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 Constructivism
was an art movement that was active from 1915 to the 1940’s. It was a
movement created by the Russian avant-garde, but quickly spread to the
rest of the continent. Constructivist art is committed to complete
abstraction with a devotion to modernity, where themes are often
geometric, experimental and rarely emotional. Objective forms carrying
universal meaning were far more suitable to the movement than subjective
or individualistic forms. Constructivist themes are also quite minimal,
where the artwork is broken down to its most basic elements. New media
was often used in the creation of works, which helped to create a style
of art that was orderly. An art of order was desirable at the time
because it was just after WWI that the movement arose, which suggested a
need for understanding, unity and peace. Famous artists of the
Constructivist movement include
Vladimir Tatlin, Kasimir Malevich, Alexandra Exter, Robert Adams,
and El Lissitzky. Tatlin
is considered the father of Russian Constructivism. He worked for the
new Soviet Education Commissariate which used artists and art to educate
the public. During this period, Tatlin developed an officially
authorized art form which utilized 'real materials in real space'. His
project for a Monument of the Third International marked his first foray
into architecture and became a symbol for Russian avant-garde
architecture and International Modernism. Tatlin's most famous piece
remains his "Monument to the Third International" (1919-20, Moscow), a
22-ft-high (6.7-m) iron frame on which rested a revolving cylinder,
cube, and cone, all made of glass which was originally designed for
massive scale. (shown here) The
Constructivists worked on public festivals and street designs for the
post-October revolution Bolshevik government. Perhaps the most famous of
these was in Vitebsk, where Malevich's UNOVIS Group painted propaganda
plaques and buildings, the best known being El Lissitzky's poster
Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge in 1919 (shown here). Inspired by
Vladimir Mayakovsky's declaration 'the streets our brushes, the
squares our palettes', artists and designers participated in public
life throughout the Civil War. Other painters, sculptors, and photographers working during this time were usually involved with industrial materials such as glass, steel, and plastic in clearly defined arrangements. Because of their admiration for machines and technology, functionalism, and modern mediums, members were also called artist-engineers. |
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