Constructivism (art)
Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko founded Constructivism in 1915. This movement emerged from the ashes of World War I and Russian Futurism. The term itself was coined by sculptors Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo. They developed an industrial, angular style that rejected decorative stylization. Their work focused on the assemblage of materials rather than traditional art forms. In 1920, Gabo published his Realistic Manifesto to define these new principles. Aleksei Gan later used the word as the title of a book printed in 1922. Debates at the Institute of Artistic Culture in Moscow between 1920 and 1922 shaped the theory. These discussions defined Constructivism as a combination of faktura and tektonika. Faktura refers to the particular material properties of an object. Tektonika describes its spatial presence. The First Working Group of Constructivists included Liubov Popova and Varvara Stepanova. Boris Arvatov and Osip Brik served as key theorists during this period. They moved away from easel painting toward three-dimensional constructions. The OBMOKhU exhibition displayed these compositions by Rodchenko and the Stenberg brothers.
Constructivists worked directly for the Bolshevik government after the October Revolution. Public festivals and street designs became their primary canvas. Vitebsk hosted one of the most famous campaigns where Malevich's UNOVIS Group painted propaganda plaques. El Lissitzky created the poster Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge in 1919. Vladimir Mayakovsky declared that streets were brushes and squares were palettes. Artists participated in public life during the Civil War years. Alexander Vesnin and Liubov Popova proposed a festival for the Comintern congress in 1921. This event resembled the constructions seen at the OBMOKhU exhibition. ROSTA Windows formed a Bolshevik public information campaign around 1920. Poet-painter Vladimir Mayakovsky and Vladimir Lebedev designed some of the most famous windows. These works aimed to make the viewer an active participant rather than a passive observer. The movement shared ideas with Proletkult regarding the need for a new culture. Viktor Shklovsky, a main theorist, worked closely with the Constructivists on these theories. He developed concepts similar to Russian Formalism known as making strange.
Vsevolod Meyerhold established October in the theatre during the early 1920s. He developed a biomechanical acting style influenced by circus acts and scientific management theories. Frederick Winslow Taylor provided the theoretical framework for these movement techniques. Stage sets by Vesnin, Popova and Stepanova tested spatial ideas in public forms. Alexander Tairov developed a populist version using stage sets by Aleksandra Ekster. The Stenberg brothers contributed designs to these theatrical productions. Dziga Vertov's Kino Eye film from 1924 featured intertitles and animated sequences by Rodchenko. Aleksandra Ekster designed sets and costumes for the science fiction film Aelita released in 1924. Mayakovsky acted in the film The Young Lady and the Hooligan in 1919. Osip Brik and Sergei Tretyakov wrote screenplays for films like Storm over Asia in 1928. Victor Turin directed Turksib which premiered in 1929. Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein regarded their fast-cut montage style as Constructivist. Esfir Shub documented history through this same documentary approach. Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg created Eccentrist movies with avant-garde intentions. These works praised slapstick-comedy actors like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Tatlin's tower started an exchange of
ideas between Moscow and Berlin. El Lissitzky and Ilya Ehrenburg published the Soviet-German magazine Veshch-Gegenstand-Objet. This publication spread the idea of Construction art across borders. The 1922 Russische Ausstellung in Berlin was organized by Lissitzky to showcase these concepts. A Constructivist International formed and met with Dadaists and De Stijl artists in Germany that year. Hans Richter and László Moholy-Nagy participated in this short-lived international group. Many Constructivists taught or lectured at Bauhaus schools in Germany. Gabo established a version of Constructivism in England during the 1930s and 1940s. Victor Pasmore adopted his methods after World War I. Joaquín Torres García and Manuel Rendón spread Constructivism throughout Europe and Latin America. Carlos Mérida and Enrique Tábara became modern masters influenced by these principles. Oscar Niemeyer and João Batista Vilanova Artigas followed similar paths in Brazil. George Johnson emerged as the best known disciple in Australia. Peter Nicholls created sculptures showing influence in New Zealand. Neville Brody used styles based on Constructivist posters in the 1980s to revive interest.
Leon Trotsky served as the main early political patron for
the movement. His expulsion from power between 1927 and 1928 brought suspicion upon Constructivism. The Communist Party gradually favored realist art during the course of the 1920s. Pravda complained about government funds buying works by untried artists as early as 1918. Socialist Realism was instituted in place of Constructivism around 1934. Many Constructivists continued producing avant-garde work in service of the state despite this shift. El Lissitzky, Rodchenko and Stepanova designed the magazine USSR in Construction. A split occurred in 1922 when Pevsner and Gabo emigrated from Russia. The productivist majority gained support from Proletkult and the magazine LEF. Alexander Vesnin and Moisei Ginzburg directed the architectural group O.S.A. which became dominant. The counter-doctrine replaced earlier theories with a focus on realistic representation. This marked the end of the experimental period that had defined the movement's first decade.
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Common questions
Who founded Constructivism in 1915?
Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko founded Constructivism in 1915. This movement emerged from the ashes of World War I and Russian Futurism.
What does faktura mean in Constructivist theory?
Faktura refers to the particular material properties of an object within the movement. It combines with tektonika which describes spatial presence to define Constructivism as a combination of these two concepts.
When did Socialist Realism replace Constructivism around 1934?
Socialist Realism was instituted in place of Constructivism around 1934. The Communist Party gradually favored realist art during the course of the 1920s before this formal replacement occurred.
Where did El Lissitzky organize the 1922 Russische Ausstellung?
El Lissitzky organized the 1922 Russische Ausstellung in Berlin to showcase these concepts. This event facilitated the formation of a Constructivist International that met with Dadaists and De Stijl artists in Germany that year.
Why did Leon Trotsky serve as the main early political patron for the movement?
Leon Trotsky served as the main early political patron for the movement until his expulsion from power between 1927 and 1928 brought suspicion upon Constructivism. His support allowed artists like Rodchenko and Stepanova to design works such as the magazine USSR in Construction.