology

Moving on from past Russian tradition

“Self-sufficient-word”

Foundation of cubo-futurism

Rayonists and Futurists Manifesto

Written by Goncharova and Larionov

Art functioning with life

Branching out to the ideas of futurism while ignoring ego/bigotry

Use of light rays/refraction as focal point

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

Written by Kandinsky

Importance of intuition in art-making

Abandon the need for literal representation and embrace abstraction

Reliance on inner feelings and spiritual connection

From Cubism and Futurism to Suprematism

Written by Malevich

Emphasis on “pure” painting

Art as lacking function with pure

Complete separation from nature and realism

KOMFUT: Program Declaration

“Communist” approaches to life and art

Futurism-communism mixture

The Initiative Individual in the Creativity of the Collective

Written by Tatlin

The individual as a catalyst for collective creation

Collective energy over individual brilliance

UNOVIS Program

Focus on cubism, suprematism and futurism

Setup for teaching avant-garde art

Spearheaded by Malevich

Inkhuk Program

Written by Kandinsky

Foundation of how “foundational” art programs function (ex. KCAI)

Research-based/the science of art

Statement

Written by Popova

Constructivist/Suprematist approach to the basics of art

The Monument to the Third International

Written by Punin

Description of the piece and its socio-cultural artistic meaning

Application of constructivist and communist ideas in art

Program of the First Working Group of Constructivists

Written by Rodchenko/Stepanova

Manufacturing OVER artistic satisfaction

Tectonics - Relationship between ideological and formal

Faktura - Material

From Constructivism

Written by Gan

Tectonics - Relationship between ideological and formal

Faktura - Material

Construction - Main function of art

From Picture to Calico-Print

Written by Brik

Moving from “artistic” art to “production” art

Death of painting

October “Declaration”

Separation from existing art groups

Focus on the interests of the working class over the creation of new art

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Written by Benjamin

Production of art is pro-capitalism

Aura of art comes from authenticity

Photomontage as a New Problem in Agit Art

Written by Klucis

Structure/steps of the photomontage

political slogan, photograph of social act/event, color (for activation), graphic elements, planar/perspectival design

government commission, theme/content development, structural development, taking of relevant photos, process of montage/organization

MOST IMPORTANT IS EMPHASIZE CLASS

Whom is LEF alerting?

Written by LEF Collective

Encouraging collective art over individualism

Left-leaning ideas of art

Call to arms of the various artist groups

Do not simply create art, embody the spirit of art

Literature and Revolution

Written by Trotsky

Arguing against the LEF

Art must be conducted not just embodied

Do not deny experience and livelihood for the sake of communal art

Declaration

Written by AKhRR

Shift towards socialist realism

True depictions of the proletariat

Classless society through heroic realism

Realism and the avant-garde

Written by Wood

Describes the shift from avant-garde to realism

Struggles to make the “right” revolutionary art

References Suprematism and Constructivism as main struggles in this creation