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Soviet Constructivism
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| Soviet Constructivism was born following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and is characterized by the art and design of its founder, Vladimir Tatlin. His work, and that by many other constructivist artists of the time, played a significant role in helping to reconstruct a post-revolutionary society. The artists of the constructivist era thought of themselves foremost as engineers, and then as artists, as they worked to build a new utopian Russia. |
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El Lissitzky |
| A utopian Russia was pursued by creating space in a manner that utilized the strength of materials. The above building shows this dramatic new thought: Cloud-Iron was built horizontally above ground in order to save the space below for public activity. But apportioning public space was not the only means by which the artists pursued a better Russian society. |
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Vesnin Brothers—Alexander, Leonid, Viktor |
| This concept drawing for the Pravda building, though never built, clearly demonstrates the artists desire to promote Russian society. Perhaps the early twentieth century equivalent to visual streaming, this building was designed as the ultimate sensory machine: loud speakers, moving banners, and a projection screen were all integrated into its design. The Russian contructivists geared design towards the masses, overtly in this case, to further unify the Russian people. However, art during the constructivist era was not simply political propaganda; rather, constructivist art attempted to contribute towards a better future. |
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Vladimir Kozlinskii
Nesmotria na trekhletnieusiliia (Despite three years of effort) Poster, USSR, 1920 Linocut, 28 1/8 x 19 5/8 inches |
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Posters of this sort, promoting post-revolutionary society, could be found on walls and store windows throughout the USSR as crude, amateur, printing techinques created hundreds per day. They reminded the Russian people of the work that was left to be done and enstilled in them a desire to keep evil from penetrating into Russian society once again. |
| Soviet Constructivists were not just artists, they were visionaries: visionaries with a strong desire to promote the growth of post-revolutionary Russia. The constructivists were engineers too; building a society from the ideas of an utopian Russia. |
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"Monuments of the Future": Designs by El Lissitzky http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/digital/lissitzky/ |
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Art and Design from the Merrill C. Berman Collection http://www.mcbcollection.com/ |
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NC State University, College of Design http://www.design.ncsu.edu/ |