Pllbllsbedby IheCollege AnAssocImion ofAmerlca ArtJOU11
Foil 1981
EI Lissitzky, Design for the cover ofthe exhibition catalog for Die Erste Russische Kunst. Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 06:15 16 March 2015
I I h"'I" I Y/h _In' . " r~ ,,1 ""0 1 " Publisbed by tbeCollege Art Assodation Art]oumal ofAmerlca
Guest Editor Gail Harrison Roman Museum NewsEditor Charles C. Eldredge Boo"Review Editorjennifer Licht Managing Editor Rose R. Weil CopyEditor Frances Preston AdvertisingRepresentative Catherine M. Shanley Editorial Board AnneCoffin Hanson, Ellen Lanyon, George Sadek, Jroing Sandler Design The Cooper Union Centerfor Design and Typography
Art journal ISSN (0004-3249) is published The Russian AIlant-Garde quarterly by the College Art Association of America, Inc., at 16 East 52 Street, New York, Editor's Statement byGail Harrison Roman 207 NY 10022.Copyright 1981, College ArtAssoci ation of America, Inc. All rights reserved. No The Leonard Hutton Galleries' Involvement with Russian Avant-Garde Artby Ingrid Hutton 211 part of the contents may be reproduced with out the written permission of the publisher. Artin Exile: The Russian Avant-Garde andthe Emigration by John E. Bowlt215 Second Class postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Printed by AConversation with Vladimir Stenberg by Alma H. Law 222 the Waverly Press, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland. Artjournal is available through member Kazimir Malevich byE.F. Kovtun, translated from theRussian by Charlotte Douglas 234 shipin theCollege ArtAssociation ofAmerica. Subscriptions for nonmembers $12 per year, Autoanimals (Samozverl) bySergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov, translated by Susan Cook Summer I single issues $3.50. Notes on Autoanimals by Susan Cook Summer and Gail Harrison Roman I Cinematic Whimsey: For membership and subscription informa Rodchenko's illustrations for Autoanimals byGail Harrison Roman 242 tion call or write 00, 16 East 52 Street, New York, NY 10022, (212) 755-3532. Two Contemporary Artists Comment: Less is Less byGeorge Rickey I Donald Judd 248 Advertising information andrates available from Catherine M. Shanley, 663 Fifth Avenue, Museum News: Who Pours the Tea? by Charles C. Eldredge I Van Gogh and Cloisonism by Henri New York, NY 10022, (212) 757-6454. DorraI Gorky attheGuggenheim by JimM. Jordan 251
Boolls in Review: Virginia Spate, Orphism: The Evolution ofNon-figurative Painting in Paris 1910-1914, reviewed by William A. Camfield; Ralph E. Shikes andPaula Harper, Pissarro: His Life
Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 06:15 16 March 2015 and Work, reviewed by Richard Brenell; Le Corbusier Sketchbooks, Volume 1, 1914-1948, reviewed byMary Mcleod 267
Boolls andCatalogsReceived279
Correspondence fortheArtjournalshould be addressed totheManaging Editor attheCollege Art Association, 16 East 52 Street, New York, NY 10022.
Fall19S1 205 Editor's Statement: Gail Harrison Ro"",n The Russian Avant-Garde The sociopolitical gap that has divided Soviet social transformation and artistic re-assess Garde art-aggravated by occasional (but Russia andthe West during most ofthis century ment that marked them. The issue ofemigration nevertheless damaging) uninformed published hasinspired much mutual curiosity about artis was (as it still is today) anextremely sensitive commentary-sends a shudder through the tic-among many other-activities. Owing to one. art world today. As a relatively new subject in greater freedom andflow ofinformation, we in Alma Law's interview with thelastsurviving thefield ofart history, the Russian Avant-Garde the West have been better able to indulge this Constructivist, Vladimir Stenberg, provides us presents not only the joys of discovery and curiosity. It is significant that this curiosity with a rare personal view into the artworld of re-interpretation, butalso thepitfalls ofover seems destined to be continually whetted by the1920s inRussia; itisinsightful andinform enthusiasm and relative underexposure. exhibitions andpublications, I butnever sated! ative, humorous andtouching. We aresimilarly Greater artistic detente is necessary-not In particular, the more information we gain pleased topresent Charlotte Douglas's transla only among western and Soviet scholars, but about the period of Russian Avant-Garde art tion from the Russian of an essay on Kasimir also within lessglobal academic andcommer (circa I9IO-
Downloaded by [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign] 09:59 05 October 2014 of previously unpublished photographs and weconsider theinterest in the Russian Avant Notes much original material, allofwhich addtoour Garde bya number ofcontemporary artists to I Alisting ofthese publications and exhibitions understanding of the art and artists of this besignificant initself. Donald Juddhas written appears inthe chronologies by Margaret Bridget unique period. a critical and impressionistic analysis of the Betz and myself inthe groundbreaking catalog As a pioneer motivating force behind the Russian Avant-Garde, and George Rickey has The Auant-Garde in Russia, 1910-1930: American interest in the Russian Avant-Garde, sharedwith ushisideas onthis art'scontext in New Perspectives, ed. Stephanie Barron and Ingrid Hutton shares with us memories and light ofrecent artistic developments. Maurice Tuchman, Los Angeles County Museum impressions of her contacts with some of its Ina sense, each new exhibition and each new ofArt, 1980. surviving members andofher search for fine publication ontheRussian Avant-Garde repre 2The editor wishes tothank Rosalind T. Harrison examples oftheirwork. sents a plea: a plea for more information onthis for her invaluable technical assistance and John 8owlt's study oftheartists' emigrations fascinating subject. But thepleaisnotfor facts support during the preparation of this issue. during the period in question should clarify alone; itisfor open channels ofcommunication many Russians' social, political, and artistic among both western and Soviet scholars in Gail Harrison Ro"",n Is assistant commitments, and their status in the young order to foster careful interpretation of style professorofartbistory at Vassar Soviet Union or in theWest. The years under andcontent aswell astosethigh standards for College. Her boo" on Tamn's Tower scrutiny were certainly exciting, butthey were authentication of individual works. The spate will beJnlbllsbed by tbe Arcbitect"ral alsopainfully confusing because oftheradical ofrecent fakes andforgeries ofRussian Avant- History Fo"ndation.
Fall 1981 107 The LeonardHutton Galleries' Involvement with Russian Avant-Garde Art
I"gridHutto" Is co-director with her husbandLeonardoflbeLeonardHutton Galleries I" New York City. Twenty years ago in thesummer of 1961, my Russia hehad met Alexander Rodchenko, whose husband, Leonard Hutton, was preparing his work he greatly admired. Through a friend first exhibition of the work of the German Rodchenko later sent drawings and paintings painter Gabriele Munter. While researching to Barr in the United States for theMuseum's her pastexhibitions hefound onecalled Salon collection. Barralso talked of hisadventures, Izdebski, held in Odessa, St. Petersburg, and for example, of rolling up Kasimir Malevich's Kiev in 1909-1910 and another Bubnowi Wolet paintings in his umbrella to get them out of (Bubnovyi Valet), held in Moscow in 191~ Germany. But most inspiring to me was his 1911. At first heassumed thatBubnowi Wolet love of the raw energy and genius of these was the name of a gallery or museum where artists. the paintings hadbeen shown. However, when In the summer of 1964 Leonard attended he visited Munter in Murnau thatsummer and an auction ofImpressionist andModern paint asked her, "What is Bubnoun Wolet?" she ings at Sotheby's in London. Midway through replied, "That is Russian for Kam Bube (lack of the sale a 1909 Goncharova painting entitled Diamonds), thename ofoneofthefirst exhibi Fishing (Fig. 1)came from behind thecurtain. tions oftheRussian Avant-Garde painters, orga The brilliant colorsand bold, simple outlines nized byMikhail Larionov." She then launched ofthe forms captivated him andthenext thing into a fantastic description of the group of he knew he had raised his hand to buy it. Russian painters who tookpart,some ofwhom Fig. 1 NaJalia Goncbarcua, Fishing, 1909, Leonard was hooked. Kandinsky invited to participate in the Blaue oiloncanvas, 46% x 41n. Private Collection. By 1966 Leonard andI hadconvinced each Reiter exhibitions in Munich in 1911 and other that we had to plan a major Russian 1912. Leonard asked Munter which painters for thefirst time I saw illustrations ofwork by Avant-Garde exhibition, and we started to collect werestillalive. "Mikhail Larionov andNatalia painters whom I had never before seen or inearnest. During thenext two years we began
Downloaded by [University of Dallas Blakley Library ] at 02:56 29 December 2014 Goncharova are notonly alive," sheexclaimed, heard of. I immediately felt a strong optimism to see paintings that hadbeenreproduced in "but they live in Paris." about the work; the creatiVity, inventiveness, Camilla Gray's book come up for auction in Leonard visited Natalia Goncharova inParis and dynamism excited meand made mewant London and Paris. As a result we acquired thatsameyear. When hetold herthathewould to know more. Very soon thedog-eared repro Larionov's Dancing Soldiers (Fig. 2), Gon like to holdan exhibition ofworks byher and ductions in thebookwere notenough-I had charova's Moscow Street with House, and Larionov in New York, she was very enthusi to see thework itself. Ivan Puni's Constructions (Fig.3), aswell as astic and promised to send him all of their In the early 1960s theRussian Avant-Garde other works from private collectors and gal paintings which were then on exhibition in was one of the few art movements of the leries in Europe. In 1968 we bought Liubov SWitzerland, plus several others. In 1962 he twenueth century that had remained virtually Popova's Early Morning (Fig. 4) and Puni's saw her again, but she was already very frail untouched bycollectors, gallery owners, and Flight ofForms. Ourcollection began to have and died soon thereafter. Unfortunately, our art historians alike, particularly in the United somesubstance. However, we putoffsetting a proposed Larionov-Goncharova exhibition was States. Many people encouraged me in my date for the exhibition to open because we therefore never realized. pursuit. In particular Alfred Barr, then director couldn'tfind a work byVladimir Tatlin. That was thebeginning ofLeonard's involve of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, I decided to go to Paris and take out an mentwith the Russian Avant-Garde. My partic often visited our gallery from 1964 to 1966 to advertisement in the Russian language news ipation began when Leonard gave meCamilla share his knowledge about the Russian Avant paperasking forRussian Avant-Garde artworks Gray's book, The Great Experiment: Russian Garde and to recount hisexperiences during and costume and stage set designs by Gon Art 1863-1922 (published in 1962), where his travels in Russia in the 1920s. While in charova, Larionov, Alexandra Exler, Tatlin, and
Fall 1981 211 Germany. Although I do not read Russian, I was fascinated by theso-called synesthesia of the period, in which one sensation, such as sound, can produce another, such as color. Many of the Russian artists participated in overlapping disciplines-poetry, painting, music, and sculpture. 1 photocopied pages and pages ofpoetry andexhibition catalogs in Russian, which I brought back to New York to be translated. While in Paris I was particularly pleased to meet the son of Vladimir Baranoff-Rossine, Baranoff-Rossine was a prime example of an artist whose interests successfully spanned a variety of mediums. I discussed with his son, Eugene, the possibility of reproducing his fa ther's notorious Piano opto-Phonique (Fig. 5) for our show. Originally, the Opto-Pbonique consisted of glass discs painted by the artist which were attached to a projector. The discs rotated inopposite directions, throwing colored lights on a screen. Baranoff-Rossine and his
Fig. 2 Mikhail Larinou. Dancing Soldiers, 1909/10, oiloncanvas, 34% x 405/16". Los Angeles County Museum ofArt.
Fig. 3 Ivan Puni, Suprematist Construction, 1915, painted wood, metalandcardboard mountedonpanel, 27'/lx 187/1/'. Washington, D. C, National Gallery ofArt. Downloaded by [University of Dallas Blakley Library ] at 02:56 29 December 2014
wife simultaneously operated two electric pi anos, playing music by Beethoven, Grieg, and Wagner. The original performances took place attheMeyerhold andBolshoi Theaters inMos cow in 1920 and 1922. Eugene agreed to Fig. 4 liubouPopooa, Early Morning, 1914, oiloncanvas, 28x 35". New York, McCrory undertake the reconstruction of this instru Corporation. ment, and this fantastic synthesizer of light, color,andmusic didperform inourgallery. soon.For a few weeks I traveled from one end of goblets, butsaw nothing I was looking for. Apainting that I was particularly eager to Paris totheother visiting those who responded As wecontinued to research andestablish borrow forourshow was a portrait ofTatlin by to the ads. To my amazement, these people provenances for the paintings we hadalready Larionov (Fig. 6). The owner ofthis painting were primarily members of the old Russian bought, we learned more about what we needed. was Michel Seuphor, who lived in Paris but aristocracy who lived in Paris in pre-Revolu From 1965 on, I spent hours poring over whom I did not know and to whom I had no tionary splendor. 1 spent many afternoons photographs and exhibition catalogs both in formal introduction. Not without some trepi drinking tea served from silver samovars or thearchives ofMme Larionov andinlibraries dation, 1 telephoned M. Seuphor. 1 knew he sipping sherry from exquisite cut-glass crystal in New York, London, and several cities in was involved in writing his 0wtl volumes on
212 Artjou,.".' no means finished bymerely finding and ob taining the works of art. At the gallery we searched painstakingly through the material we had accumulated for references to the paintings, tides, anddates. We learned toques tion everything written about (or on the back 00 a painting. I spent hours looking at one Larionov workcalled Blue Rayonism. 1kept turning ifon its side, its top, around and around. It haunted me. Something was wrong. All ofa sudden, one day, I saw it-an angular head wearing a cap. I rushed to Larionov's 1913 catalog raisonne by Eli Eganbury and found thattherewasnoBlueRayonism listed but there was Portrait ofa Fool (Fig. 8). I knew this must be the correcttide because I had found that Larionov never made a totally abstract painting; therewas always an underly ingrepresentational element. The thrill ofsuch revelations afterhoursand hoursof detective workwas a greatreward in itself. By 1970wewere itching to openour exhi-
Fig. 5 Vladimir Baranoff-Rossine, Piano Opto-Phonie, 1914, glass disc.
abstractart, so I asked him if he would meet tion in Rome. Around this time I alsopicked with me to help me with my research on up a catalog of a Larionov/Goncharova/ specific Russian Avant-Garde artists, notmen Mansurov exhibition which had been heldin tioning my ulterior motive concerning his paint 1966 at LorenzeUi Gallery in Bergamo, Italy. ing. He was most generous and understanding When Leonard next visited Milan in 1968, he andgranted mean appointment. telephoned the gallery andexplained our idea During our meeting I spent about an hour of putting together a Russian Avant-Garde ex showing him transparencies of the paintings hibition in America. Although the gallery had thatwould be in our exhibition. Then I turned no works for sale, they were very helpful and to himandsaid, "We can'thang theexhibition, gave Leonard the address of Italian Futurist however, without your Larionov painting." "My artist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's daughters. Fig. 6 Mikhail Larinov, Portrait ofVladimir painting is not going to America," he tlady We knew about Marinetti's connection with Tatlin, 1911, oil oncanvas, 351/2X 28 114" . declared. I tried to persuade him to change his theRussian art world through Vladimir Markov's Paris, Musee National d'Art Moderne Centre mind by pointing out the significance of the book Russian Futurism.' A History. Markov National d'Art etde Culture Georges Pompidou, It had portrait in Larionov's development. signaled mentioned thatMarinetti traveled to Russia Gift ofMichel Seupbor.
Downloaded by [University of Dallas Blakley Library ] at 02:56 29 December 2014 the transition from Primitivism to Rayonism in the winter of 1914 and had returned to through theuseofboth styles inonework. The Rome so full of enthusiasm about the art he headwas clearly delineated in a bold, primitive hadseenthathe decided to holdanexhibition bition, butassoonaswehadchosen adate, we style andrays oflight surrounded itandbounced which hecalled Bxposizione Libera Futurista learned that the Cornell University Andrew offit into the background in the new manner Intemazionale, in the spring ofthatyear. He Dickson White Museum was planning a Russian of Rayonism. M. Seuphor finally consented to invited members of the Russian Avant-Garde, Avant-Garde exhibition for thesame time and lend us thepainting, andwhen [left hisapart including Olga Rozanova, to participate. She wanted to borrow some of our paintings. We mentthatday[ felt as if I were walking on air. sent paintings that had been shown at the agreed to lend the work, so instead in our Whenever I spenda day visiting galleries in 19B-1914 Union ofYouth exhibition in St. gallery in thespring of1970 weheld aDiagbiJev a foreign city, I use the hours when they are Petersburg. Her work remained in Italy after Ballet antiTheater Design exhibition, which closed, between 1:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M., to the exhibition closed, in Marinetti's own col included works byLarionov, Goncharova, Leon browse through bookstores. One time I dis lection. When Leonard visited Marinelli's daugh Bakst, Alexander Benois, and Exter, among covered an Italian periodical called l 'Arle ters, thepaintings were still in their possession. others, The Cornell show andour own exhibi Moderna, which had published two issues in He was able to obtain from them a number of tion turned out to be fortunate occurrences, 1967 totally devoted to Russian Suprematism exceptional works by Rozanova, including The since through them wemetthree people who and Constructivism. IntheJanuary issue, Iwas Factory andtheBridge (Fig. 7),Man on the would later assist us in the preparation of a particularly struck bythree paintings byOlga Street, Dissonance, andPort. catalog for our show: Sarah Bodine, who was Rozanova, which belonged to a private collec- The jobof preparing the exhibition was by coordinating theRussian ArtoftbeRevolution
Foil 1981 213 Fig. BMikhail larionoo. Portrait ofa Fool , 1912, oiloncanvas, 27'/zx 25'12 ". Private Collection.
Fig.9 Alexandra Exler. Danseur Espagnol, 1926. marionette: metal. uood. cardboard Fig. 7 Olga Rozanoua, The Factory and the Bridge, 1913, oiloncanvas,325/1lX 24'/.i" . NewYork, McCrory Corpora/ion. material. 22" high.
exhibition at theAndrew Dickson White Muse artists today andfind the period oneofcontin -to seethedrawings and paintings in muse um;John Bowlt, professor ofSlavic Studies at ual surprises. Over the past ten years, since ums, since for the most part they are not the University ofTexas, who attended the Cornell Russian Avant-Garde 1~1922 opened, we shown. Lack of first-hand exposure to work symposium on the Russian Avant-Garde; and have shown Alexandra Exter's marionettes breeds lack of feeling for the artist's use of Downloaded by [University of Dallas Blakley Library ] at 02:56 29 December 2014 Frederick Starr, then professor of History of (Fig. I)) and held a major lIya Chashnik line, form, proportion, and color. Because of Russian Culture at Princeton University, who exhibition. When a special exhibition is not this, questionable works are being bought by came to thegallery during our theater design hanging, we feature Russian Avant-Garde works unsuspecting dealers andcollectors. We our exhibition. inthegallery. selves have notbeen immune. Inthe future we We finally set the date for our opening in Probably ourmost difficult problem in recent would like toset upa formal group including October of1971. One day, a few months before years has been the upsurge of questionable gallery owners, art historians, and collectors the opening, Leonard came over to my desk works attributed to various Russian Avant-Garde to acknowledge this situation anddiscuss how and said, "We can'topen-we have noUdalt artists. As we see it, the problem arises from it could be remedied. End sova." We did look for a work by Nadezhda the fact that the work of the Russian artists is Udaltsova, but in vain. And Russian Avan/ so scarce and therefore is difficult to view in Garde 1~1922 did open in mid-October the original. Many people who study the period 1971 totoasts with Russian champagne. still see most ofthework inreproduction. For The purpose of our involvement with the example, thename ofKasimir Malevich iswell Russian Avant-Garde-particularly in this first known, butyou can't go just anywhere to see exhibition--was to bring to the American public hiswork. (Some ofitcanbeseen, however, at works that had previously been seen only in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.) You reproduction. We are still fascinated bythese can't even goto thesource-the Soviet Union
114 ArlJoumal Art in Exile: The Russian Avant-Garde andthe Emigration
Jobn E. Bowlt is professor ofSlavic Studies at tbe University ofTexas at Allstin and is tbe founder anddirector oftbe Institute ofModern Russian Culture atBlue Lagoon, Texas.
The emigration of Russian artists andwriters were trueofsome emigre artists, butthey were intercourse between Alexandre Benois and to theWest just after the 1917 Revolution isa notnecessarily theimmediate result ofemigra Tatlin, Boris Grigoriev and Malevich, Sergei complex issue. In spite of impressive factual tion. Inany case, unless they would have been Chekhonin and Kandinsky, even though such studies in recent times, I the reasons why par willing tocapitulate tothedictates oftheStalin names now appear together atexhibitions and ticular Russian intellectuals chose to move style inthe1930s, such artists would have fared in catalogs dedicated to the Russian Avant from Russia to Berlin, Paris, New York and no better in the Soviet Union. The implied Garde.! Malevich and Tatlin were avowed other cities have not been clarified. Indeed, question astohow artists such asDavid Burliuk, enemies, Popova andVarvara Stepanova main histories ofmodern Russian artgive compara Chagall, Naum Gabo, Kandinsky, andIvan Puni tained a very uneasy relationship, Ivan Kliun tively little attention tothe subject ofemigration, would have evolved hadthey stayed inRussia is and Malevich, at one time friends, became and tend to cite antagonism towards, or dis merely academic. It is more important to at bitter opponents in the late 191Os. However, enchantment with, the new Soviet regime as tempt to understand the ideas that prompted while aware of the dangers, I use the term the key occasion fora given artist's departure. such artists to emigrate from Russia sometimes avant-garde inthisessay simply because ithas Fortunately, the traditional and vulgar inter temporarily, often pennanently. become a convenient art historical category pretation ofevents--tothe effect that theBol which subsumes a vast diversity of artistic shevik regime terminated allavant-garde activity The Russian Allant-6arde talents. As long as we remain aware of the as soon as it came to power-has now been The term, "the Russian Avant-Garde," has heterogeneity of the Russian Avant-Garde and rejected, although thenew revisionist attitude become almost a household word thanks to of its many internal dissensions and factions, often exaggerates thealleged liberalism ofthe the unprecedented academic andcommercial wemay avoid thecrime ofoversimplification. Communist Party during the 1920s. Actually, interest in thework of artists such as Natalia Emphasis onthepsychological andemotion neither disappointment intheproletarian dic Goncharova, Kandinsky, Mikhail Larionov, al differences, the caprices of character as tatorship, noralarm atstate interference inthe Kazimir Malevich, Liubov Popova, Alexander well as the social diversity in the biographies arts served as dominant reasons for the mass Rodchenko, and Vladimir Tatlin. This interest of modern Russian artists helps us to under Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 emigration ofartists andwriters. Reasons were is justified and even deserves to be expanded stand how they behaved in every day life and often much more trivial and more mundane still further aswe come toappreciate the great pursued their artistic goals andwhy they chose suchasthelackofsupplies, physical discomfi significance, theprescience, ofthe theory and tostay in Russia after 1917 or toemigrate. It is ture, personal enmities. But how didthe Rus practice undertaken by the primary and second wrong to conclude that ideological pressures sian Avant-Garde respond to the question of aryartists, critics, andpatrons in Moscow, St. from the Bolshevik regime suddenly united or emigration before andafter 19l7? Examination Petersburg, Kiev, andKharkov during the 1910s disunited a very large group of idiosyncratic, of this issue, especially in the context of two and 1920s. However, the rapid rehabilitation experimental artists. Most ofthe key members leading members ofthe Russian modern move of modern Russian art has also stimulated of this group-s-jandmsky, Malevich, Popova, ment, i.e. Marc Chagall andVasily Kandinsky, some misleading generalizations, including an Tatlin-were apolitical: they didnotextend an might helpus to understand more readily the inaccurate categorization ofall innovative artists enthusiastic welcome toCommunism, butthey particular development andorientation ofthe asavant-garde: there was nosingle avant-garde didnotrenounce iteither. If they didacquiesce Russian Avant-Garde during the post-Revolu and, in fact, the term avant-garde was never to the new order in the fall of 19I7, they tionary period. usedbythose artists whom contemporary art tended to consider it above allasa vehicle for As faras Soviet sources are concerned, the history places initsranks. Moreover, theterm developing anddisseminating their own artistic emigration ofa Russian artist iseither ignored was notfavored byitsprotagonists andantago systems-c-Cubo-Futunsm, Suprematism, and (many Soviet biographies of artists of the nists, andtheavant-garde became a movement Constructivism. Ofcourse, many artists ofthe 1900s-191Os end with a remark such as "In only retrospectively, i.e. when itwas rediscov avant-garde shared a common dissatisfaction 1924 went abroad"), or is regarded as a fatal ered in the 1960s. Both western and Soviet with the old order, and, in their audacious mistake that led to commercialization and scholars now use the term as a convenient antics and escapades, particularly during the degradation of the artist's work or to his rubric that accommodates many varied talents. period 1912-16, they did much in order to subsequent fall into oblivion. Both conditions Needless to say, there was nosubstantial artistic shock thebourgeoisie. But their behaviour was Fall 1981 215 oriented against theuniversal vices ofcompla tried to marry Communism andConstructivism, Russia's industrial economy escaped infear of cency and conservatism and not necessarily were imprisoned forformalism. theirlives, production was halted, stores were against the Czarist social structure as such. It closed, andeven barenecessities became very should not be forgotten that many of these Reasonsfor Emigration hardtoobtain. Transport andcommunications young artists fulfilled their patriotic duty for Notwithstanding the political sympathies of broke down, giving rise to a drastic shortage czarandcountry during the"imperialist" war Klutsis and Rodchenko, most members ofthe of foodstuffs, and civil war raged on many of 1914-18: Pavel Filonov andLarionov fought Russian Avant-Garde were notdissatisfied with fronts. The resultant hardships provided the on thewestern front; Petr Miturich andKliment their lot in pre-Revolutionary Russia and, in obvious occasion for theemigration between Redko were pilots in the Imperial Airforce; many cases, they regretted the passing of the 1917 and circa 1924 of many artists such as andVasilii Chekrygin, Aristarkh Lentulov, Vlad ancien regime. Still, oneimportant qualifica Vladimir Baranov-Rossine, Mstislav Dobuzhin imir Maiakovsky, and Malevich designed pa tion must be made here-regarding theposi sky, Nikolai Remizov, Konstantin Somov, Dmitrii triotic posters. tion oftheJewish artist in Russia before 1917. Stelletsky, and Alexander Yakovlev. They were There islittle or noevidence tosuggest that Because ofthe Czarist government's restrictions suddenly alone, indigent. disoriented. What the theleaders oftheRussian Avant-Garde were on themobility, higher education, andemploy critic Andrei Levinson wrote ofSomov in 1921 consciously andactively-supportive ofinter ment of Jews and because of the bouts of is applicable to many ofSomov's coUeagues at national socialism, that they read Marx and anti-semitism in Russia (culminating in the that time: "As ofold, amidst theterrible desert Lenin, or that they were suppressed by the Beiliss trial in Kiev in 1913), many Jewish of dead St. Petersburg in the isolation and status quo before 1911.3 We should remember artists took temporary or permanent refuge in estrangement ofhis studio, surrounded only by that, before the Revolution, the avant-garde Paris and other western cities. S Among those the porcelain Iilliputs of his superb coUection, published itsmost vociferous manifestoes with who spent long periods outside Russia before Somov imagines and depicts his harlequins, out theinterference ofCzarist censorship, trav the Revolution were Chagall, Naum Gabo, EI marquises andcupids."9 elled freely inwestern Europe, held exhibitions Lissitzky, and Shterenberg; there were also One result ofthe diaspora was that groups of thatwere tlagrant breaches ofcultural etiquette many artists who supported more moderate Russian artists converged in themost unlikely in the centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg, styles, among them Lev Bakst, Nicolas deStael, places asthey travelled towards western Europe and paraded through town andcountryside in and Leopold Survage (Stiurzvage). In any and America. As he moved through Siberia en outlandish clothes without being arrested. In case, just before 1917 Paris was a point of routeforTokyo andthen New York City, David other words, with the exception of isolated artistic pilgrimage formany avant-garde artists, Burliuk continued to preach his credo of Fu incidents, the Russian Avant-Garde enjoyed Jewish andgentile, such as Popova, Tatlin, and turism, establishing a Futurist group called full creative freedom before 1917: they had Nadezhda Udaltsova. This traditional Franco Tvorchestvo (Creativity) with Nikolai Aseev, their own publications and exhibitions, their Russian association, thelively Russian-Jewish Nikolai Chuzhak, andSergei Tretiakov inVlad own societies and clubs, their own patrons colony in andaroundLaRuche, andthepres ivostok in 1918-19; andduring hisresidence anddealers. 4 enceof particular artists suchas Goncharova inJapanin 1920-22Burliuk created a Futurist Awareness of these conditions undermines andLarionov served asanadded attraction for alliance with the Ukrainian artist Viktor Palmov'? the still favored argument that the Russian Russian artists to settle in Paris before and (Figs. 1 and 2). In 1919 Tiflis (Tbilisi), Avant-Garde was in some way politically con after the Revolution-andtocontribute to the capital of the still-independent Georgia, also scious, that its leftist art retlected its leftist formation ofa distinctive ecole russe de Paris became a bohemian center, maintaining the politics, and that, therefore, it supported the in the 1920s. & cafe culture of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Revolutionary cause. True, most oftheprimary There is no question thatfear of Bolshevik Lado Gudiashvili, David Kakabadze, and Kirill members of the Russian Avant-Garde did not reprisal and experience of the licentious be Zdanevich were still resident inTiflis (although emigrate, buttheir acceptance oftheBolshevik haviour ofignorant Bolshevik plenipotentiaries Gudiashvili and Kakabadze left for Paris in regime should notbe regarded as an enthusi in 1917-18resolved some artists andwriters October 1919) and they were joined by the astic adherence to it. Rather, the fact that so to flee Russia. This was particularly true of painters Savelii Sorin, Vasilii Shukhaev, and many important artists did not leave Soviet those who hadbeenpartoftheMoscow andSt. Sudeikin andtheplaywright Nikolai Evreinov.!' Russia demonstrates both thepolitical inertia Petersburg cultural bohemia, who had hob Their combined forces inspired the production and indecisiveness oftheRussian Avant-Garde nobbed with patrons, dandies andmerchants' ofplays, designs for cafe interiors, lectures, and
Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 andtheirconstant, deep attachment to Russia. wives at nightspots such as theStray Dog and exhibitions. As the Georgian historian Rene Thanks totheir unfailing love ofRussia, Filonov, theComedians' Halt inSt. Petersburg, andwho Shmerling writes: "Provocative self-advertise Malevich, and Tatlin never entertained the had passed nights of pleasure at weekend ment, sincere rebeUiousness and not so sin idea of emigration; and, ifthey haddeparted, dachas. These artists included Yurii Annenkov, cere, the joy of freedom from all norms and there isnodoubt that they would have become as Grigoriev, andsergeiSudeikin, whose emigra traditions, speculation in the right to know depressed andasalienated aswere Goncharova tion was motivated by the sudden disappear nothing, to be incapable of doing anything andLarionov inParis during the1930s-1950s. ance of that very class-the bourgeoisie-that coexisted intheartofGeorgia at this time, just Of course, some artists--particularly Gustav had guaranteed the artist his patronage and as it did in theart of Russia and theWest. "\1 Klutsis, Rodchenko, andDavid Shterenberg hiswellbeing. Ivan Puni andhiswife, theartist By theendof 1919, however, this remarkable were initially staunch supporters ofthe Bolshevik Kseniia Boguslavskaia, people ofindependent state of affairs terminated since it was clear government, andtheirdeclarations expressed means, were simply alarmed by themarauding that Georgia, then in economic and political their faith in the new political system. The soldiers andcommissars in 1917-18, and, as turmoil, would soon capitulate to theBolshe paradox remains that their ideological commit Boguslavskaia affirmed in a conversation in viks. (Georgia became partoftheTrans-Cauca ment did not help them toweather the turbu 1917,7 their escape across the frontier in sian Federation of Soviet Republics on 25 lenceofStalin's rule-Klutsis was arrested in October 1920 was an escape from theviolent, February 1921.) For countless Russian, Ukrain 1938 anddiedin a concentration camp; Rod piratic aftermath ofthe Revolution andnot from ian,Armenian, andGeorgian artists in Tiflis in chenko andShterenberg were hounded in the theprinciples oftheCommunist doctrine. Gabo 1919-20, Paris beckoned asa secure political press for their formalist leanings; Filonov, a implied thesame in a conversation in 1972.8 and cultural haven, andthe mass exodus from self-proclaimed Communist, did not exhibit The material insolvency of the new regime Tiflis began inthefall of 1919. between 1934 and 1941; andthetwo brilliant became manifest immediately. Russian assets critics, Nikolai Punin and Alexei Gan, who were frozen in foreign banks, theoperators of
216 utilitarian interpretation, Kandinsky's assertion thata "fu ndamentalconcern oftheInstitute of Artistic Culture must benot only thecultivation of abstract forms, butalso thecultofabstract objectives" was highly debatable.' ? Not sur prisingly, Kandinsky left the Institute soon after its inception. Of an older generation and a Fig. 1 Pholograph taken at tbe second Exhibition ofthe Association ofFuturist Artists, Osaka,japan, different social environment, never a primary November1921. In thecenter:DavidBurliuk. mover oftheMoscow andSt. Petersburg avant garde before 191 7, Kandinsky was misunder stood andshunned by artists such as Lissitzky, Malevich, Popova, Rodchenko, andTatlin, and was ignored or condemned by theleftist critics such as Boris Arvstov, Gan, andPunin. How saddened Kandinsky must have been by Punin's review ofhisbook Tekst khudozhni/za (An Artist's Text) of 1918:
Kandinsky writes seriously and sincerely. . . . But that has absolutely nothing to do with painting.... I protest inthe strongest terms against Kandinsky's art. .. all his feelings. his colors are lonely. rootless and reminiscent offreaks. No, no! Down with Kandinsky! Down with himP8
When Kandinsky received the offer ofa teaching post at the Bauhaus, he could have had no Fig. 2 Visitors 10 lbe Exhibition ofSoviet Art, Tokyo, 1927. second thoughts, andheemigrated from Soviet Russia in December 1921. Although theInsti CbllgllllllndXondlnsky The reasons for the severance of relations tute ofArtistic Culture andtheRussian Academy Although many artists left Russia because ofthe between Chagall and Malevich were artistic of Artistic Sciences (which Kandinsky helped harsh material conditions just after 1917 and and emotional, notpolitical, andwe cancon to establish in 1921) owed much to his plan because ofa genuine alarm atBolshevik atroc clude that the omission of any reference to ning and foresight, although six Kandinsky ities, some, specifically Chagall andKandinsky, Malevich inChagall's memoirs conceals adeep paintings remained on view at theMuseum of left for much more private reasons that had seated personal enmity. No doubt, the sudden PainterlyCulture in Moscow until atleast 1925, little todo with thepolitical andsocial Revolu appearance in Vitebsk of the uncouth, robust although many young artists spoke ofhim with tion. Chagall-from the moment he arrived Malevich must have pricked the self-esteem of esteem, Kandinsky left noschool, nodisciples, back in Russia in 1917-failed to win the Chagall, then Gubernatorial Plenipotentiary for no movement in his homeland. lake Chagall, supportofthe avant-garde. InAugust 1918 he Art Affairs. IS Chagall returned to Vitebsk in Kandinsky could notbe a prophet in hisown was appointed director oftheVitebsk Popular December 1919, buthe left thetown finally in country: hisfellow artists denied him that. ArtInstitute andat once promoted an art that May 1920, and left Russia for lithuania inJuly "would tum abruptly away from the compre ofthesame year. Berlln--SteptnotberofRussllln Cltles l 9 hensible,"!' arguing that a new, proletarian Kandinsky's departure from Russia, like Kandinsky's move to Germany was only oneof art did nothave tobe narrative or even figura Chagall's, was motivated more by hurt artistic thousands ofsuchemigrations from Russia in Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 tive. But despite hisadvocacy ofamore abstract pridethan by any disenchantment in theforce the early I920s. The Berlin of 1918-23 was style, Chagall was considered passe by the of socialism. Even though Kandinsky was very like a huge railroad station. Refugees from more radical Malevich, who joined theInstitute active in education, research, and museum Russia andfrom Hungary (the Hungarian Soviet faculty in September 1919. The immediate reform within the organization known as IZO Republic fell in August 1919 after only six result was asharp division ofloyalties within the NKP (Visual ArtsSection ofthePeople's Com months) flocked into Berlin, and by 1922 the Instinne, some colleagues supporting Chagall, missariat for Enlightenment) from 19]8 until Russian population alone was estimated at others Malevich, andstill others rejecting both. 1921, hewas never close totheextreme trends 100,000. Inaddition tothepermanent emigres, Despite pleas to stay, Chagall resigned his oftheavant-garde ("We took nopartin this," there was a large number of privileged tran directorship in November ]9]9 and left for affirms Nina Kandinsky in her book) .I b Symp sients and temporary visitors such as Natan Moscow. He laterdescribed that episode: tomatic of Kandinsky's comparative isolation Altman, Iosif Chaikov, Ilia Ehrenburg, Ussitzky, was hisuneasy position attheMoscow Institute Shterenberg, and Viktor Shklovsky, who trav I shan't besurprised if, after I have been of Artistic Culture which opened under his elled on Soviet passports and who did not absent for a long time, my town obliterates chairmanship in May 1920. Kandinsky com intend tosettle outside the Soviet Union (FIg. 3J. every trace of me and forgets me and piled an elaborate research plan for theInsti Consequently, the most diverse personalities, forgets the man who put his own paint tute, but most members--and they included ideas, and events were encountered in Berlin brushes aside, fretted, suffered, and took the all the leading avant-garde artists-rejected in the early 1920s: Alexei Tolstoi and Andrei trouble to sow the seeds ofArtthere, who Kandinsky's approach, questioning hisempha Bely, Lev Zak and Puni, the anachronistic dreamt of transforming ordinary houses sis on the role of intuition, the subjective Zhar-ptitsa (Fire-Bird) (Fig. 4) andtheCon into museums andthe common man into element, and the occult sciences. To artists structivist Veshch/Gegenstand/Objet (FIg. 5), a creator. And then I understood that no who were already doubting thevalidity of ab the exhibition of Konstantin Korovin at the man isa prophet inhis own country.Ii stract art and who were tending towards a Galerie Carl Nicolai in 1922 andthe one-man
Filii 1981 217 show of Puni at Der Sturm in \921 (Fig. 6), prise system, German industry andinvestment tion. l3 In April 1922 an entire evening was thecabarets such asDer Blaur Vogel (Fig. 7), moved into Russia: Soviet influence in Berlin devoted toa debate concerning the Constructivist and Alexander Tairov's Chamber Theatre on was, therefore, ofvital economic andpolitical journal Veshch, atwhich its editors, Ehrenburg tour in 1923. As Chagall said ofthosedays: importance. Viewed in this light, the famous and Lissitzky, were forced to repulse bitter exhibition ofmodern Russian artattheGalerie attacks by anti-Constructivists, including their After the war, Berlin had become a kind of van Diemen in Berlin in 1912 (Figs. 9 and own publisher Alexander Shreider. Among those caravansary where everyone travelling be 10) emerges moreasa Soviet political gesture who attended the evenings at the Haus der tween Moscow and the West came together. than as an altruistic endeavor to disseminate Ktinste were Alexander Archipenko, Bely, Nikolai ... In the apartments round the Bayrische culture. That is why Anatolii Lunacharsky, Soviet Berdiaev, Serge Charchoune, Romanjakobson, Platz there were as many samovars and Minister ofEnlightenment, was very pleased to Gabo, Puni, Maiakovsky, and Boris Pasternak. theosophical and Tolstoyan countesses as see that thegreatest success ofthe exhibition Reference to Veshch touches onthe complex there had been inMoscow.... inmy whole (in spite of its low attendance) 1I was "first and often politically ambiguous role that the life I've never seen so many wonderful andforemost andwithout any doubt itspolitical emigre press played inRussian Berlin. Although rabbis or so many Constructivists as in success. Even those who are hostile towards it Veshch was printed in the emigre house Skythen, Berlin in 1922. l o assert-not without much spluttering-that owned by Shreider, itwas not ananti-Bolshevik onceagain theSoviet government hasdemon organ, andthe note that appeared on the back Paradoxically, inspite ofthelarge colony of strated itsdiplomatic capabilities inorganizing pages of both issues ('The Publishing-House emigres, thenew Soviet state enjoyed thesym this exhibition."II In the same way, Soviet Skythen plays nopartin the actual compilation pathy ofthenew Weimar Republic. On both an visitors to Berlin, not in the least Ehrenburg of Veshch") confirmed the hostility between its ideological anda cultural level thetwo nations and Lissitzky, might be regarded as political anti-Bolshevik printer and its pro-Bolshevik shared common ground. For example, both emissaries dispatched to gain international editors. Undoubtedly, it was more than Lis wished to establish a relationship between the goodwill rather than assimple cultural attaches. sitzky's eulogy of the machine aesthetics and
._ . .----""'--__--_-_-_.-._-. -_ - -_-----0_-_...--.. -_ ____._ 0'------_. ~ CH~CCTBO 06 EOTBEHHOOT
Fig. 3/osifChaikov, Untitled Construction, Fig. 4 Cover ofthefirst number ofjournal Fig. 5 Pagefromjournal Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 1922. Present whereabouts unknown. Zhar-ptitsa, Berlin, 1922. Cover design bySergei Veshch/Gegenstand/Objet, Berlin, 192} Chekhonin. Design byEI Lissitzky.
working-classes and art and both felt that How did Russian art affect the German the international style that caused the writer radical politics andradical artmade a reason public? Where did it manifest itself in Berlin Bely to describe Lissitzky and Ehrenburg as able combination. Naturally, there was a dif and other cities? Russian artists and writers "masks oftheAntichrist" (the Bolsheviks being ference in styles favored by the two regimes: tended to settle inwell-defined areasofBerlin, for many Russians a diabolical force). 2. for IZO NKP "new art" meant Suprematism forthemost partneartheNoUendorfplatz, and An art journal ofa very different order, but and Tatlin's reliefs (Fig. 8), while for the there is little evidence for assuming that the also Russian and published concurrently in Arbeitsrat it meant Expressionism. Even so, German public interacted at all intensively Berlin, was theelegant Zhar-ptitsa (Fire-Bird). both regimes, thanks totheir belief inimminent with thisnew ethnic neighborhood. Still, there IfVeshch (subtitled "Internationale Rundschau universal revolution, thought in terms of an were many opportunities for cultural inter der Kunst der Gegenwart") aspired todevelop international style, one that would be monu chang~es, th~,exttibitions, publishing an international movement, then Zhar-ptitsa mental and synthetic. At the same time, this houses, publications, and artists' studios. A (subtitled "Russische Monatsschrift fur Kunst cultural rapprochement between the Soviet favorite meeting place was theHaus derKtinste und Literatur") concerned itself with the na Union andtheWeimar Republic disguised other, attheCafe Leon, a kind ofBerlin Cafe Rotonde tional traditions ofOld Russia andsought toup morepragmatic needs foreconomic andtech atwhich many memorable events took place in holdtheconcept ofgood taste. Many oftheold nological agreements. As soon as Lenin imple 1922 and 1923. For example, Sergei Esenin World ofArtartists such asBakst andShukhaev mented his New Economic Policy (NEP) in gave poetry readings there, andPuni delivered were associated with Zhar-ptitsa andthe archi 1921, with thepartial return tothefree enter- a cycle oflectures on theVan Diemen exhibi- tecturallandscapist Georgii Lukomsky. (oneof 218 ArlJoumal Lissitzky's early influences) was its artistic States after it closed. Among these defectors should be members of Le Monde Artiste, this director. With articles on Bakst, the Russian were Sergei Konenkov andSomov. was soon modified, so that many Russian artists, ballet, Sudeikin, and the poetry of Konstantin Although Paris became themajor center for previously unconnected with theWorld ofArt, Balmont, to mention but a few, Zbar-ptitsa the Russian emigration after 1923, it did not joined the new society. The first exhibition of was a popular journal and enjoyed financial especially impress those Russian artists who Le Monde Artiste opened in Paris in june success. Ironically, its clientele was far more hadbeen close totheavant-garde. When Altman 1921 , and, in appearance, reminded visitors international than thatof Vesheh , and during arrived inParis in 1928 with Solomon Mikhoels of thecatholic World ofArt shows just before its six years of publication it could be pur and the State Jewish Theatre, he was shocked theGreat War: Bakst displayed his portraits of chased atWilenkin's in London, atBrentano's to find thatFrench artists were reinterpreting Ida Rubinstein and Anna Pavlova, Gudiashvili in New York, andat Kassian's in Buenos Aires. the classical tradition and that even Picasso showed hisGeorgian miniatures, Larionov his In its artistic orientation and in its layout, was reevaluating Ingres. This state of affairs costume designs for Chout, Shukhaev his Zhar-ptitsa advanced no further than «fin appealed, however, tothemany moderate and nudes, andSerafim Sudbinin hissculptures. A de-steele magazine, and, for that reason, it conservative Russian artists such as Benois, similar eclecticism was evident at thesecond appealed to those who yearned for the peaceful Ivan Bilibin, Chekhonin, andSomov, who took andlastexhibition of Le Monde Artiste held at Russia ofyesteryear. upresidence in Paris inthe1920s andharmo Bernheim jeune, Paris, in 1927. More than nized with their cult of Mir iskusstva and anything else, these exhibitions demonstrated To say "I'm in Paris" is to say ApoOon. 27 Their gentle retrospectivism, their thatParis was a center ofeverything anda city "I'm nowbere"25 restrained elegance expressed itself inthe exhi of anonymity-something that prompted sev Although Berlin was theprimary destination of bitions such as the Exposition d'Art Russe eral Russian artists toreturn home toRussia in Russian artists and literati just after the Revo (932) organized by theParisian Russians, in the 1930s. lution, it was not the only one. As mentioned theirbookdesigns (Fig. 11), andin theirart Even though the more innovative Russian above, a number ofartists left Russia via Tillis, journals. Even the most avant-garde of these artists in Paris in the 1920s-such as Altman
Fig. Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 Fig. 6 Ivan Puni Exhibition, Der Sturm Gallery, Berlin, February 1921. 7 Cover forprogram ofDer Blaue Vogel, Berlin, 1922. Designed by Kseniia Bogu/avskaia.
proceeding to Constantinople, Sofia, Athens, journals-Sergei Romov's lJdar (Blow) of (Fig. 12), Robert Falk, and Redko-were and then Paris; some artists such as David 1922-23-advocated Cubism as the latest dissatisfied with the French return to more Burliuk, Varvara Bubnova, andPalmov settled artistic development and completely ignored conventional artistic values, their own work in japan for longer or shorter periods. How Constructivism and industrial design. Conse soon expressed a similar conservatism. In ever, after theattraction ofBerlin waned inthe quently, itsaesthetic orientation was typified by Russia these artists had been associated with early 1920s, Paris andthen New York became itsparticular concentration on Braque, Derain, theavant-garde, butthey soon ceased toexper the major cities for the Russian emigration. and Lhote and by itsparticular choice of Rus iment and, like their French colleagues, re Several important artists converged in New sian artists, i.e. jacques Lipchitz (notGabo) , turned to a simpler, figurative art. Perhaps for York in 1923-24 either on theirown initiative Constantin Terechkovitch (notKandinsky) . thisvery reason , they didnotdistinguish them or under the auspices of the grand Russian Symptomatic ofthemore conservative, more selves inFrench artistic circles--they lost those ArtExhibition which theSoviets organized at academic mood of Parisian cultural life in the very qualities of exaggeration, vitality, and the Grand Central Palace in 1924.21' This 1920s was the fact that, in March 1921, a energy thatthe French hadcome to expect of showing of modern Russian art (excluding World of Art society (Le Monde Artiste) was Russians. In spite of publicity in the French abstract art), directed by Igor Grabar andIvan founded there by Prince Alexandre Shervashidze press, in spite of monographs published in Troianovsky, served as a convenient pretext andLukomsky. Although the initial understand Paris ,2M artists such as Altman and Redko for certain artists to accompany it from the ingwas that only original World ofArt members never integrated with themainstream of Pari Soviet Union-and then to remain intheUnited (i.e. theDiaghilev/8enois group of1898-19(6) sian artistic life. Beckoned by false promises
Fall 1981 119 Fig. Bttan Puni, Still-Life with Coffee Pot, 1922, oiloncanvas. Present whereabouts unknown.
Fig. 10 Pbotograph ofNatan Altman at Die Erste Russische Kunstausstellung,Berlin, 1922. Fig. 9 HI Lissitzky, Designforthe cover oftbe exhibition catatogfor Die Erste Russische Kunstausstellung, Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 watercolor, 23 x 16ems. Moscow. Treliakov Gallery. of cultural freedom and material abundance, from Soviet Russia, and from 1930 until the mistake of their predecessors andreturn, de Altman, Falk, Gudiashvili, Redko-who had 19605 legal emigration was virtually closed.w ceived, tothemotherland, only toface acrueler never renounced their Soviet citizenship--re Only in exceptional circumstances, as in the exile. E~ turned to Soviet Russia in themid-1930s. But case of the writer Evgenii Zamiatin,·il were for them and many like them, this was an Soviet intellectuals able to leave for the West. Notes irreversible and tragic step towards an even During the Stalin regime, many artists, including 1Of particular importance is the book by Robert harsher emigration. Alexander Drevin, Falk, Alexander Shevchenko, Williams, Culture in Exile. Russian Emigres andNadezhda Ddaltsova were exiled from Mos in Germany 1881-1941, Ithaca, 1972- Conclusion cow and Leningrad (or at least advised to 2 Exhibitions ofthe Russian Avant-Garde ofthe In 1927, while curating anexhibition ofRussian leave) andspent long periods inSoviet Central 19605 and early 19705 were especially prone to artinJapan, the critic Punin wrote the following Asia. j 2Now, thethird wave ofRussian emigres such eclecticism. See, for example, the catalog lines toGoncharova: "As far asart is concerned, is building a new culture in Paris, Jerusalem, of the exhibition Avantgarde 1910 -1930 things arenowatacomplete standstill in Russia. and New York. Many of these recent emigre Osteuropa at the Akademie der Kiinste, West There's hardly any new strength, and only artists are disoriented and often feel slighted Berlin, 1967, and thecatalog ofthe exhibition scorn for theold. Generally speaking, people that the West does notrecognize their talent. 1/ contribulo rus» a/Je avanguardie p/aslicbe just aren't up to art."29 Sad to say, Punin's But let us hope that this new generation of at the Galleria del Levante, Milan, 1964. The observation remained true of Soviet art for artists-Vagrich Bakhchanian, Vitaly Komar, concept oftheRussian Avant-Garde continues many years. By thetime Punin wrote this letter, Alexandr Melamid, Ernst Neizvestny, Lev Nuss tobe used in its broadest sense at auctions of it was already becoming difficult to emigrate berg, Yakov Vinkovetsky-will notrepeat the modern Russian art and books at Sotheby
220 ArtjOllrtllll 20 E. Roditi, "Entretien avec Marc Chagall," Preuoes. Paris, 1958, February, No. 84, 27. 21 Georgii Lukomsky, in his review ofthe 1922 exhibition, commented that his admission ticket bore the number 1697 when he viewed theexhibition onitsfifteenth day: "That's not much. 15,000 people visited the 'World ofArt' in Paris within two weeks" (G. Lukomsky, "Russkaia ~stavka v Berline," Argonatty, Petrograd, 1923, No. 1,68). 22 A. Lunacharsky, "Russkaia vystavka v Berline" in his collection ofarticles Iskuss/l'O i retoliut siia. Moscow, 1924, 177. 23 Puni's lectures formed the basis of his book Sorremennaia zbioopis which was published by Frenkel, Berlin in 1923. AFrench edition, L'Art Contemporain. was also published by Frenkel in 1922. 24 This was reported in Veshch. 1922, No.3, 21 under thetitle "Krestiny Veshchi." Fig. 11 Ivan Puni, illustration for the children's book Tsrefen (Pollen), 1922. 25 A, Bely, Mezhdu dl'ukh rel'Oliu/sii, Leningrad, 1934, 140. emigres in art and literature in Paris of the 26For information on this exhibition see Marie 19205 see the special issues of TriQuarterly Turbow Lampard, "Sergei Konenkov and the entitled "Russian Literature and Culture in 'Russian Art Exhibition' of1924," SOlie/ Union. the West 1922 - 1972" (Evanston, lllinois, Arizona State University, Ill, Parts 1-2, 1980, 1973, Nos. 27and28). 70-88. 7 From a conversation conducted with Mme 27 The reference isto the two art journals-Mir Boguslavskaia by Herman Berninger andJohn iseusstoa (World ofArt) published under the E. Bowlt at her residence outside Paris in the editorship of Sergei Diaghilev and Alexandre summer of1971. Benois between 1898 and 1904, andApollon 8 Gabo ina conversation conducted with himby (Apollo) published under the editorship of Milka Bliznakov and John E. Bowlt at his Sergei Makovsky between 1909 and 1917 [1918). residence inConnecticut inthesummer 1972. Both journals were published inSt. Petersburg. 9 A. Levinson, "Somov," Zhar-ptitsa, Berlin, 28See, for example, Waldemar George and lIya 1921, No.3, 20. Ehrenburg, Natan Altman. Paris, 1933 (in 10 For information on Burliuk and Palmov in Yiddish): Maurice Raynal, Lado Goudiachlili. this context see Kazuo Yamawaki, "Burliuk Paris, 1925: A. Lounatcharsky andAndre Sal and Palmov-Russian Futurists in Japan," mon, Redko. Paris 1930. Pilotis, Hyogo, 1978, No. 28, 4- 5 (inJapa 29Letter from N. Punin toN. Goncharova dated 7 nese). June 1927 and postmarked Yokohama, Japan. 11 For some information on Tiflis in 1919 see Collection Institute ofModern Russian Culture Fig. 12 NatanAltman, Untitled (sometimes I.P. Dzutsova and N.A. Elizbarashvili, "S.Yu. at Blue Lagoon, Texas. calledVarnishj, 1921, varnish andhirch bark. Sudeikin vGruzii," Muzei, Moscow, 1980, No. 30One of the last of the avant-garde artists to Present whereabouts unknown. 1,23-26. leave Soviet Russia was Pavel Mansurov who Downloaded by [Washburn University] at 00:12 14 October 2014 12 Quoted in Dzutsova and Elizbarashvili, ibid., emigrated from Leningrad to Italy in 1928. 23. 31 Zamiatin wrote a letter to Stalin in 1931 Parke Bernet in London andNew York. 13 M. Shagal (Chagall), "0 Vitebskom narodnom asking for permission to emigrate. To the 3 The only member oftheRussian Avant-Garde khudozhestvennom uchilishche," Shkola i surprise ofmany, Stalin complied with Zamia who was actively engaged inpolitical agitation revoliutsiia, Vitebsk, 1919, No.2, 7. tin'srequest. before 1917 andwho was imprisoned for this 14 Marc Chagall, My Life, London, 1965, 143. 32Some idea oftheextent ofthis exile ofRussian was Vladimir Maiakovsky (August 1909 until 15 This ishow Chagall signed himself. See, for ex artists to Central Asia under Stalin can be January 1910). ample, his declaration "Ot Vitebskogo podotdela gained by consulting the biographies in the 4 Particular mention should bemade ofNadezhda Izobrazitelnykh iskusstv," Iskusstvo kommuny, book Stareisbie sove/skie khudfJzhniki 0 Sred Dobychina, whose so-called Art Bureau in St. Petrograd, 1919,30 March, 1. ne; Aziii Katkaze by M.B. Miasina, Moscow, Petersburg (operative 1912 -18) dealt inworks 16 Nina Kandinsky, Kandinsky und ich, Munich, 1973. by Altman, Puni, andOlga Rozanova. .1976,88. 5 For more information on the position of the 17 V. Kandinsky, Institut khudozhestvennoi kul Jewish artist in Russia just before andafter the tury (programma) (920). Reprinted in 1. Revolution see Avram Kampf, "In Quest ofthe Matsa et al., eds., Sovetskoe iskusstvo za 15 Jewish Style in theEra oftheRussian Revolu let, Moscow andLeningrad, 1933, 131. tion,"Journal ofJewishArt, Y, 1978,48- 75. 18 N. Punin, "0 knigakh," Iskusstvo kommuny, See also Igor Golomshtok, "Sovratiteli iii 1919, No.9, 3- souchastniki?" 22, Tel-Aviv, 1979, No.6, 19 Many Russian emigres referred toBerlin asthe 160-81. "stepmother of Russian cities" in the early 6 For some information on the role of Russian 19205.
Fall 19S1 221 AConversation with Vladimir Stenberg
Alma H. Law, a tbeaterblstorian and professional translator, bas published widely on Russian andEastern European tbeatre andstage design.
The conversation below.is drawn from a number oftalks with Vladimir Stenberg recorded over the past several years. I first went to see him in October 1978. At the time I was gathering material on Meierkhold's production ofTbe Magnanimous Cuckold andwas followingupa clue tothe effect that Meierkholdhad first approached the Stenberg brothers to design the set for the production. Since myfirst visit, I have returned manytimes to thatextraordinary apartment studio hidden away on the top floor ofa building onone ofthebusiest boulevards in Moscow where Stenberg has lived since the late I930s. Our conversations have ranged over many topics from childhood memories toStenberg's tenyears ofassociation with Tairov at theKamerny Theatre. Today, Stenberg (Fig. I} iseighty-two years old, and the only voice remaining tospeak firsthand for thatfearless band ofavant-garde artists,among then Rodchenko, Tatlin, Popova, Stepanova, and Vesnin, who set out in the years just before and after 1918 to revolutionize Russian art. What comes through more than anything else in talking Fig. I Vladimir Stenberg in his studio, 1978. with him isthe sense ofenthusiasm and optimism these artists possessed atthat time.The world was, and had threechildren.I distinguish the hand of one son's work from
Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 indeed, their oyster, and even though many of My father lived andworked in Moscow and the other's. them were hardly more than youngsters-t-or Iwanted toentera technical school. Iwas very When wehadto do perspective, tostudy all perhaps for that very reason-they were fearless fond of technology, mechanics, andso forth .! that, wetoldtheteacher that our father was an in taking onanyandallchallengers. A.H.L But conditions were such that I had to enter artistandhe hadtaught usa little. The teacher Stroganov, theart school. My father worked as gave us a test assignment and we did it. He Alma Law: Let's begin, if you're agreeable, a painter, and from thetime I was sixyears of said, "That isn't the way it's done. The plan simplywith somebiographical information. age, we had pencils, brushes, and the likein should be at the bottom, and at the top, the our hands. We began todraw very early. Well, representation of that perspective... But our Vladimir Stenberg: My father was bornin like children, they see their father drawing, father had another method: the plan on top Sweden in the town of Norrkoplng and he and so we drewtoo. And here's what's inter and underneath the representation. Because finished theAcademy inStockholm with a gold esting aboutour father, When wewere going whenyou're working, it's more convenient to medal. Then he was invited to come here to to school, wewould bring home our drawings have at the bottom what is most important. Moscow to do some kindofwork. At thattime attheendoftheyear, My brother, Georgii, and Therefore wehadittheother way around. When 118961 therewasan exhibition inYuzovka I would play a trick and switch some of the the teacher asked, "Why do you do it that now it's called Donetsk-so therein Yuzovka drawings. But my father always knew. We would way?" weanswered, "Ourfather taught us that my father worked onanexhibition. Later atthe sit together and draw figures. Everything. And way," "Well, of course," he said, "with for Nizhninovgorod fairhedidsome kindofwork. it seemed to us that we had everything the eigners, they have things theother way around." In Moscow he met my mother. They married same. But nevertheless our father would still Here isanother story ofour f~er's method,
221 Artjoumal how he taught us. In Petrovsky Park, where Stroganov School. There were professors and others!" What then? This excited them, so there Dynamo Stadium is now, there was a summer teachers. They even hadsome kind ofgovern were arguments. Some were for us, some restaurant. Our father did his work there. ment rank,andthepupils were like university against us. The matter ended with classes being Housepainters were there painting those win students. Then came 1917, and in 1918, called offonthatday. No onestudied anything. dows, andour father sentusthere towork for Stroganov became the Free State Art Studios, All the teachers readthe proclamation too practice. He said, "Go there tomorrow ateight without uniforms. S All that was abolished. They andalsoreacted. They gathered anddiscussed inthemorning." But before we went, heshowed organized the school differently. Fedorovsky, what kind of prank it was, and what did it uswhat we hadtodo: "Think about what you Konchalovsky, Yakulov, Tatlin, Osmerkin,s and mean. At four.tn the afternoon a meeting was have to take with you todothework." Well, we soforth were masters, andwe were theappren called in the assembly hall. Everyone came, went. We took big brushes and little ones for tices-their students. Each master ina work andwehadtoanswer forourprank. The chair where theglass was. We took rags, a scraper, shophadabout thirty, or let'ssay, forty tofifty called forspeakers. Then those activists, young andso forth, so that we could puta ragonthe apprentices. fellows, began tospeak, allthose very appren other end of the brush and wipe thewindow And Mayakovsky, Kamensky, Khlebnikov, tices who hadbeen so upset. And we, too. They where itwas smeared. Inshort, we worked, we these writers often came to the Free State Art gave us thefloor. Sowe explained what it was tried hard. About ten or eleven, our father Studios to talk with us, and to read their all about. Then it was theturnoftheteacher arrived. He looked at usandlaughed andthen works. Well, ofcourse, they infected everyone, masters. One after another they began tospeak. he said, "To hell with such work!" That was so to speak, with theirmethod ofbehavior. 7 "Well, of course," they said, "thatopening is the only expression he hadof thatkind. "To At one time we were living together with very impertinent, and an impertinent text. It hell," he said, "with such work!" Medunetsky.e That was in 1918. Iwas eighteen, should be done, but more politely. It's an art There was some thick paper lying on the my brother, seventeen, and Medunetsky also school, after all."Sotheteachers said, "Well, table. He took it,toreoffa piece, laid itonthe seventeen. When we got home after going around they're right, after all. How isitpossible tocopy g1ass-covered theglass with that paper-and to alltheworkshops toseewhat was going on, one's teacher? You'll get thirty Konchalovskys. with the big brush, did like this: one, two. wehadto make some kind ofresponse. Itwas That means Konchalovskys from Konchalov Then heturned thepaper: three, four. "There," all wrong. At Tatlin's they were making those sky. And further, what then?" hesaid,"that'show ithastobedone. No rags, sculptures outofsamovar metal. At Konchalov Well, in short, we felt cramped working in nolittle brushes, nothing." He said, "First, you sky's, everything was like Konchalovsky. At that place, in those State Art Studios, and we have to think, then do.lfyou're going towork Fedorovsky's, like Fedorovsky. Well, to make often went toallsortsofdebates, meetings. We like that, it'll take six months. This isa summer it short, we composed a text. Just as Mayakov spoke, and often organized exhibitions. We'd restaurant. It must be done in two or three sky often said, "Me andPushkin ... ," we had make several works and then organize an days. Like that." So it was clearto us. I mean, suchan opening too. We often changed it,but exhibition, somewhere in a lobby, or on a before doing, onemust ... We hadthought of themeaning was always this: that we three, the staircase. Always with some kind ofproclama everything, butwe were thinking in thewrong most remarkable painters born on theearth's tion and besides, without permission. We'd direction as faras neatness went. He haditall sphere, proclaim ... Then there would bethe make some works, hang them up, then after neatandgood. Like that.' text. So here, too,was aproclamation like this: awhile we'ddo it in another place. The thing When westudied atStroganov, we hada lot Down with the titans, Picasso, Gauguin, and was, when Mayakovsky, for example, spoke, onart andonthehistory ofart. Our father also others ofthese French artists. All those Impres there was the impression that he spoke not had books on style, on everything. We were sionists. Further on we wrote an address like only to the audience, to us, but that hisvoice already prepared so that for us all that was a this: No more manufacturing! It begins: "No and all his gestures flew over our heads, far repetition of what we'd already done. For more manufacturing Tatlins Konchalovskys away, maybe across allEurope toAmerica. He example, when we drew thefigure ofMichel Lentulovs ...."9 And we wrote a full list ofall spoke so powerfully, so energetically. We angelo's David, or the figure of Apollo, we our teachers. No periods or commas, nothing. couldspeak, too, butnotaspoets, we couldn't were no longer interested in the usual poses, The signatures: Stenberg Medunetsky Stenberg. read our works. But when we showed our that is, there stands the figure, everyone sits Now, where to hang it? In theschool there work, we always accompanied it by all those and draws it at a great distance. We would sit was a large lobby on theleft, andontheright, proclamations. close to the figure andlookat it from below, coatrooms, andstraight ahead inthecomer, a At that time there was a State Purchasing with a strong raccourci. The same ifwedrew a huge window. On theotherwall, a mirror and Commission. They bought works from each plaster head. We did the same thing, lighting a landing. Awide, wide staircase tothesecond artist. They would buy one from a sculptor, also from somewhere below. That's how we floor. That was the only entrance, so all the one from a painter, and so forth. When we Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 did all kinds of tricks during our studies. It's teachers, allthe masters andapprentices had showed our work for the first time to the true, some of the teachers didn'twelcome it, to pass. We got to school early, a half hour Purchasing Commission andsigned it,"Vladi butwewere clever. We said there wasn't aseat before classes, and hung the poster while no mir Stenberg, Georgii Stenberg," they said, and we had to sit there, but then they under one was there. Then we stood and watched "No, only one,we'll take only one. Two arenot stoodthatwewere being tricky andwe were what would happen. allowed." But how can it be,onework? After interested insuchpoints. The apprentices began to pass and they all, there are two of us! We each have an Parallel with Stroganov School we worked read, at the very beginning, this: "We three, appetite, desires. We began signing ourworks, inthetheatre. At first we worked inthe operetta themost remarkable bornon this sphere." All on one "V. Stenberg," on another, "G. Sten theatre, then in other theatres. But we didn't of them, you know were filled-some with berg." They'd give thirty thousand for paintings, gotowork assome student-artists, asassistants envy, some with disdain. Imagine, thethree of and for three-dimensional sculpture works tothestage designer. We went tothe theatre only them! Well there were all sorts, and each they'd give fifty thousand roubles. So we did to execute some assigned work. Take reacted inhisown way. But thenext thing was, three-dimensional works too. And something Fedorovsky, or another artist, say, Kazokhin;4 "Enough manufacturing!" And what do you would go through every time for sure. If not allthestudents dreamed ofbeing his assistant. know, his favorite teacher, he went to him to one thing, then another. In most cases con But wesaid, "No, we'll go towork inthetheatre learn, andsuddenly-a-enough manufactUring! structions andalso colored things. when they askusasartists." And we took partin And, "Down with thetitans!" They adored the There we hadtofill ina questionnaire. Who exhibitions, organized exhibitions too. French, French painting. And now, "Down we were, a university student, pupil, or artist. At that time, Stroganov was the Imperial with the titans! Picasso, Gauguin, and the We wrote "artist." We didn't write that we Fall 19S1 223 werestudents because we didn'tbring student ingthem with a bundle ofmawkish narco There was the war of 1914, so sometimes a work. What the teacher in class set, we drew. sis: artandbeauty. person who was finishing his studies wouldn't But we also did our own compositions, our The essence oftheearth, man's brain, submit his diploma painting. From 1914 to fantasy--everything our own-so we wrote is being wasted to fertilize the morass of '1919, therewere a lotlike that. We called them "artist." And our things were accepted like all aestheticism. "eternal students." They didn'tsubmit because theother artists. The price for everything was Weighing the facts onthescales ofan ofthewar. If a student had already received the thesame. honest attitude toward the inhabitants of title "artist," they'd send him to a military Well, our comrades in school saw what we the earth, the Constructivists declare art school to make camouflage, or to thefront. So were submitting and they also began to work and its priests outside the law. 10 at the Stroganov School from 1914 to 1919, for the Commission. But we warned them that therewere nograduations. forstudents thepricewas fifteen thousand, not And here are the signatures: "K. Medunetsky, In 1919, a groupofartists decided tosetup thirty. We warned them not to write that they V. Stenberg, G. Stenberg." The point is the an exhibition. We announced ourselves as were studying. Well, some were wary. What if style ofthatWriting. Then there were poets like artists, printed upposters andinvitations, and the thing didn't go? It was better to be sure of Kamensky, Mayakovsky, Khlebnikov. Especially found a place for ourselves, a large circular fifteen thousand. But we, never. We were, in therewas one, Kruchenykh, whose words were hall, a sculpting workshop. There wesetupan general, very sure somehow. You know, even such expressions as: tyr, pyr, myr. II Words, exhibition and invited all the members of the provocatively sure. But they were afraid and you see, that issounds that don't mean anything. government, artists, andso forth. There were signed themselves as students. And what hap They couldonly express some kindofsound. ten of us, even fewer, andlater a viewing was pened? The Commission bought from halfof Therefore we wrote in language like that be arranged, a kindofclosed exhibition, atwhich them, therewere aboutten, andfrom half they cause we were affected, as it were, by that Lunacharsky and the Commissar of the Arts, didn't buy. And they bought them for only period, the performances by these poets, and David Petrovich Shterenberg, were present. 13 fifteen thousand. But we submitted two works so forth. Sothen Lunacharsky recognized usasartists each, both sculpture. and flat, and they took Now whom did we call aesthetes? Those -there wasa Commission from Narkompros both. In short, our pockets were full, and in artists, those non-objectivists, abstractionists -and they called us the "FirstGroup of Red theothers' there was nothing. We said, "What's who made works fornoreason. We called our Artists." Some artists from those ten were the matterwith you? Why didn'tyou write that works "laboratory work." Actually we believed invited toreceive diplomas. But we didn'tgoto you were artists? After all, you created your in this,andcorrectly, I think. Whatever wedid get them. An artist doesn't need a diploma own works. Those aren't student works that further-if you take thetheatrical productions, because an artist works allhislife, exhibiting, you did in class. You made them specially for if you take the movie posters-all were built and that,so to speak,is hisdiploma. It's only this, didn't you?" "Yes." "Well, then, why on thatsame principle.'! that is,on Construc anengineer who needs adiploma, orsomebody write student?" tivism. There was a short period when we likea doctor. We weren't afraid ofthecivil war Inshort,ouryouth passed very stormily. We made ceramics. All kinds of ware and other because wewere already making posters forthe began to work early, andearly weunderstood things. Nowadays, they make some object and front. When wewere proclaimed "Red Artists," everything. We always had friends, good friends. somehow it's notcomfortable to take hold of. we were given an exemption. But my brother There werepeople twenty years older than us Look! One finger here, two fingers.... You and I didn't need it since we were Swedish who recognized us because of our work. At see? Take a teapot. The teapot is hotand the citizens.':' Besides, we were serving, making that time it was somehow different. Now it's cover istoo. Today ourcontemporary designers postersforthefrontandfortheliquidation of considered this way: twenty years-that's a makeitinthisform: hereisthelidandthereis illiteracy, andwedid allotherkinds ofwork. kid. But then, itwas different among theartists. the whole pot. And when it becomes hot, you This continued until 1923. There werefour They looked at who didwhat. They judged on can't take it with your fingers. To pick it up exhibitions of Obmokhu.t? And yes, when we the quality of the works. And then, of course, with something is impossible too. Or here is were thinking of a name, someone proposed those exhibitions. They gave a person animage, another teapot. When you begin to pour, the "Soul Hole." Soul hole? What's that? What's a so to speak, who andwhat he was. lid flies offand into theglass. soul, anda hole to boot? Sowewere very inven Sotime passed, andtherewas an exhibition At thattime, Malevich andsome other artists tive. Someone saidwecould callit"theSociety at the Cafe of Poets on Gorky Street. Then it worked on ceramics forawhile. But they made ofYoung Artists." Allourinstitutions atthat time was Tverskaya Street. As with all our earlier it something like this: here are paintings, say usedsyllables fortheirnames: "Narkompros," exhibitions, we accompanied it with a kind of some kindof stripes or circles, andwhat they for example. So we made "Obmokhu." That proclamation that we put up just before the did was to translate them to a plate or saucer. was right andgood, andat thesame ittime was
Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 opening sothat itwouldn't bepublished earlier. That somehow didn't take into account the obscene--the last two letters especially. So Itwent likethis [VS readsfrom thecatalog] : form or anything. And these paintings people that's how Obmokhu gotstarted. We found a weresupposed tohang onthewall instead ofa place, weproved wehad permission, andwe all Constructivists tothe world. Constructivism landscape. When a portrait hangs, that's under worked well. But in 1923, this society broke up. will bring mankind topossess the maximum standable. It recalls something, gives emotion Everyone went offin his own direction. And we achievement ofculture with the minimum to a person. But such completely abstract tookup theatre. expenditure ofenergy. Every man born on things are unnecessary for an artist. There this sphere, before returning toits covering, were many such things--no reason, no basic At: The Third Obmokhu Exhibition (Fig. 2) could master the shortest route tothe factory principles, nothing. For that you don't even in 1921, where wasit held? where the unique organism of earth is have to think. You can shut your eyes and fashioned. make it. At that time therewere painters who vs: There was a kindofsalon cafe onBolshaia To the factory ofcreators ofthe highest argued that itwas necessary. We had arguments. Dmitrovka Street and Kuznetsky Bridge. That's trampoline for the leap towards universal We spoke out sharply. We declared theirart, where theexhibition was, inthathall. Ithadan human culture. The name ofthis road is thatis,theartofthose priests, outside thelaw. all-glass ceiling. When we brought our con CONSTRUCTIVISM. We knew when we were studying atStroganov structions, Rodchenko and Ioganson's con The great seducers ofthe human breed that artists, ifthey had done well, were rewarded structions were already there on pedestals, -the aesthetes andartists-have demol with a trip abroad when they graduated. But and all were the sameheight. When they saw ished the stern bridges onthis road, replac- when we were finishing, itturned outdifferently. our stands, they said, "Listen, why didn'tyou
224 Artjournal YS: Sometimes we worked with texture, made them like a bas-relief. Inaddition, there were simple color constructions and there were spatial color constructions. They weren't simple colorconstructions ona flat surface like other artists made. We saw what other artists were doing and then tried todo things differently.
At: And the b~-reliefs, what were they like?
YS: How can I explain it to you? Well, if we were working ona surface, ifwe were working with texture, then we would use all kinds of things: grain or something else, some sawdust, and so forth. Also little pieces of veneer, say, pieces of wood, or metal. All this was on a plane. We also made things like this: on a plane and there would be a spiral going into space. And there was a corresponding colored background. Sowe hadcolorconstructions offour types: one, simple color constructions; two, color constructions involving texture; three, color Fig. 2 The Third Obmokhii""E.fhibition, May 1921. constructions that were like bas-reliefs; and four, those color constructions that involved perspective, that is, they were spatial. These were all lost in a fire. You see how lucky we were! Even intheBakhrushin Museum, allour works were there, andall were lost. Only some things were saved inourplace, some sketches, you know, preliminary drawings. And we even saved some photos ofmodels so that we could reproduce them. Right now I am working on recreating those works that distinguished us from otherartists.
At: Turning to the theatre, how didit happen thatMeierkhold invited you towork?
YS: He was attheexhibition attheCafe ofPoets and after thathe invited us to work. We knew him earlier, but he saw our work at that exhibition, so he invited us towork, to do the production ofThe Magnanimous Cuckold We were supposed tomeet with Meierkhold Fig. 3 Spatial apparatus, 1920-21. several days after reading theplay inorder to Photograph taken by Vladimir Stenberg in 1921. hear hiswishes. But we said, "No, we'd rather first think andwork outourown solution, and Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 tell us you were making stands like that?" We propose to you our solution." That way we answered, "What doyou mean? Aconstruction Fig. 4 Spatial apparatus, probably 1921. couldworkmorefreely. Inthree days, after we like this you have to show at one height, and Photograph taken by Vladimir Stenberg. had decided what we would do and how we thisone at a different height so, thatthey can would do it, we went to him. We didn't have belooked at."16 built on a large scale. Not, you see, as they any sketches, butwe took a sheet ofpaper with The next day or a couple of days later, usually didthen. The other artists made objects us and on the paperwe showed him what we Ioganson brought new stands andputhiscon ofvery small dimensions. But since this was an wanted t do. We made a drawing of that strucuons on them. He had, you see,a triangle exhibition, we thought itwasn't right to make composition and of those elements on which above and below (see Fig. 2). Rodchenko things likethat. You ought tomake thedimen the production should be built. Well, Meierk couldn't do that. He stretched wires andhung sions close to natural size. 17 hold liked it so much, he was so enchanted, his constructions on the wires. There were Everything we did was on a large scale. It andhelaughed so.Ingeneral, hewas like that four-eircles, hexagons, ellipses, andtriangles. was always like that. If you make a small when I got to know him better. He was an object, people gather and they interfere with amazingly infectious person. When he laughed, At: What kinds ofworks didyou exhibit? one another. But if you make a large object, everyone began laughing. you canlookat it from a distance. Well, some kind of connection with the vs: We exhibited constructions ofspatial appa theatre had to be worked outofficially. There ratusmade ofvarious materials (Figs. 3 and At: Sothen, therewere drafts andcolor con was some administrator there who proposed 4). We also displayed drafts of constructions structions? thatwe receive a percentage ofthebox office.
Fall 1981 225 But whatkindof per centcouldit be when a We weren'teven offended. If Popova didit,she greenhorn kids, sowehad toappear important. loaf of bread cost a million roubles at that did it. At the hearing it turned out that there We said, "Aleksandr Yakovlevich, we'll think time? Ourwish was to receive threeRed Army wasn't any plagiarism and that Popova was aboutit and tell you in threedays." After we'd rations, because the Red Army ration was a completely innocent. Meierkhold hadbeen so leftwethought maybe weshould gorightback stable thing, modest, but it would be fully enchanted by our proposal. Even when he and tellhimimmediately. enough to feed each of us for a month. We talkedto us he hadsaid, "Well, what I hadin So we began working for Tairov. In the askedfor it forthefull time we were working, mindI won't talkabout. Ilikethisvery much. " Institute, all the artists called the Kamerny an beginning when westarted. But it was delayed So, he didn'ttellher hispreliminary proposal academic theatre. Ingeneral, weConstructivists somehow. either and he gave her what wehadtold him. didn't recognize the theatre," so we toldour Once we met at the movie theatre-the The ideawas very simple: a mounting, a setof comrades that we were going to work in the theatrewas on Maly Dmitrovka. They showed stairsup, thechutefrom which thegrain runs theatre in order to carryit to the absurd. We those hit movies thereand we always went to down, andthesewings thatrotate. When those had that idea. But there wasn't any kind of the openings. There at the opening, when the wings rotated, then thewhole thing was already "absurd." We enjoyed the work. Our first audience was strolling in thelobby waiting for completely clear.The whole subject andall. l O production was The Ye//owJacketl6 (Fig.5). the show to start, we saw Meierkhold silting And she had done all that. So it turned outthat with a student ofhisoneitherside. We greeted Meierkhold had given her a theme, a task. She At: And you went abroad? You were in Paris? him from a distance. "Hello, Vsevolod Emile carried it out. She also liked it. Well, we would vich!" He asked, "Well, when will wehave the have done it differently, if we haddone it. But YS: We werein Paris in 1923. That was really maquene?" And Medunetsky made a gesture that's another matter. Everyone has his own someevent. Can you imagine? Five artists trav with his thumb and fingers like this, as if to style. l l elling with the Kamerny Theatre. Atroupe of say, how about the money, the pay, so to fifty, and five artistsP speak Well, several days after that wesuddenly At: And afterthe incident with The Magnani received a lettersaying that ifwedidn't bring mous Cuckold, you went to workforTairov? At: And thereinParisyou metPicasso. the maquene in three days, they would give it At the Kamerny Theatre?ll to anotherartist. They gave it to Popova. YS: Yes. There was a rumor in Moscow that At thepremiere alltheartists came, including YS: Then Tairov made us an offer. He told Picasso hadbecome a Realist. There was awar our former teacher, Yakulov. But Yakulovhad Vesnin to tell us he wanted usto dropby. And between the leftand right artists, between the turned from a teacher into our good friend Vesnin said to us, "Tairov wants you to make Constructivists and the Realists, that had been and weoften met andtalked with him. He was him a new emblem for the theatre." Well, going on since 1917. Suddenly in 1922, the always interested in us and we told him that Tairov was quitea diplomat andheonly asked rightists, that is the Realists, told us, "Your Meierkhold had invited us to work. Yakulov us to make an emblem. We went toseehim in king andgod, Picasso, has become a Realist. "28 was already working then, doing productions the evening during a performance. After the Well, ofcourse, alltheartists hung their heads, for the Kamerny Theatre.v He asked, "And Institute for Artistic Culture, we stopped in a that is the Constructivists, theleftists. And the what are you doing?" We answered, "The store to buy some wine. When we got to the others took heart. So when the artists found Magnanimous Cuckold," andtold him how we theatre, we went right into Tairov's study in out we were going abroad with the Kamerny wanted todo it. We even, maybe, sketched itfor our topcoats. Hehada wardrobe, with a sepa Theatre, they asked us to be sure to visit him, I don't remember exactly now. Well, and rate placebelow for rubbers. We tookoffour Picasso and verify ifthis was really so. thereat theopening, Yakulov suddenly spoke. topcoats-it wasautumn-hung them up,but When wearrived in Paris, Tairovwas already At that time in the theatre it was like this: we didn't have any rubbers. And Medunetsky there ahead of us. He had metwith Larionov when the performance ended, people didn't said, "Let's, instead of the rubbers, put the who hadearlier worked in the Kamerny Theatre, leave as now when everybody runs quickly to bottles ofwine there." We putthem there, my and Goncharova too, hiswife. 29 Larionov was the coatroom togettheircoats. They stayed in brotherandI. And Tairov saw it,ofcourse, and interested in who Tairov's artists were. When theauditorium to discuss theproduction. The said, "What kind of behavior is that, putting Tairov saidhisartists were theStenberg broth art historians, artists, sculptors, writers, actors bollles on the floor?" We told him wedidn't ers, right away Larionov said, "Oh, I've seen present in the auditorium all spoke out and have anyrubbersandso they werein place of their work in Berlin." Because you could gave theiropinions. And thegeneral audience, them. He said, "You shouldn't put bollles on travel from Paris to Berlin freely, as between too. They would go up on the stage and from the floor." We asked himthen ifwecould put Moscow and Leningrad. Larionov came to the the stage give theiropinions. Suddenly Yakulov them on the table. "Well, of course," he said. first performance, and after the performance
Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 went up to speak. He called Popova a "Soviet Soweput them on thetable andhe called and he looked for us in the theatre. He found us young lady," andsaidthat thesetdesign wasn't ordered some sandwiches from thebuffet. and tookusaroundParis, made usacquainted her work, that itwas plagiarism, andingeneral Sowebegan our talk. Well, it turned outhe with other artists, professors, and so forth. spokevery sharply. Such a fiery Armenian! wanted to have uswork forhim because inthe Parisat night! We didn't stay in justone cafe. At that time we were all members of the first ten years or so he hadhadmorethan ten We would drinka glass ofwine inone,then go Institute for Artistic Culture (INKhUK) in the artists. Almost twenty.l3 And he told us he on to the next and the next in order to see [Working) Group of Constructivists and were wanted forthe next tento twenty years to have everything. We met more people that way. good friends. Suddenly neither Popova nor one artistinthe Kamerny Theatre. We toldhim When wewould tell our names, all the artists Vesnin, who was her good friend, would greet there were three of us and that it was either would say, "Oh! We've seenyourwork" Be us. They shunned US. 19 Then a hearing ofour three or no one. He agreed and then he ex causeour works, of course, against theback peers wasorganized. Before thehearing what plained about the future, that the theatre was ground ofothers' paintings andscul~ur it was all about came out. It turned out that going abroadon tour, and thatwe,as artists, constructions ofmetal andsoforth-stood out. they had submitted a statement alleging that would gowith the theatre. From our group of We very carefully, cautiously toldLarionov we had persuaded Yakulov to speakand that thirteen artists, only one, Denisovsky, had been of our desireto visit Picasso and hesaid, "I'll he hadspoken atour request. That was ridicu abroad. That waswith Shterenberg toGermany arrange it!" It turned out that Larionov and lous,ofcourse,because afterall,hewas more with the exhibition in 1922. 24 So we were Goncharova worked for Diaghilev. Picasso than twenty years older than we were. How ready to give our agreement toTairov immedi also worked for him, andPicasso's wife, Olga couldweaskhimtosay thatwewere offended? ately. But we decided to hold off. We were KhokhIova, too.That is,itwas (Ill onetheatrical
226 Artjoumal Picasso gotvery interested andstayed until theopening. At eleven o'clock when theexhibit opened and people started coming in, well, everyone-the people engaged in art-they all greeted him. Everyone knew him. When they came up to greet him, he pointed at our model and demonstrated how you had to pull on it. He was very excitable. This got backto Tairov right away, of course, that Picasso had been explaining anddemonstrating toeveryone this model andourother works. (Our construe lions were exhibited there too, andsketches of costumes.) After this, fora month anda halfin Berlin, Tairov wouldn't talk tousat all.
At: How did you work with Tairov? Did you make proposals to him? Did you readtheplay and then present him with your ideas, or did you work itout together with him?
vs: Never together. With Tairov, we set the conditions. You understand, we couldn't doit together. Even with Medunetsky, our friendly Fig. 5 Set designed bythe Stenberg brothers andMedunetskyforthe production ofThe YellowJacket, association didn'tlastlong [they broke up in 1922. Painting madeby Vladimir Stenberg in the 1970s. 1924 following the production of The Storm (Fig. 6)], because from childhood my brother and I hadgrown uptogether.»
At: You always worked with your brother then?
VS: We always worked together, beginning in 1907. We did everything together. It was this way from childhood, because from the first grade my brotherand I studied together. The second year I was kept back because I was sicka lotandwhen my brother entered school we sat together at the same desk. It was that way until the end. There's nothing surprising in thatbecause wewere thesame size, brought up in one family, and by thesame system. We atealike andfollowed thesame work routine. If we, for instance, were decorating a square working inbadweather at night andI caught a cold, hecaught a coldtoo. If, by chance, Iwas going down thestreet alone andsaw something, some shoes I liked, I'd buy two pair. If my brother saw a shirt or something, he'd buy Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 two: onefor himself, oneforme. There was a time, that was in 1927-28, when we wore --_. dokhas. Adokhaisa long coat with furonboth Fig. 6 Maquette designed bythe Stenberg brothers andMedunetslzy for Tairov's production of sidesthat reaches to theground. We dressed Ostrovsky's The Storm. alike, only with a little difference. At thattime therewasn't much choice. You could only buy family, so it was very easy forhim. looking. We were busy with our work. When something bychance. Well, my brother's coat InParis, anexhibition oftheKamerny Theatre wewere doing our lastcorner, heapproached was pony, andmine was deerskin. was set up in a gallery.30 This gallery wasn't andsaw this maquette [ofThe YelJowjacket]. When my brother and I were working to free until evening. We hadto make a curtain, He was terribly interested. There were tenlittle gether, weeven made a test. What colorshould organize the display of the Kamerny Theatre globes hanging andwe showed him how when wepaint the background? We would do itlike works, andourworks too that wehadbrought you would pull at them, the scenery would this: he would write a note and I would write along. When we were preparing thisexhibition change. And when you letgo,itwould goback one. I hadno ideawhat hehadwritten andhe -itwas onforjust oneday-Picassocame. He again. There were four different positions. didn't know what I hadwritten. So we would gotinterested inthework ofExler, Goncharova, One thing, for example, would begin to spin write these notes and then look, and they andtheotherartists.We showed Picasso where around. This [with thewheels], would creep coincided! You think maybe onewas giving in things were because itwas impossible to display along thetrackhereandoutthatway (seeFig. to the other? No. We would make onevariant, everything. We showed him and he started 5), andanother would riseupwards. say, look at it, maybe one of our comrades
Falll!J81 227 would come over. We would talk, say something here isvery good. And you know, therewas no bargaining, nothing. We worked likethis: there was a production, thatwasNegro, at the Kamerny Theatre.V We hada largeboardand my brother andI would sit next to each other talking. We told each othera lotofamusing things. There was laugh ing, and all thewhile we were drawing some thing. We justcouldn'tworkout an approach forNegro. We satandsatandthen we looked, you know, to see what we had drawn. Well, thatwe could use for something, and that for something else. Suddenly wefound it! That one we could make intoNegro. It was a tiny, tiny drawing. I can't remember now which one of us drewit, meor my brother.
AI: How long didyou work forTairov?
vs: About ten years. We began in 1922 and broke up in 1931. Fig. 7Ascenejrom theproduction ojline ofFire, 1931, showing the set construction designed bythe Stenberg brothers. AI: Broke up? What was thereason?
VS: What canI tellyou? There were alotofrea sons. Whoever went towork attheKamerny was immediately a slave ofthat theatre. Nothing out sideexisted, not family, not anything. The theatre was absolutely everything. But we couldn't be that way. We were working, making posters, decorating the city-we decorated various squares during that time-and that didn't interfere. But in 1928, when we began to decorate Red Square, there was the October Celebration, and the May Day Celebration, then there was MYUD (International Youth Day), and Anti-War Day, on thefirst ofAugust. That was a month and a halfeach time. That meant four times a year, sixmonths a year we hadto devote ourselves fully andcompletely to that work. We missed coming to the theatre sometimes, when we had to be there. There was thatconflict. Then when thetheatre was being rebuilt, we didtheauditorium. The architectural construc tiondidn'tallow foreven distances tobemade from the floor to thefirst Circle, to thesecond Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 circle, and to the ceiling. Those differences Fig. 8 Mural ojLenin on the wall ojVladimir Stenberg's studio. occurred because of the lobby which was already in existence. The lobby was underthe protection oftheMonuments ofArt andAntiq thefirstcoat, but when wecover it thesecond nately." "And so, then?" "I never thought it uities. Butwefound a way outofthesituation: time, thenyou canlook. Then itwill be velvety would turn outso well. " to make the back wall of the theatre and the black." But Tairov just wouldn't listen. He Then, when the theatre was being rebuilt, whole ceiling in the auditorium all black. demanded, "Come, and that's final. We need wehadan ideaabouttheunderstage area. For When webegan, Tairov said, "Why black?" We another color." We said, "No. It mustn't be The Line of Fire,H we could take out the said,"Aleksandr Yakovlevich, thatwill bevery another color. If after we've done the whole entire floor. Here, I have thatdecor(Fig. 7). good because we've donelighting forthecircles thing it turnsout to bebad (we always argued It starts from beneath the floor, from a floor and it'llbevery effective. this way), we'll repaint itatourexpense." The lowerthantheauditorium. Here weseethetop Do you know how we persuaded him? When next daywe talked to thepainters. And in two of the decor. All the actors come out from the painters put on the first coat-it was a days they had painted everything. After they below. They don't come outon thelevel ofthe primer-it turned out such a messy daub. finished we came. We hadn't come after the formerstage. But Tairov, outofhabit, just the Tairov called us up. "Come immediately." first coat to have a look because we knew it samehadsomeactorscome outonthelevel of "What's the matter?" "You primed the walls would be impossible to look at. We looked, the regular floor. Well, thatwasonething. The and it's impossible even to lookat." We said, everything was perfect. We went in to Tairov. second was that when we were doing the "That'sright, wedid. It'simpossible tolookat "Well, wereyou there?" "Yes, I was, unfortu- decor, we arranged with the engineer.. how it 228 shouldbe done,so thatitwould be dismount celebration days. Fourtimes a year. without elevators.) "Now on the fifth floor, in able. There, in other words, is the floor, and the attic, give usa cornerthere. Astudio." He here thegirderscouldmove backandforth on At: And you did all thedecorforthe celebra said to the architect, " Listen, canwedo that, rails. But the engineer who was doing it, his tions? make a studio?" The architect said, "Astudio? namewasTrusov andhewas a coward likehis Yes." He thought forawhile. "You know what;' name. That means hewas afraid ofeverything. YS: We did everything beginning in 1928 to he said,"we'll use the attic over the whole He persuaded Tairov to do it so that these 1963. For thirty-five years I decorated Red house and make a fifth floor under the roof. girderswould be shorter, likethis: halfofthe Square. At first with my brother, then after his We canputso many people there. Make apart girderswould behere,andtheotherhalfhere. death with my sister, Udiya, and then with my ments for toot many inhabitants. " They were Tairov agreed to that. But we didn't know son beginning in 1945. In 1963 I began tolose pleased. "Let's go ahead and make the plans anything about it. At that time we were also my sight, then I hadto stop.> right away," the director said. The architect busy with Red Square. There was a phone call. madethem and he gave uswhat we hadasked "Your decor won't go into the hold." "Why At: And when did you do this mural here on for. Well, we had asked too modestly: one won't it go in?" And when we arrived, we saw thewall? (Fig. 8) room of thirty-five meters. But they made a that there were these girders coming from room like thisfor us, andwith thisroomthey here, and from there on the other side. And YS: There'sa whole story with thatmural. An made a bathroom and a corridorWith all the therewasa meter difference here,anda meter architect was building a new apartment build conveniences. Inthecorridor was a little comer there. Also, there were two electric transfonners ing, not far from the center, on a main thor with a stove. Something like a kitchen. Even -they weredecorative-and now they didn't oughfare, Bakunin Street. He asked usto do a when all that had been done, we somehow fit. We hadtoremove onetransformer inorder mural. It was included inhis project. The build didn't believe it would beso simple. to getthe girders in.Tairov said, "You gave us ingwas already built, only theinternal finishing We settled thereandtherewelived. And we the wrong scale, and the decor was made was going on. The mural was to be like this: did themural. There was this artist who hadan wrong." But everything was correct. It turned Lenin on theConstruction Site. My brother and invention: special paints that could be painted out thathe had made it hisown way. We said, Idida sketchofthemural. When we hadmade on plaster. They were advertised at all the construction sites and organizations. We could paintwith them and neither rain nor snow nothing-would affect them. We didthemural inthefall, andinearly spring,when everything began to thaw, it dripped, it rained, and the paintflaked off. You know, you could just run your hand over it and only naked plaster remained. Well, we called the organization that made the paint. They tried all sorts of excuses, saidthey'd give us new paints andall that. But we decided that to risk it.. .. We would have to putthescaffolding upagain and do everything over. Well, we began to discuss the matter. Where was the guarantee thatthe next spring again. ... Then there was this: duringthewinter, various defects hadalready appeared there. Sothat, well, onsucha theme -the figure ofLenin-it was just impossible. Sotime passed. In 1930, they asked meand my brother to make for the front page of the newspaper Izvestia, "Leninon the Construction Site." Well, we hadthat theme already resolved. We had a sketch and we did it. That was published in the newspaper. The work on the
Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 facade was lost. And 1 somehow wanted to Fig. 9 The Stenberg brothers with a number oftheir theatre posters in the background restore that work we had done there. But construction is already different, because by "How could you do it like that?" If theactors thesketch, wetookittoshow him andheliked thattime therewere already missiles andsput had come out from below, that would have it a lot. niks flying. But the right side 1 decided to been a new effect. Aconstruction. Here is the leave. You see thatbrickwall there, and from line of fire, and all the actors come out from At: It waslikethis one here? the left side, thereis that border. there, and notfrom thewings, you see. Balle rinas run in and out from thewings. But here YS: No. Here, Lenin is on an armored vehicle. At: When did you begin making film posters there is no floor, only the narrow forestage, AJid inthat one, Lenin was against a construction (Flg.9)? and further all the action comes out from sitebackground. That director liked this sketch. below. But he didn'tusethat. He said,"We are a workers' coop. We haven't YS: The first poster we did was The Eyes of Well, all this piled up. And Tairov had a got much money so don't name a large sum. Love.·is That was in 1923. On itwe wrote "Sten," grudge against us. He thought weshould give Make it cheap." We said, "Do you want us to ihefirst four letters ofourlast name, because we ourselves over completely to the theatre. But do itfornothing?" "How canitbefornothing?" didn't know if wewere going to make more or howcouldwegive ourselves to thetheatre? To he said. "You must have something in mind." not. The second poster wesigned .'Stenberg," thetheatreor toRed Square? Forus,itwas Red We said, "Yes. The house has four stories." and the following ones,"2 Stenberg 2." When Square. There, a million people passed byon (That's how they built in the twenties, and wemade posters forthemovies, everything was
Fall 1981 229 in motion because in films, everything moves. Other artists worked in the center, they put something thereand around it was an empty margin. But with us, everything seems to be going somewhere (Figs. 10 and 11). One time they asked us to make a poster for the movie theatre at the Metropole, an outside advertisement for a movie called Pat and Patasbon. We made these huge figures , and they spun. They were illuminated from below. It was very effective. Then there was a film called To the Virgin Lands, that is, where earlier nothing was plowed. And we did a bookcover advertising il.-ib On the cover we showed a peasant against the horizon, with his wooden plow and a skinny nag. When we brought that cover toNovy Mir, one of the editors, Tugendkhold, a famous critic ofoursanda character, took onelook>? He said, "You know, draw a shadow herefrom the horse and the plowman." We said, "It wouldn't fit thestyle. Here there'sno shadow, nothing. You can'tdo that." He gave usa look. "No, draw it," hesaid. "!fyoudon't doit, then I won 't accept yourwork. "Wesaid"Verywell, Fig. 10 Posterfor thefilm High Society Wager, 1927.
Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 we'll do it. But all the artists will understand thatwe didn't think itup, that itwas your idea. shadow!" We said,"No! We're not going to heads. Not only the passers-by, but even the You forced ustodo itlike that. " He said, "Just take it out. Let the other artists see. They'll horsesshyaway from these posters." the same, otherwise I won't take it." He was understand that you forced us to put in the Well, we read that thing, the article of his, stubborn likethat. We thought, really, theywill shadow. We didtheshadow. Now everybody is my brother and I, and we decided to go and guess that it isn't ours. We wanted to do the going tolaugh. That's why we won't take itout." thank him. After several days, wewent to see cover because we thought it was very effective. Then to spite him we put several artists up him. When he caught sight of us, he said, Tugendkhold hada huge office.There were to a trick. Friends of ours. "When you're at "Comrades!" And turning to his assistants, two tables here and two tables there where Novy Mir," we said,"drop inonTugendkhold. "Help meout.There are two ofthem, andI'm other assistants were sitting. And herewas his Say something abouttheshadow he forced us only one. They came to beat me up. From table. When we came,Tugendkhold said, "Well, to do." "What, what's this? What didtheSten them, you can expect anything." My brother did you do it?" We answered, "We did it. " We bergs do?That shadow? That's not theirs!" So and I had already agreed what we would do. gave him thecover. At first he looked at it this they went tohim andsaidthat, He gotso angry We both approached him. We went shoulder way, then he looked at it that way, then he that he wrote an article. It was a very loud to shoulder. We approached the desk, called looked at it the other way. "Yes, yes. What's article. He wrote that the Stenbergs, without himbyhisfirst name and patronymic. "We're thisyou've done?" hesaid. We said, "Well,you considering our streets, made posters with very happy. We're very grateful to you for told us. You forced us to do it. And wedid." such sazhen-size heads. (A sazhen-that's writing an article like that. Thank you very "Do you know what?" he said, "Take out the two meters.) He said, "They make two-meter much!" We bowed so, and a long pause. We
130 ArljourIUIl "Well," he said, "you're joking. You're going to put a posterlikethatup on thestreet?" We said, "Yes, exactly, on thestreet. We didit for the street." We'd worked in the cinema and knew thisstyle ofpublicity. We knew what kind of posterswould be pasted up tomorrow and the day after. They had a program for the week. And iftomorrow they hung a poster like this.... All theotherswould be white posters with the text written in black andredletters. A poster like this on a black background would standout. We knew that. We saidit had to be doneprecisely thatway. He said, "What doyou want, for the theatre to go broke completely? No onewill readit,noonewill come." We said we were certain it would be exactly the other way around. But in case it did happen, we would make him a new poster and pay for having itprinted. We convinced him. Ingeneral, wedidn't usually have to convince Tairov. But in thiscasewehad to. When theposterwas putup,theartists, that is the actors, going along thestreeton theday before the premiere saw a crowd. They went up. What's this? They're standing near that - _.- Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 Fig. 11 Posterforthe Dziga Vertov film Man with a Movie Camera, 1929. black poster. The actors didn't know what kind of poster there would be. They went up stoodlike that. He looked at us and then said With Tairov there was also an interesting and there was a crowd of people. They went to everybody, "You saw what they did? They thing. We noticed that Tairov, like every director, further, andagain a crowd ofpeople. Everybody came to thank me. That's some kindof trick of course, when he looked at a poster, he waspushing, they wanted to read it.There on on their part." Then westraightened up. "No, didn't look at what was portrayed. He only theposterwasanannouncement thatsaid, ..At we sincerely thank you. Write more articles looked to see the size of the letters in Alicia the Kamerny Theatre, onsuch-and-such a date, like that." "Why?" he asked. "Because after Koonen's name, andwhat size were theletters there will be a premiere." They came to the your article, people don't just walk by our of the others' names. Well, wedecided to do theatre and told Aleksandr Yakovlevich, "Listen, posters. They stop and look to see the name. this kind of a trick. We made a poster on a do you know what's happening on the street Who made that poster? The people are inter blackbackground. Alittle square inthemiddle. right now? Everywhere where there'sa poster ested, and after that, there's always a crowd. Then in that little square we used different with a black background.... We didn't even Everyone whoreadsthearticle goesoutonthe colorsandwrote insmall letters thatonsucha know thatit was the Kamerny Theatre. There's streetto seewhere those bigheads arethatthe datetherewould besuch-and-such a premiere, a crowd ofpeople standing. Everyone's pushing, horsesshyaway from. Write morearticles like the name oftheplay, thedirector isso-and-so, everyone wants to readit." Well, ofcourse, we that." Then he turnedto everybody and said, andthestar,Alicia Koonen, andtheotherstoo. knew when it was going to be put up andwe "Well, I didsaythey were bandits. What canbe Everything smaller andsmaller. And we brought went too. We gottothetheatre. "Well, Aleksandr donewiththem. You seewhat they're like." the poster to show him. He looked and said, Yakovlevich? Will we have to make another
Fall 1981 231 poster?" He answered, "How could you do it? State Art Studios and read his poetry to the photograph of the invitation to this exhibit. You took a risk." We said, "We didn't risk students. One ofthe first artists tosupport the The photograph (Fig. 2) isone oftwo extant anything. We were certain. And actually, we Bolsheviks, Mayakovsky proclaimed in one of photographs ofthe exhibition, both taken by did tell you what would happen." "Yes," he his poems, "The streets areourbrushes! The Rodchenko. Unfortunately, the wall onwhich said,"actually, you're right!" You know, there squares-s-our palettes!" many ofVladimir's works were exhibited isnot were many suchamusing and interesting epi 8 Konstantin Konstantinovich Medunetsky shown ineither photograph. sodeslikethatin my life. End (1899 - 1935). Very little is known about 171n thephotograph (Fig. 2), according toVS, Medunetsky aside from the fact thathewas a the large work by his brother in the center of Notes pupil ofTatlin and the Pevsner brothers and the right hand wall was about 1.5 meters in I Vladimir Avgustovich Stenberg, born 4 April was an active member along with the Stenberg height andthelarge standing construction in 1899; Georgii Avgustovich, born 20 March brothers inObmokhu. thecenter about three meters tall. 1900. The third child was a sister, Lidiya 9Aristarkh Vasilevich Lentulov (1882 -1934), 18 Yakulov's productions atthe Kamerny Theatre Avgustovna, born 1902. Additional biographical painter and theatre artist. included theCube-Futurist baroque setting for material on the Stenberg brothers may be 10 KonstruktilJisty, exhibition catalog, Moscow, E.T.A. Hoffman's Princess Brambilla (1920), found in : A. Abramova, "2 Stenberg 2," 1921. The cover and page with the text are and the Constructivist set for Lecoc's operetta Dekoratiunoe Iskusstvo, 9, 1965, 18-25; 2 reproduced in Von der Ftache zum Raum: Girojle-Girojla (1922). Stenberg 2. exhibition catalog, Galerie Jean Russland 1916-24/From Surface toSpace: 19 INKhUK was formed in May 1920 asanauton Chauvelin, Paris and elsewhere; The Avant Russia 1916-24, exhibition catalog, Cologne, omous group for analyzing anddiscussing the Garde in Russia, 1910-1930, exhibition Galerie Gmurzynska, 1974, 29. In the catalog properties andeffects ofart. It was originally catalog, Los Angeles, 1980, 244 - 45. arelisted three types of"Constructions": color headed by Kandinsky, but the group soon 2 In 1933, when Georgii died (in a motor bike constructions, projects for spatio-constructional rejected his psychological approach toartand accident), VS considered abandoning art and apparatus, andspatial apparatus. Four ofthe heleft at the end of1920. The group was then returning to his first Jove, engineering. See spatial apparatus from this period have been reorganized by Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova, Abramova, 24. reconstructed. See 2 Stenberg 2, 70ff. the musician Nadezhda Bryusova, and the 3 They also helped their father paint the ceiling II Aleksei (Aleksandr) Eliseevich Kruchenykh sculptor Aleksei Babichev who drew upa more ofthe Hotel Metropole restaurant in 1912. It is (1886-1969). ACubo-Futurist poet who called rational program based onobjective analysis. clear from the way VS talks that his father had his style ofwriting zaum (beyond the mind). In early 1921, the Stenberg brothers and an enormous influence onthe two brothers. Designated by Kruchenykh asthe language of Medunetsky joined a number ofthese artists at 4 Fedor Fedorovich Fedorovsky (1883 -1955). the future, zaum was intended tocommunicate INKhUK-Rodchenko, Stepanova, and logan Also a graduate of the Stroganov Art School, directly the internal state ofthe speaker. son, allofwhom were by then rejecting "pure Fedorovsky began his career asa theatre artist 12 In connection with their work in the theatre, art" for industrial Constructivism-in forming in 1907 at the Zimin Opera Theatre inMoscow at a meeting at INKhUK on 19 January 1924, theWorking Group ofConstructivists. Popova where he worked for a number of years. In the brothers gave a report titled, "New Principles was a part ofanother faction, "The Working 1921 he became assistant, and later chief set for the Material Design of Theatrical Stage Group ofObjectivists," and Vesnin, although a designer at the Bolshoi Theatre. 1 have no Space," inwhich they critically analyzed various member ofINKhUK, was not an active member information onKazokhin. traditional forms ofscenic design and stated ofeither ofthese groups. However, by the end 5 All of the state-subsidized art schools were thatthe basic principle oftheir work was "the of 1921, all of these artists were united in renamed Svomas (Svobodnye gosudarstvennye use ofall the material resources ofthe stage heeding the call for INKhUK members to take khudozhestvennye masterskie). The Stroganov exclusively for utilitarian objectives, a striving up "practical work in production" (cf Bowlt, Art School and the Moscow Institute ofPainting, for themaximum ofscenic possibilities with a xxxv - xxxvi). For a more detailed study of Sculpture, andArchitecture were combined to minimum ofconstruction." From the archives these groups see: Christina A. Lodder, Con form the Moscow Svomas. In 1920, it was ofA.B. Babichev, quoted inAbramova, 22. structitJism: From Fine Art into Design, Russia renamed VKhUTEMAS (Higher State Art-Tech 13 Anatolii Vasilevich Lunacharsky (1875 -1933), 1913-1933, New Haven and London, to be nical Studios) and in 1926, VKhlITEIN (Higher head of the newly-established Narkompros published 1982. State Art-Technical Institute). Characteristic (People's Commissariat for Enlightenment); 20 The play, by Fernand Crommelynck, isabout a of the new spirit that prevailed in these art David Petrovich Shterenberg (1881-1948). poet-scribe, Bruno, and his wife, Stella, who schools at thattime was the resolution passed The exhibition referred to here is the first live inanabandoned mill. Bruno isso insanely by art students in Petrograd inApril 1918 that Obmokhu (Society ofYoung Artists) Exhibition. jealous ofhis wife thathe forces herto go to
Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 "art and artists must be absolutely free in It was held in May ofthatyear. The group was bed with all the men in the village in order to every manifestation oftheir creativity art given the former Faberge shop onthe corner of find out which one isher lover. InMeierkhold's affairs are the affairs ofartists themselves " Kuznetsky Most andNeglinnaya Street astheir production, the three wheels andwindmill all (Quoted in John E. Bowlt, ed. and trans., workshop. Here they installed metal cutting rotate atdifferent speeds toreflect the intensity Russian Artof tbe Aiant-Garde: Theory and machines and welding equipment and set to ofBruno's jealousy. Inthe climactic scene, all Criticism 1902 -1934, New York, 1976, xxxv.) work turning out stencils for postcards and the village males line up at Stella's door. In 6 Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky (1876 - 1956), badges, constructing travelling libraries and assembly-line style, each one enters, exits, and Georgii Bogdanovich Yakulov (1882-1928), decorating streets and squares for holidays. then comes down the "chute" to the stage Vladimir Evgrafovich Tatlin (1885 - 1953), See Bowlt, xxxvii - xxxviii. floor. For a fuller description of Popova's Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Osmerkin (1892 14 Vladimir Stenberg became a Soviet citizen in construction and of the production see Alma 1953). For biographical information on these 1933. H. Law, "Le cocu magnifique de Crommelynck," artists (except Osmerkin), see entries in The 15 The second Obmokhu Exhibition was held in Les uoies de la creation tbeatrale, VI, Paris, Auant-Garde in Russia, 1910-1930. the group's own workshop in May 1920, the 1979,13-43. 7 All three poets were leading figures in the third exhibition a year later (see below) and 21 From the available information, the actual Russian Futurist movement. The artist Vasilii the final one in 1923, By 1923, the Stenberg genesis ofthe construction for Cuckold isnot Komardenkov (1897 -1973) also recalls in his brothers were no longer participating in the at allclear. Ivan Aksyonov, who had translated memoirs (Dni Minuvshie, Moscow, 1972, 53 group's activities. Crommelynck's play from the French, main 54) how Mayakovsky would come to the Free 16 See Von der Placbe zum Raum, 18, for a tained thattheplanning ofthe set was worked
232 Artjoumal out in open discussion in the Meierkhold production ofThe Death ojTare/kin in 1922). Theatre Workshop. He also assigns a key role See Rakitina, 152 - 53- The opposition ofthe toPopova for the final conception and execution Constructivists totheatre explains why Popova ofit ("Proizkhozhdenie ustanovki 'Velikodush was so reluctant to get openly involved in the nyi rogonosets, ",3Afzsha TIM, 1926,7 -11). design of the Cuckold construction until the Meierkhold also takes a similar position in very last moment. regard toPopova's role in a letter tothe editor 26 Ashort-lived production staged by the students oftziestiia (9May 1922). As Christina Lodder ofthe Kamerny Theatre School-Studio, directed points out inher article, "Constructivist Theatre by K. G. Svarozhich. Tairov had himself directed asa Laboratory for anArchitectural Aesthetic," a production ofthis "poetic romance" in the Popova's accomplishment isn't diminished by Chinese manner by George C. Hazleton, Jr. the fact that the original idea of a skeletal (1868 - 1921) and]. Harry Benrimo (1875 apparatus may have come from the Stenberg 1942) in 1913 at the Free Theatre in St. brothers andMedunetsky !..Architectural Asso Petersburg. ciation Quarterly, 11,2, 1979,30-33). In 27 The theatre left for Paris on 20 February 1923 fact, the works the Stenberg brothers were and spent ten months abroad. In addition to exhibiting in 192 I, and particularly the stands visiting Paris, where they performed at the they hadconstructed for displaying them, are Theatre des Champs Elysees, they also toured much more suggestive of the design for the Germany, performing in numerous cities in Cuckold construction than are either Popova's cluding Berlin and Munich. earlier theatre designs in 1920 - 2I at the 28 "Picasso's 'realism'" isno doubt a reference to Kamerny Theatre (which Lodder characterizes his second Neoclassical period ofthe early 19205. as "a complex construction of perspectival 29 Mikhail Larionov and Goncharova had designed confusion and ambiguous planes defined by the decor for Goldoni's The Fan in 1915. The color") orher"preparatory investigations" in two artists settled in Paris in 19I7. the "5 x 5 = 25" exhibition which had 30The exhibition was in the Galerie Paul prompted Meierkhold to invite Popova to join Guillaume on 23 March 1923- his Workshop. For a further discussion ofthis 31 The trio worked together ononly three produc question, see E. Rakitina, "Liubov Popova, tions at the Kamerny Theatre: The Yellow iskusstvo i manifestv," Khudozhnik, stsena, Jacket, The Babylonian Lawyer by Anatoliya ekran. Moscow, 1975, 152-167. Mariengof (1923), and Ostrovsky's The Storm 22 A1eksandr Yakovlevich Tairov (1885 - 1950) (1924). formed theKamerny Theatre in 19 14 together 32 All God's Chillun Got Wings by Eugene O'Neill with his wife, actress Alicia Koonen, and a (1929). Tairov also staged two other O'Neill group ofyoung performers. The theatre was at plays: The Hairy Ape (1926) and Desire Under 23 Tverskoi Boulevard (where the Pushkin the Elms (1926). The Stenberg brothers designed Theatre is now located). thesets for both ofthese productions aswell. 23 Among the prominent artists who had worked 33Aplay about the construction ofa hydroelectric for theKamerny Theatre uptothattime were: station by Nikolai Nikitin (1895 - 1963). It Pavel Kuznetsov, Natalia Goncharova, Sergei had its premiere on6June 1931, and was the Sudeikin, Aristarkh Lentulov, Aleksander Exter, last production the Stenberg brothers did at and Boris Ferdinandov. See Abram Efros, theKamerny Theatre. Kamernyiteatr i ego khudozhniki, 1914 34An operation for cataracts partially restored 1934, Moscow, 1934. The fact thatthere was VS's eyesight. no love lost between Meierkhold and Tairov 35 According to Stenberg, he and his brother may have hadsomething to do with Tairov's designed about 300 film posters. Many ofthen invitation to the Stenbergs andMedunetsky at rank, along with those ofRodchenko, Klucis, that time. In a review ofTairov's book, Notes andLavinsky, asamong the best Soviet posters Downloaded by [The University of British Columbia] at 07:51 10 December 2014 oja Director, Meierkhold called the Kamerny made in the 1920s. Theatre, "imitative and amateurish" (PechaI' 36This was a popular way to advertise films in i revo/iutsiia, I, 1922,306). the 1920s. 24 The Erste Russische Kunstausstellung at the 37Yakov Aleksandrovich Tugendkhold (1882 Galerie van Diemen inBerlin. Three construc 1928). tions byGeorgii Stenberg were inthe exhibition (Nos. 563, 564, 565, in the catalog) andone construction (No. 566) and one Technical Apparatus (No. 567) by Vladimir. See 2 Sten berg 2, 64. Nikolai Fyodorovich Denisovsky (1902 - 1981). 25 The only justification the productivist Con structivists saw for working in the theatre was either to hasten its demise (they felt it should gooutinto the streets and transform itself into useful work such asbuilding houses) ortouse it as a laboratory (asStepanova did with her "furniture" and costumes for Meierkhold's
FilII1981 233 KazimirMalevicb
E.F.Kovtun Translatedfrom tbe Russian by Cbarlolle Douglas.
E.£. Kovtun is curatorofgrapbics at tbe State Russian Museum, Leningrad.
Charlotte Douglas bas done extensive research on tbe worlts ofMalevlcb and Is currently writing abouttbe worlls of Vellmir Kblebnillov.
In recentyears a rather exten sense which establishes con sive literature about Kazimir nections between superficial Malevich hasaccumulated, and I phenomena. Russian painting, it continues to grow. And the especially Malevich's experi
workitselfhasturned outtobe I ments, attempted to achieve a much more varied than it ap I deeper knowledge of theworld peared to scholars only a few I through intuition, to master in years ago. In theshorttime be I tuition as a creative method. tween 1903 and 1913 Malevich Similar aspirations may be dis went from Impressionism to the cerned in the poetic work ofV.V. varying forms of Russian Fau- KhIebnikov, A.E. Kruchenykh, E.G. vism (Primitivism and further) Gum, and others. That which was to Cubism and Suprematism. closedto the usual reasonhad But the objectless canvases- to become clear in the intui his Black Square (Fig. 1)- tion, whose working ought to werenotthelastphase in Male- be forced and come out of the vich's creative development. unconscious. "The new creative The present essay includes a intuitive reason, by replacing discussion of the later, almost unconscious intuition;' M.V. unknown works by Malevich, Matiushin wrote, "will give to done beginning in the late the artist all the strength of its 1920s. In thesecanvases Male knowledge."2 vich returns toa figurative style, Malevich's Cow and Violin Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 but one that has memories of l of1911 (Fig. 2) was the earliest Suprematism. This lastperiod is manifesto of Alogism. On the perhapshisgreatest. Fig. 1 Ma/evicb,Black Square,1913, oilon reverse of this canvas Malevich The decades thatwere passed in France in canvas. Leningrad. State Russian Museum . wrote: " An alogical confrontation of the two the renewal of art (beginning with Impres forms-a cowanda violin-as a moment of sionism) were consolidated in Russia into Beyond-tbe-MlndRealism struggle with logic, with naturalness, with ten or fifteen years. Malevich's growth as an From the beginning ofthe 1910s, Malevich's Philistine senseand prejudice. K. Malevich." artist was similarly compressed. From the workwas a kindof proving ground in which The combination of cow and violin, absurd first , features inherent in the personality of painting tested and perfected new possibili from the point of view of common sense, the artist appeared in his work: a rigorous ties. Explorations were carriedoutinvarious proclaimed a universal connection of phe energy, a striving for a specific end, and directions. Malevich was attracted to Cubism nomena in the world. Intuition reveals "re finally, a genuine passion for painting. Male and Futurism, but his principal achievement mote links in the world," which the usual vich once said to a pupil about hisyouth,"I in these years was a cycle of pictures which logic sometimes perceives asabsurd. To real once worked as a draftsman, . .. as soon as he termed "Alogism," or "Beyond-the-Mind ize that any particular event is included in a workendedI would rushstraight toa sketch, Realism": Cow andViolin, Aviator, English universal system, to see and embody the in to my paints. You justgrab them and rushto man in Moscow, Portrait of Ivan K/iun. visible which is revealed to spiritual sight thesketches. And thisfeeling forpainting can These presented a new method of spatial thisistheessence ofpost-Cubist explorations be extremely, unbelievably strong. Aperson organization inthepicture, unknown inFrench in Russian painting. Itis most keenly expressed couldsimply explode."! Cubism. In Alogism Malevich attempted to in theworks ofMalevich. For him thetransra move beyond the boundaries ofthe common tional is nottheirrational; ithas.its own logic 234 Artjoumal butofa high order.In 1913 Malevich wrote to a sign saying "Suprematism in Painting. K. Matiushin: "We have come as farastherejec Malevich." tionof reason but we rejected reason so that The Last Futurist Exhibition 0,10 (Zero another kind of reason could grow in us, Ten) opened at N.E. Dobychina's Petrograd which incomparison towhat we have rejected, Art Bureau on Mar's Field on 17 December can be called beyond-reason, which also has 1915. No scholar hasyet considered theodd law and construction and sense, and only by numerical ending of the exhibition's name. knowing this will we have work based on the Apparently, it has been taken as the ordinary law of the truly new, the beyond-reason.' It capriciousness of the Futurists. One contem was not bychance, therefore, that even as he porary critic commented that thename ofthe withdrew even further from visual reality, Male exhibition was "mathematically illiterate." Ac vich persisted in using the word realism to tually, "O,lO"-that is, "one tenth"-does define his styles: Cubo-Futurist Realism, Beyond not correspond at allto thetranslation in the the-Mind Realism; even theSuprematist mani parentheses, "zero-ten." Malevich's letters, festo bore the subtitle The New Realism in however, illuminate the problem. On 29 May Painting. 1915 he wrote, "We are undertaking thepub ABeyond-the-Mind Realist picture entered lication of a journal and are beginning to into a new relationship with the surrounding discuss how and what. In view ofthefact that world. It still hadan upanddown, butit lacked initweintend to reduce everything tozero, we weight, asif its plastic structure were suspended have decided to call itZero. We ourselves will in universal space. The absence ofgravity asan then go beyond zero. "II The ideaof reducing organizing structural principle is especially theforms ofallobjects tozero andprogressing keenly felt in Aviator, in which the figure beyond zero into objectlessness belonged to seems to riseupor soarinitsweightlessness. Malevich. In thebrochure that was soldat the exhibition the artist announced his complete Victory over tbe Su" breakwith the forms ofobjects. He wrote: "1 The ideafor futurist performances aroseafter have turned myself into the null of forms and the joining, in March 1913, of the Union of have gone out beyond 0-1."12 The nine other Youth artists' with Hylea, a literary group participants in the exhibition also aspired to which included Vladimir Mayakovsky, Velimir go beyond zero. This is the source of the Khlebnikov, Elena Guro, Alexei Kruchenykh, zero-ten in theparentheses. Aletter from Ivan Vladimir and Nikolai Burliuk, and Benedikt Fig 2 Malevich, Cow andViolin, 1911, oilon Puni to Malevich from July 1915 corroborates Livshits. At Matiushin's summer house in uood. Leningrad. State Russian Museum. this interpretation oftheexhibition's title: "We Uusikirkko (Karelsky Isthmus), Finland, in have to paint a lot now. The space isvery large the summer of 1913, the First All-Russian will have great significance in painting. That and if we, ten people,'> paint twenty-five pic Congress of Futurists was held. Malevich and which was done unconsciously, now bears tures apiece, then itwill beonly just enough. "I ~ Kruchenykh attended. The Congress partici extraordinary fruit."8 Enclosing the drawing pants issued a manifesto, in which they an in a following letter, Malevich added: "The Suprematlsm nounced the creation of a theater for Future curtain depicts a black square, theembryo of At thebeginning ofthetwentieth century, many People and coming performances.' Work on all possibilities; in itsdevelopment it acquires major artists and poets-Malevich, Pavel Fil the opera Victory over the Sun began right a terrible strength. It is the ancestor of the onov, Khlebnikov, andothers-recognizedor thereatthesummer house. The poets Khlebni cubeand thesphere; itsdisintegration brings guessed intuitively that a person islike a small kov and Kruchenykh," the composer Mikhail an amazing standard in painting."? Here, in universe, andthata work ofartisan indepen Matiushin, andtheartist Malevich joined forces drawings for Victory overthe Sun, the final dentworld which hasitsown, essentially spiri for theproduction oftheopera; it played on 3 transition toSuprematism was accomplished. tual essence. In the art of early twentieth and5 December 1913 attheLuna Park Theater century artists this autonomous world, which, Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 in St. Petersburg. The "LastFuturist"Exblbltlon of course, a genuine work of art has always Malevich's sketches forthecostumes were The new direction in Russian painting, even been, acquired special features. It was orga Cubist, but inclined towards objectlessness. after itappeared, remained without a name for nized like the universe, correlated with it,rather The drawings Futurist Strongman, Grave quite some time. Until thefall of 1915 noone than with the earth and its particular laws; it Digger, and A Certain Evil Intender," have but Malevich knew what was happening inhis joined theuniverse asan equal. coloredplanes andblack squares andrectan studio. Only in the middle of 1915, when at Malevich's Suprematist canvases were like gles. Malevich's reorientation towards Su least thirty objectless paintings had been fin that. Their artistic structure, as distinct from prematism is felt even more clearly in the ished (Fig. 3), did Malevich give the name thatof the Alogist period, did notcorrelate at sketches for the curtain and backdrops; the Suprematism to hiswork. The Moscow artists allwith thedirection ofearthly gravity, andso Suprematist square isthebasis oftheir compo during 1915 were preparing a final exhibition notonly theimpression ofheaviness andweight sition. Asimilar drawing was published on the ofCubo-Futurism, butin it Malevich intended disappeared, but also even the notion of up cover of thepublication Victory overtheSun to exhibit and affirm his new style. Ivan Kliun anddown often was lost. Yet the objectlessness (December 1913). But the artist himself had and Mikhail Menkov exhibited with him, the ofSuprematism was notan absence ofreality, still notrecognized these important changes in first artists to adopt theSuprematist idea. The it was an exit from theworld ofobjects, a new his work. This is evident from his letters to other participants in theexhibition, however, aspect of reality, which nature, space, and Matiushin, who intended to publish a new objected to calling Malevich's work Suprema reality hadrevealed totheartist. edition of Victory over the Sun in 1915. "I tism inthecatalog. The artist hadtoacquiesce, Malevich's thought, hisattitude as an artist would be very grateful ifyou would include a butthebrochure about Suprematism which he towards theworld, was imbued with theinspi drawing of mine for the curtain in the act had prepared was available at the opening of ration of space, just as the ideaof time runs where thevictory took place.... That drawing theexhibition. 10 Inaddition, theartist hung up all-absorbing throughout theworks of Khleb- Fall 1981 235 of merefantasy; they originated inthedevelop mentofa certainconcept ofartistic space. From the beginning Suprematism exerted substantial influence on the work of many artists, at first in Russia andlaterabroad. Such major artists as Kliun, Puni, Olga Rozanova, Nadezhda Udaltsova, Varvara Stepanova, Uubov Popova, and Alexander Rodchenko followed Malevich; Suprematism became the bannerof the time. From the beginning of the 1920s, it moved beyond the confines of easel painting. In 191 S, at theLast Futurist Exhibition, Kliun exhibited several volumetric Suprematist con structions. They wereessentially thefirst ofthe architeetons (arkhitektony) , onwhich Malevich would begin to workin the 1920s. The archi tectons substantiated MaJevich's pictorial space, the Suprematist structures entered into real volume and became a prototype for contem porary architecture. Also in the 19205, MaJevich and his pupils Nikolai Suetin and Ilya Chashnik worked a great deal in the production of porcelain, textiles, typography, andotherforms of applied art.
The Revolutionary Years-UNOVlS In theyearsofthe Revolution, which Malevich -like Mayakovsky-welcomed, the artist's creative work and his social activity reached the highest intensity. He directed theartsection of the Moscow Council, wasa member of the board of IZO Narkompros (theVisual Art Sec tion of theCommissariat ofEducation), was a Fig. 3 Maletlich. Dynamic Suprematism, 1916, oil on canvas. Moscow, Stale Iretyako»Galler)'. major artist of the First State Free Studios in Moscow, andwas a professor atthetransformed nikov. In the summer of 1917 Malevich even in the works of Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin."To Academy of Arts. Hepublished programmatic called himself the"president ofspace." I, When overcome gravity istosenseplanetariness with articlesinthe newspaper Artofthe Commune he moved away from hisformer understanding one's whole organism," wrote the artist,20 and the journal Visua/Art, andheparticipated of space in art, Malevich observed that in Khlebnikov's prognostic excerpt A Clifffrom in public debates. The announcement for one Futurism and Cubism, "space is cultivated the Future (I921-1922) describes human suchdebatereads: "FirstState Free ArtStudios almost exclusively; form because it isconnected life in Flying Cities, in a gravity-free environ (formerly, theStroganov School). Open studios. with objectness doesnotconvey even aninkling ment: "Peoplewalk along a path, weightless, Meeting about'TheNew art andSoviet Power.' of the presenceof universal space. This space as if they wereon an invisible bridge. On both Speakers: D.P. Shterenberg, V.V. Mayakovsky, is limited to the spacewhich separates things sides a precipice drops off into an abyss; a KoS. Malevich, Rodchenko, andstudents."2, At from one another on the earth."16 Space in terrestrial black boundary marks the road. the same time Malevich did not cease his Malevich's Suprematist pictures is a model like a snake swimming through thesea,raising creative work. In thefall of 1918 Mayakovsky's
Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 and an analog ofcosmic space. His painting is its head high, breast first through the air, Mystery-BoujJe, with decor by Malevich, pre cramped on theearth, ityearns fortheheavens. swims a building-a reversed 'L'. A flying miered in Petrograd. And in 1919, Malevich's "Mynew painting," hewrote, "doesnotbelong building snake."!' firstone-man show openedin Moscow. exclusively to the earth.... And in fact, in In thedevelopment ofhisideas aboutspace Malevich left Petrograd for Vitebsk in the man, in his consciousness, there is a striving in art, Malevich was the first Russian artist to fall of 1919. At thebeginning ofthe Revolution towards space,a yearning to 'takeofffrom the arrive at analogous futurological conclusions. thisquiet, provincial city was transformed into earth'." I 7 By assimilating the space of the As earlyas 1913 he dreamt ofthe time "when a major artistic center. Vitebsk wasunusually picture to cosmic space, where the motion of large dtiesandthestudios ofmodem artists will lucky then; the art school was organized by planetary systems are unified, Malevich reduces be supported byhugezeppelins."22 In a bro Marc Chagall, andbesides himself, in thecourse the structural formation of pictorial space to chure published in 1920,23 he set down the of two or three years such major figures as relationships in which "weight is distributed possibility ofinterplanetary flight, orbiting earth Malevich, Puni, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Ksenia into systems ofweightlessness." 18 satellites, and interplanetary satellite stations Boguslavskaya, Robert Falk, Vera Ermolaeva, The theme ofovercoming gravity andentering which would enable man to develop cosmic and Alexander Kuprin taught there. With Male into the cosmos attracted many artists and space. Some of these futurological projects vich's arrival at the Vitebsk school its artistic poetsearlyin thetwentieth century. InVictory are called "Planits for Earthlings" (Fig. 4). life acquireda special intensny, His advocacy overthe Sun, oneofthecharacters (the Reader) Possibly the philosophy of N.F. Fedorov, a of the new art fired the students, who were declares: "Free oftheweight ofuniversal gravity, thinker highly valued by the Futurists, influ attractedbyhisunflagging energy, hisbelief in we arrange our things fancifully, as if a rich enced these "cosmic enthusiasma. "24 But it is his ideas, his uncompromising courage in the kingdom were settling in."19 Resistance to also important to emphasize something else: search for new directions. gravity isexpressed by thespherical perspective Malevich's plans and ideas were not the fruit In January 1920the group POSNOVIS (an
236 Artjoumal r _ ~ I
er,... ' ...
"" w ...... ,, ~ .
, ..,,, t, "U u. f t\-.
mlr Malewttsch
Fig. 4 Malevich, Suprematist Architectural Drawing, 1924, pencil. New York, The Museum ofModern Art.
acronym for Followers of the New Art) arose period hadturned intoSuprematists. Inessence, of gravity in art to Russia." 28 New styles within the school; its exhibition opened on 6 the population probably thought it some new demanded a theoretical basis and the critical February. Shortly afterwards, on 14 February, kindofraid, incomprehensible butinteresting, tradition was insufficient to provide it. As the at a meeting at which Malevich spoke to the which hadto be lived through. "26 The Vitebsk breach between thepublic andtheartistgrew, artists, the group UNOVIS (Affirmers of the UNOVIS showed an exceptional persistence in the artists themselves felt compelled to take New Art) was organized. The aim of UNOVIS striving totransform through arteven thecolor over the theoretical work. This was all the was the complete renovation of the artistic less existence ofthecity, itseveryday life. UNOVIS moreimportant since, given thecomplex, uni world on the basis of Suprematism and the artists painted factory banners and decorated versal, and prognostic structures and models transformation, through new forms, of the trolley cars, made designs for speakers' plat that the new art embodied, they demanded a utilitarian aspects of life. Besides Vitebsk, forms, drawings fortextiles, andcolorplans for seriousscientific analysis andfoundation. Ac Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 UNOVIS groups were organized in Moscow, interiors. Malevich often remarked that Vitebsk cording to information published inthecatalog Petrograd, Smolensk, Samara, Saratov, Perm, was a most important landmark in his work. of The First Report-Exhibition ofGlavnauka Odessa, andother cities. The Vitebsk UNOVIS, Here for the first time Suprematism moved Narkompros (Main Scientific Branch of the headed by Malevich, had a nucleus which extensively intothevarious aspects oflife. The Commissariat of Education) from Moscow in included Ermolaeva, El Lissitzsky, Nina Kogan, time in Vitebsk was also unusually fruitful for 1925, the State Institute for Artistic Culture Lazar Khidekel, Chashnik, andSuetin. UNOVIS Malevich's theoretical studies. "In this work was founded in 1919. However, itwent through broughta special poignancy and effort to the Vitebsk played a large rolein my life. "27 a certain incubation period after its founding artistic life of Vitebsk. The City experienced a before the ideaof the Institute was fully func kindofsudden explosion, felt especially keenly GINKbUK. The Theory oftbe Additional tional. There isa list ofdocumentary landmarks during thedays ofcelebration oftheRevolution Element which led from the beginning in the Museum when Vitebsk was hung with unusual decora 'In 1922 Malevich left Vitebsk for Petrograd ofArtistic Culture (MKhK) to theestablishment tions-incomprehensible to theinhabitants. "I with a large group of his students and began ofGINKhUK. went to Vitebsk after theOctober celebrations," work at Petrograd's State Institute of Artistic On 5 December 1918 a meeting was heldof the artist Sophia Dymshits-Tolstaia recounts in Culture (GINKhUK). The ideafor establishing theOrganizational Commission oftheMuseum: her memoirs, "but the City still glittered with a research center for the study of the new Nathan Altman, A.E. Karev, and A.T. Matveev. Malevich's decor-circles, squares, dots, lines problems in art originated with a circle of On 11 February 1919 a museum conference ofvarious colors, andChagallian flying figures. artists who felt thesignificance oftheprocesses opened in the Winter Palace; this conference I felt thatI hadlanded in a city bewitched-but thatweretaking place inRussian artespecially affirmed the organization of the museum. It at the same time that it was all possible and keenly. Filonov defined thesignificance ofthis was assigned exhibition halls in the Miatlev marvelous, and the people of Vitebsk for that moment as the time of"transfer of thecenter Residence on St. Isaac's Square. Altman was
Fall 1981 237 appointed toorganize theMuseum. On .3 April tures on the generation of form in art. The the most varied influences from the latest 1921 the Division of Painting, which showed theoretical studies ofthe Institute onprinciples trends collided. "Before me was the opportunity works of the new art, was opened to visitors. offormation anticipated toa certain extent the to do various experiments to study the action Later, the divisions of drawings, icons, and ideas of bionics which became current ten ofadditional elements," theartist remembered. crafts opened. The Museum ofArtistic Culture years later. "I began to adapt theVitebsk Institute forthis thusbecame thefirst state museum ofmodern The most outstanding section oftheInstitute analysis and it let me conduct my work full art. On 9 June 1923 at a museum conference was the Formal-Theoretical Division headed by speed ahead. I divided thepainters into several in PetrogradFilonov introduced a proposal in Malevich. It housed researchers, graduate stu typical types which, so far as was possible, I thename ofa "group ofleft artists" totransform dents, andtrade workers. Many well-known len grouped according tooneor another additional theMuseum ofArtistic Culture into an"institute ingrad artists went through Malevich's division: element. I was determined toconfirm innature for research in modern art."29 In the same Suetin, Chashnik, Khidekel, Anna Leporskaya, some of my theoretical conclusions about the year, on 15 August, Malevich was selected as K.I. Rozhdestvensky, Yurl Vasnetsov, V.I. Kurdov, action ofadditional elements."33 With the estab director of the Museum and on 1 October Vladimir Stergilov, andothers. Two laboratories lishment ofGINKhUK, working outthe theory of research divisions oftheMuseum were opened. were created within the divison: Color and the additional element became the principal In October of 1924 the Museum was reorga Form, headed by Ermolaeva and Lev Yudin. task of Malevich's division. By 1925, the artist nized into the Institute ofArtistic Culture with Malevich's collective began a thorough study of hadwritten thefirst general text, AnIntroduc Malevich asdirector andNikolai Punin, deputy the five major systems ofthe new art: Impres tion to the Theory oftheAdditional Element director. In addition to them, Vladimir Tatlin, sionism, Cezannism, Futurism, Cubism, and in Painting. An expanded version was published Pavel Mansurov, and Matiushin served on the Suprematism. The results of this work served by theBauhaus in 1927.34 Advisory Board. On 17March 1925 the Institute as the basis of the theory of the additional By an "additional element" Malevich under wasaffirmed by theCouncil ofPeople's Com element in painting which Malevich developed. stood a new structural formative principle missars (Sovnarkom) asa state institution. Inaddition to his talent for painting, Malevich which arises in theprocess ofartistic develop The Institute became ;1 major center of always had the heartofa researcher who tried ment. Itsintroduction into a plastic system that theoretical research in art. Its divisions were to understand the reasons that impelled new is taking shape reorganizes that system. A headed by Malevich, Tatlin, Matiushin, Man forms in theworld andin art andthelogic of structural analysis of a multitude of works of surov, andPunin. The research program ofthe their development. There were even periods the new art revealed such additional elements Institute and all of its divisions derived from (the early 1920s) when, carried away by his as Cezanne's filamentous curve, the Cubist post-Cubist concepts in Russian art, which researches, he abandoned the brush for the Sickle-line, and Suprematism's straight line. differed considerably from thetheoretical posi pen. In Suprematism, Malevich saw the next The additional elements are defined both by tions of the leading European schools. The consecutive step in thedevelopment ofa uni color and by form foreachsystem. The intro Italian Futurists and the French Purists based versal artistic culture, in spite of its apparent duction oftheCubist sickle-shaped curve into their art (painting and architecture) on the breakwith tradition. InMay of1916, hewrote a Cezannist structure, forexample, canchange form and likeness ofthemachine, thehighest toAlexander Benois indefense ofSuprematism: thepicture being painted into a Cubist painting. achievement of twentieth-century technical "And I am happy that the face of my square Malevich's theory oftheadditional element is civilization. But themachine issomething sec cannot merge either with an artist or a time. anoriginal experiment inthestructural analy ondary, i.e, it is aproductofcivilization. The Isn't thatso? I have not listened to thefathers sisofa workofart;itrevealed active elements, GINKhUK artists strove foran art in which the and I am not like them. I am a step." And or signs, which defined theorganism ofawork spatial structure would arise according to the further on: "In art there is an obligation to in each style. The merit ofthis system ofsigns principles of natural generation of form, that fulfill its necessary forms. Apart from whether was its ability clearly to explain the develop is, on a primary base. The mode offormation I like them or not. Art doesn't askyou whether ment ofplastic form andestablish a mechanism andconstruction inartmust arise outofexperi you like itor not, justasnooneinquired when for thetransformation ofoneform into another. ence of nature. The research inspiration of the stars were set in the sky."31 From these GINKhUK may bedefined asorganics, asopposed words it is apparent that Malevich considered The Berlin Exbibitlon to mechanics, toa machine civilization. Tatlin, Suprematism a stage ofdevelopment in a uni Malevich had long-standing connections with a Constructivist, rejecting thelogic oftheright versal art. The transmutation ofartistic forms German art. At the 1912 Munich exhibition angle usual for Constructivists, designed his and structures, the artist believed, was not organized by the Blue Rider Society, theartist
Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 Monument to the Third International (1920) arbitrary, butratherhadaninternal logic. The hadexhibited his Peasant Heod In 1922 a large on the basis of an inclined structure and a lawfulness detected inthepastdefines avector Russian exhibition arranged by IZO Narkompros spiral. The model of Tatlin's Tower shown at toward the future. ForMalevich, Suprematism opened in Berlin. Malevich showed five works the 1925 Paris Exposition was created in was a continuation ofFuturism andCubism: "I at this exhibition, four Suprematist canvases GINKhUK. Filonov's method ofanalytic arttried affirm: Futurism, viaanAcademism of forms, -among them White on White-and a Futurist to make thepicture grow andtake onform ina moves towards dynamism inpainting. Cubism, canvas from 1911-Knife Grinder: Principle of way similar to the development of a natural via theannihilation ofthe thing, moves towards Flashing. Also, during the Vitebsk period there organism. Even in 1912, in his unpublished pure painting. And both efforts in essence hadbeenmeetings with German artists. On 20 article "Canon and Law," Filonov spoke out aspire to Suprematism ofpainting. "32 Malevich November 1920, UNOVlS announced that"the against "Cube-Futurism which hasreached an saw theinterconnection ofallfive basic systems transportation ofUNOVlS materials toGermany impasse due to its mechanical and geometric of the new art,he noticed thedevelopment of had beensent" (Vitebsk Art Committee List). bases."3o Matiushin, whose work was based one artistic form or structure from another, Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to uponvery attentive study ofthelaws ofnature, but he had notyet discovered thereasons for establish what that "transportation" was. developed the concept of a widened viewing, andthemechanics ofsuch changes. In 1927 Malevich made a tripto Berlin. He and expressed most directly the problems of It is difficult to say exactly when, on the tookwith him, besides paintings anddrawings an organic art. His division intheInstitute was basis of these thoughts, the concept of the ofarchitectons, explanatory theoretical charts called theDivision ofOrganic Culture. Finally, additional element occurred to Malevich, but showing the main tenets of the theory of the Mansurov in his Experimental Division was in Vitebsk-by his own account-he had al additional element, drawings, anda number of alsoconcerned with theproblems ofanorgan ready seenit.Here hehadencountered young Matiushin's charts. A major portion of this icist. He studied theinfluence ofnatural struc- people obsessed with art but in whose work material isnow kept inAmsterdam. On hisway
238 ArtJoumal Fig. 5 Malevich, Sportsmen, c. 1928- 32, oiloncanvas. Leningrad. State Russian Museum. making up for omissions, attempted torealize toGennany Malevich stopped inWarsaw,where exhibition in July, 1930. In June of 1927, some of the ideas he had had in the pre he was known butwhere his work had never before the closing of his show, Malevich left Suprematist period. This explains, possibly, been seen. His exhibition opened ina section Berlin. His work remained in Germany until theartist's notes on the reverse ofcertain late ofthePolonia on 20March. The Polish avant after the war, when a major portion ofit went canvases: "motif of 1903," "motif of 1910." garde received Malevich wannly andtheexhi totheStedelijk Museum inAmsterdam. Malevich's one-man show ofsixty works at bition enjoyed great success. In a note from the Tretiakov Gallery was held in 1929. A Warsaw Malevich wrote to Matiushin: "Dear AfterSuprematlsm booklet containing an article by A. Fedorov Misha, I showed your charts together with Malevich's last period ofunusual creative activity Davydov was published butnot a catalog ofthe mine; both created great interest. Oh, this began soon after his return from Berlin. In works.r' ln a listofworks exhibited which has relationship is remarkable. Glory pours down three or four years he made more than a been located,~O several ofthetitles allow usto like rain."H Malevich delivered a lecture to hundred paintings and a large number of conclude that canvases from a late peasant thePolish artists onthetheoretical research at draw. Some ofthis work, done between 1928 cycle were actually shown. But these works Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 GINKhUK on 25 March. Also in March, he and 1932, was dated in the 1910s by the artist. were first recorded in the catalog for the arrived in Berlin, where hewould remain until How canoneunderstand this disparity? exhibition ArtistsoftheRSFSR afterXV Years, 5June. His one-man show formed partof the On 15 December 1920, ashewas completing which took place in the Russian Museum in Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung andwas open the brochure Suprematism. 34 DraWings, 1932. Here were shown Color Composition, from 7 May until 30 September. When he Malevich wrote:"I have established thedefini Three Figures, Sportsmen, Red House, and visited the exhibition, Anatoly Lunacharsky, tive plans of the Suprematist system. Further other late canvases (Figs. 5 arul6). We can the Soviet Commissar ofEducation, wrote: "In development into architectural Suprematism I judge that Malevich's white faces appeared his genre Malevich has achieved remarkable leave to young architects, in the wide sense of late from similar personages anddecisions in results andgreat skill. I do notknow whether the word, for I see the epoch of the new theworkofhis followers. Only after the 1932 such canvases will be painted after him, but I architecture only in this. I myself have moved exhibition can they be seen in the work of amsure that his style, which has already been .into an area of thought new to me and, as I Suetin, Ermolaeva, Leporskaya, Stergilov, and applied as a decorative device-for example can, I will setoutwhat Iseewithin theendless E.M.Krimmer. bythelatePopova-mayin this respect have a space ofthehuman cranium." 38 And, indeed, The artist's late work elucidates his unique richfuture." 36 paintings by Malevich from the period ofVitebsk creative evolution. In the 191Os, he came to The Bauhaus published Malevich's book Die UNOVIS and Leningrad GINKhUK are almost objectlessness, to the Black Square, which gegenstandslOse Welt in the same year, 1927, unknown. There were mainly old works at was a rejection ofpainting in the usual sense. and hisarticle 'Suprematistische Architektur" 1920s exhibitions. During these years Malevich It would seem that there could benoreturn to appeared at about the same time.>? The last created a large portion ofhisarchitectons and theforms ofobjects in art. And in fact, in the time while Malevich was alive that his painting worked intensely on his theoretical research. twentieth century, it is hardly possible to find was shown inGennany was atthe SowjetmaJerei After quite a long painting silence, the artist, an artist who, like Malevich, would be able to Fall 1981 139 infolk art. "The whole peasant life attracted me strongly. "42 The attraction was part ofananti urbanism which the artist retained his whole life. Inthevast Ukrainian fields where Malevich spent hisyouth, there were sown the impulses towards thecolor ofhis future canvases. "The peasants, large andsmall, worked onthe [sugar) plantations, andI, thefuture artist, fell in love with the fields andwith the'colorful' workers who weeded andcutthebeets. Throngs ofgirls in colorful clothing moved in rows across the whole field."43 Malevich's second peasant cycle, done in 1928-1932, is significantly different from the first. The characteristics ofeveryday life are absent, there arenoreapers or mowers, in all we see peasants standing against back grounds of colored fields. They are always frontal; an air ofsolemnity, of monumentality and significance of origin is elicited by every work, although the paintings are completely without narrative action. It seems as if the Peasant (witha Black Face) and other per sonages ofthis cycle have entered organically
Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 into Malevich's Suprematist universe, which Fig. 6 Malellich, Man with a Saw, date unknown, oilon wood Leningrad, State Russian Museum. had, up until then, been unpopulated. Created after Suprematism, the cycle preserves in a return from objectlessness to figurative paint objectless and the half-formed works (like number ofitsworks (Girls in a Field, Sports ing. And not only to return, but to create my peasants)," he said to Yudin, "have the men) the cosmic feeling which Malevich's splendid works. The last works of Malevich most significance at this time. They act most objectless works convey so strongly. bearwitness toa new flowering ofhis painting keenly ofall."!' These last pictures by Malevich have become talent. He returned to figurativeness, but a Peasant images appear throughout Malevich's oneofthe clearest and most original phenomena figurativeness enriched by the achievements of entire work. From 1908to 1912 his paintings of twentieth-century painting. Malevich died Suprematism which made itself felt in a previ depicted work inthefields, andheads close in morethan forty years ago, butthroughout the ously unknown sensation ofcolor andform their fervor to those ofRussian icons. Even in world interest in his work continues to grow clean, disciplined, andpossessed ofa pervasive theearly period ofSuprematism the artist tried and his aesthetic ideas have retained their brevity of line. In the faces and figures of the to preserve a connection with these images. value. The pastdecades have left nodoubt that peasants who stand against backgrounds of Thus, forexample, thewell-known RedSquare Malevich belongs among those few artists whose colored fields there is anindirect, more mod (similar toBlack Square) was entitled in the work alters theartofanentire epoch. End erateconnection with Old Russian artthan was 19150,10catalog Painted Realism ofa Peas present in the earlier peasant heads. The econ ant Woman in Two Dimensions. When he omy of plastic means and a kind of depictive spoke about hisyouth, Malevich inhisautobi reticence create a special graphic keeness to ography (published only in 1976) kept empha which Malevich consciously aspired. "The sizing hisinterest in the peasant way oflife and
240 ArtjourtUll Notes N.L Altman, M.L Vasileva, V.V. Kamensky, The New Realism in Painting, Petrograd, I L.A. Yudin, Diary, entry for 27 October 1934. andA.M. Kirillova. 1916,9-10. Archive oftheartist's family, Leningrad. 14 Manuscript Division ofPushkin House, f. 172, 33 K. Malevich, "Introduction to the Theorv of 2 M. Matiushin, "On theExhibition of'The Last N.971. the Additional Element in Painting," 1925 Futurists' ," Ocharovannyi strannik, Petrograd, 15 K.S. Malevich, letter toMY Matiushin, Ezhegod (Printer's proofs). Private archive, Leningrad. 1916, 18. nik, 182. 34Kasimir Malevich, Die gegenstandslose Welt, 3 KS. Malevich, letter to MY Matiushin, June 16 K.S. Malevich, letter to MY Matiushin, Ezhegod Munich, 1927. 1913. Manuscript Division ofthe State Tretiakov nik, 192. 35 K.S. Malevich, letter to M.V. Matiushin, 20 sky Gallery, f. 25, d.9,1.8. 17 Ibid. March. Manuscript Division ofthe State Tretia 4 The organizers of the society Union of Youth 18 K. Malevich, God is not Cast Down, Vitebsk, kov Gallery, f.25, d. 9, 1.24. (1910 -14) were M.V. Matiushin and E.G. 1922, 15. 36A. Lunacharsky, "Russian Artists in Berlin," Guro. Members included P.N. Filonov, O.V. 19 VICtory over theSun, opera by A. Kruchenykh, Ogonek, 30, 1927. Rozanova, LS. Shkolnik, and V.L Matvei. On 3 music by M. Matiushin, St. Petersburg, 1913, 18. 37 WasmuthsMonatsheftefurBaukunst, x, 1927. January 1913 the Muscovites K.S. Malevich, V.E. 20 K.S. Petrov-Vodkin, lecture theses, 1920s. Man 38K.S. Malevich, Suprematism. 34 Drawings, Tatlin, andD.O. Burliuk were elected members. uscript Division oftheState Russian Museum, Vitebsk, 1920, 4. M.F. Larionov and N.S. Goncharova were con f. 105, ed. Khr. 15,1.28. 39Exhibition oftheWorks ofKS Malevich, State stant participants in the Union's exhibitions. 21 Velimir Khlebnikov, Collected Works, IV, lenin Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow, 1929. 5 M. Matiushin, A. Kruchenykh, andK Malevich, grad, 1930, 296. 40 Manuscript Division of the State Tretiakov "The First All-Russian Congress of Singers of 22 K.S. Malevich, letter toMY Matiushin, 9 May Gallery, f.8.11, d. 286, 1.31. the Future (Poet-Futurists)," Za sem'dnei, 15 1913- Manuscript Division ofthe State Tretiakov 41 LA. Yudin, Diary entry for 21 September 1934. August 1913- Gallery, f.25, d. 9, l.2. Archive oftheartist's family, Leningrad. 6 V. Khlebnikov wrote the "Prologue" tothe opera, 23 K. Malevich, Suprematism. 34 Drau~ngs, 42 K.S. Malevich, "Chapters from the Autobiog which was played onstage by A. Kruchenykh. Vitebsk, 1920. raphy ofan Artist," N. Khardzhiev, K. Malevich, Downloaded by [University of South Dakota] at 23:18 07 January 2015 7 These drawings along with seventeen more are 24Nikovai Fedorovich Fedorov (1828-1903), a M. Matiushin, Kistorii russkogo atangarda. in the Leningrad State Theatrical Museum. librarian at the Rumiantsev Museum in Moscow Stockholm, 1976, 107. 8 Letter to M.V. Matiushin from K.S. Malevich, anda mentor ofKE. Tsiolkovsky. 43Ibid, 103. 27 May 1915, in E.F. Kovtun, "Letters to 25/sRusstvo. VestnikotdelalZONKP, N.8, 1919. Matiushin," Ezhegodnik rukopisnogo otdela 26S. I. Dymshits-Toistaia, Memoirs. Manuscript Pushkinskogo doma na 1974 god, Leningrad, Division oftheState Russian Museum, f.!00, 1976,185-86. ed. khr, 249, 1.67. 9 Letter to M.V. Matiushin, late May 1913, 27 K.S. Malevich, "On the Theory ofthe Additional Ezhegodnik, 180. Element in Painting," paper given in GINKhUK, 10See the note by A. Rostislavov, Apollon, I, 16 June 1926. State Archive ofthe October Revo 1916,37. lution and Socialist Construction (GAORSS), II K.S. Malevich, letter to MY Matiushin, 29 Leningrad, f.2555, op. 1,d. 1018. May 1915, Ezhegodnik, 186. 28 P. Filonov, "Declaration of'World Flowering'," 12 K. Malevich, From Cubism toSuprematism. Zmzn'iskusstva, 20, 1923. The New Realism in Painting, Petrograd, 29Archive ofthe Filonov family, Leningrad. 1916, 14. 30Manuscript Division ofPushkin House, f. 656. 13 These tenpeople were K.L. Boguslavskaia, LV. 31 K.S. Malevich, letter to A. Benois, May 1915. Kliun, K.S. Malevich, M.L Menkov, V.E. Pestel, Manuscript Division oftheState Russian Mu L.S. Popova, LA. Puni, O.V. Rozanova, V.E. seum, f. 137, ed. khr. 1186. Tatlin, N.A. Udaltsova. To them were added 32 K. Malevich, From Cubism toSuprematism.
Fall19S1 241 Autoanimals (Samozoeri)
Autollnimills
By Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov TranslatedbySusan Cook Summer
Have I fallen from themoon? Elephants are a walk in theroom. I see a kangaroo doesbound Behind the kennel ofthehound. With thecuttlefish goes theseal, Along the hallI see them steal. Thekitchen door stands ajar Apair ofturtles crawls quitefar. Ah! Help! Against thedoor I throw my bulk, Crushed beneath theelephant's hulk. With my headagainst a beam Suddenly therecomes a scream: There--coward! Ah! How silly can I be, Figs. 1-6Alexander Rodchenko, Fig2 Surely they will noteatme photo-illustration for Autoanimals, 1926. These animals--autoanimals. Private Collection. Downloaded by [Indiana University Libraries] at 22:54 04 February 2015 Seewhat they can portray! And leaves protected by hisshield. Busy with affairs quiteimportant, In a knothistail is bound, Fedya crawls down on thesly Carrying a burdenis theelephant And through thehousehe walks roundand Tobe a tortoise hecanon thewashtub rely. Hehasa collected character round. Ahand-to Fedya. The tubfalls with a fuss. As he pumps water and hauls lumber. Heavily hissteps do sag Butis he worse offthan thetortoise? Theelephant's life isvery long, As he musthistrunk todrag. Forthreehundred years hegoes on strong. He lives in an apartment chalice Go ahead, tryandsee And frightens allwith hiscryofmalice. Make a note, allofyou fellows, Iftheelephant with hisknee But he cannot be called real In thesouththe ostrich grows. Picks Forhe walks aroundin heels. It runs all day amongst theheathers his Covered up in ostrich feathers. trunk. Greater thanwind velocity, Hehasbeenbrought upandhasbeen coached The courtyard is sown with someone. At 100miles an hourhe's quite speedy. Not likepeople-but almost. It is thetortoise, trying torun. The ostrichwould noteat anyone, Yasha, Gavrik along with Petya From the fence to thevase, He eats butgrassandnails: bong, bong. Have theirvery own Africa. Two vershoks an hour hispace. Butwhen he feels theneedto hide, Forthetusk-a log, forthetrunk-pants, The tortoise never bearsa scowl, This dumbbird lifts hisarm upwide. And a blanket fortheskin. And ifa dogbegins to howl, Underneath he putshishead Citizens! Look thisway! Thetortoise answers with a squeal And thinks he will be neglected. • 242 Artjoumal Fig. 3 Fig. -4 Fig. 5 Downloaded by [Indiana University Libraries] at 22:54 04 February 2015 Right into hisback Matvei And waking theseal says "thanks" tohim. Lyolka andKolka, noses inair, Pokes in branches ina special way. The seal'snottoolazy toeatthebeast, Try tocopy thegiraffe's manner and flair. All he really hastodo And grabs him quickly with histeeth. But as they are walking they arequite blind, Is create a head onthecount oftwo. While looking atthesky and mooring, Eventually they will probably befined. With a ballontheendofa stick He eats thefish without even salting. When their giraffe walks itcan'tseeahead, He makes a head that looks quite slick. It takes quite little tobecome a seal, With eyes on thechest and not inthehead. But ifanyone tries tocatch this one, Justwrap upina blanket andstarttoreel. The head under hisarm, off hewill run. lie on thefloor andtry toswim, Crossing bridge andriver onhisway, While catching fish with your hand-like fin. Out there where thewaves rush and swish It is thehead that hewill mislay. livesandnests thecuttlefish. Itsbody looks like a small cupola Eating alltheleaves with ease, And from it protrude two antenna. There on theiceslick and smooth The giraffe lives amongst thetrees. About safety not tohave tothink, Sleeps theseal, too lazytomove. With a neck that almost never ends, Itcarries around a sack ofblack ink. Justlike anoar ishishand-like fin, He eats andever prettier tends. There sheis,there is the crayfish, And hislayers offat warm him under theskin. He could hardly bea house dweller Go ahead, enemy, ifyou sowish. Near thepoles lamps arenotneeded, With nose inthechimney and feet inthecellar. But The sunstays aloft, quite unheeded. When itcomes to the apartment's heat don't Tomeet thesunthefish does swim, The giraffe requlres a truly great feat. fight.
Fall 1981 Jumps! There's a realhorse, just look at him, And they meet If you touch your spuragainst hisskin prfff? He will gallop offfrom theplace, And they meet Leaving hisriderina total daze. Chufff! Butover a question quite trivial Ajump-a meow-a great big blitz The headofthis horsebreaks from thetail. Exults and rejoices thecuttlefish. It was a disgrace, allthis fret andfray Don't you want to appreciate And eachhorse-half ran offina different way. How thevictors jubilate? Thefront Tothecorridor Out in Australia where it'shotday andnight The behind Lives the kangaroo with a jump solight. Totheyard She knows how, aswith a piece ofrail, And theridersatwhere hewas with a scream: To help her jump using her tail. " BUT WHAT CAN THIS ALL MEAN?" She is fashioned quite conveniently With a bagbuilt on toher belly. This bagwhich is onher stomach hung Susan Coo1l Summer is a specialist in Isthereforthelittle ones. Russian balletbistory alUla freelanee And there inthebag squeezed together like glue translator ofRussian alUlFreneb There are five merry little kangaroos. culturalalUlliterary texts. Fig. 6 And to a jump filled with frenzy They gaze about whistling continuously. Vanechka is busy with a game:
Downloaded by [Indiana University Libraries] at 22:54 04 February 2015 Like the kangaroo, he jumps thesame. Vanechka hasquite a speed, The onewho will fight Though histail he must always heed. With allhism-i-g-h-t And to Vanechka's lively dance Is thecu-tt-le-fi-sh. Two pupsin hisschoolbag sobandprance. And into thewater with a great big rush, All is black-s-complete darkness. The enemy's eyes Twenty versts in half an hour Are blinded bysurprise Rushes by theOrlov trotter. As thecuttlefish The oneswho canlift five tons QUicklyglides Are thefurry legged percherons. back Ina horsecloth decorated tosurplus back Atiny pony walks inthecircus. back for what thebrave cavalry need Home. Are racerswho have really topspeed. In a tiny cornermoving back Who carriesus, do you want to know? Katya's cuttlefish peersoutofa sack. Who plows thefield, carries theheavy load? And asshepeersattheenemy through acrack The horsewith spots from endtoend, Suddenly The dark gray horse, theBay--oureternal The enemy friend.
244 Artjoumtll Notes on Autoanimals creatures. Forexample, thetortoise is a good forced byeconomic stringencies tousephoto humored animal ("never bears a scowl") graphic illustrations instead. Such actual, three Tbe author: Ajournalist, novelist, anddocu and the elephant has been brought up well dimensional designs would have accomplished mentary photographer specializing in the Orient, (vcoached/Nct like people-but almost"). Rodchenko's artistic goals of presenting the Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov (1892 -1939) Each stanza is divided into two parts: thefirst multiple viewpoints and heightened realism received his first recognition as a member of is devoted to the animal itself andthesecond that are best achieved in cinematic art. The theSiberian Futurist organization Tvorchestvo to a child'sportrayal ofthat animal. photographic medium provided him with an (Creativity), active from 1919 to 1921. In excellent alternative forachieving these goals. 1923, he was a founding member ofLEF (Left Susan Coo"Summer and The reason for employing cut-out models Front of the Arts), the Moscow journal of Gall Harrison Roman instead of creating two-dimensional designs literature, criticism and art, whose editorial was to exploit thestarktonal effects resulting staff included the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky from the shadow reflections of the figures and the critic Osip Brik. LEF was published photographed in bright light. The sculptural, from 1923 to 1925 and published as Novyi angular forms ofthe characters boldly challenge LEF (New LEF) in 1927 and 1928. Tretiakov the two-dimensional quality of the book. The took over the position of editor-in-chief of play oftheshadows energizes thebackground Novyi LEF from Mayakovsky for the last five and extends the book-page into a stage-like numbers issued in 1928. Cinematic Whimsy: space. Furthermore, these works suggest cine Tretiakov's most important works include Rotkhenllo's Pboto matic motion and dynamism as actual and Listen, Moscow!, an agit-play produced in silhouetted forms are relieved through tonal 1923 by the cinematographer Sergei Eisen Illustrationsfor anddimensional contrasts with the background stein; Roar, China, a propagandistic play of Autoanimals space. It was undoubtedly hisexperience with 1926; andChina Testament: The Autobiogra film design (titles, posters, books) that inspired phy ofTan Sbib-bua of1934. Also, in 1929 he In 1926, Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov (1892 Rodchenko to create such highly animated contributed seven essays to theLiterature of 1939) commissioned theartist Alexander Mik figures. The shadows ofthe animals andchildren Fact, edited by Vladimir Chuzhak, which hailed hailovich Rodchenko (1891-1956) to design echo their actual forms, thus suggesting their the death of fiction and advocated literature illustrations for a projected (but unrealized) extension, or "movement," from the two-dimen thatwould express Marxist-Leninist theories as bookofhispoem Autoanima/s (Samozveri). I sional page to a potential three-dimensional thecornerstone ofthenew (Soviet) society. In 1921, Rodchenko had turned from easel portrayal. Tretiakov was purged and apparently exe painting andsculpture toutilitarian, "produc The elimination of unnecessary details and cuted during the late 1930s. His works were tivist" art:domestic design (furniture, clothing); the use of silhouetted forms emphasize the "rehabilitated" in theSoviet Union in 1956. typography (posters, publications); and pho elegant, simple geometry of the animals and tography (photomontage, film titles). Through children astheirshadows form patterns onthe Tbe b«"ground of tbe poem: Whereas outthe 1920s, Rodchenko increasingly devoted background of thepages. Perhaps theexcited theearlierLEF was more insistently devoted to hisefforts to books, journals, posters, photog animation described inthetext motivated Rod agitational propaganda ("agit-prop")-includ raphy, and film titles. Above all, his book chenko to create these mechanically whimsical ing optimistic manifestoes and excited rallying designs- represent thedynamism andoptimism figures. Unlike Tretiakov, forwhom Autoani cries ("For Innovation!")-the later Novyi lEF inspired by the social, political, and cultural mats seems to represent a psychological and placed greater emphasis on straightforward hopes oftheyoung Soviet Union. Experimental artistic respite from straightforward documen factography and advocated a platform ofutili bookdesign- in Russia dates from as early as tary works, Rodchenko employs for this project tarian arts. Tretiakov's unpublished text for 1910, but post-Revolutionary activity in the thesame artistic devices that can beobserved in Autoanima!s dates from 1926, ayear inwhich arts especially encouraged innovation and his more agitational, productivist work inboth theLEF presses lay dormant. This poem seems production. typography and photography; he even adapted to represent fortheauthor a breathing period Rodchenko's book designs areboth political certain stylistic tendencies ofhis pre-utilitarian between the stringent ideological demands of and artistic. As chief designer for the avant paintings andsculpture inthese designs. LEF and Novyi LEP. Perhaps Tretiakov was garde journals LEF andNovyi lEF, heproduced The bold planar juxtapositions of the geo
Downloaded by [George Mason University] at 04:55 27 December 2014 indulging some personal whim, seeking creative covers, title pages, illustrations, and layouts, metric forms--circles, cylinders, rectangles; expression in a work not necessarily motivated aU ofwhich show hisenthusiasm forvanguard curvilinear and straight-edged shapes-are byexternal sociopolitical conditions. art forms as a manifestation ofthenew social drawn from the geometric abstraction that Unlike much Soviet children's literature of andartistic organization ofSoviet life. 4 characterized Rodchenko's art during the this period, Autoanimals isnotpropagandistic. From hisearliest association with LEF, Rod pre-LEF years. The dynamic rhythm of his It retains thewhimsy ofOld Russian fairy tales chenko hadexperimented extensively with pho Compass-and-Ruler works andhisexperimen andsome ofthefantasy ofNikolai Leskov's 1873 tography. S He introduced photomontage tothe tal sculpture- reappear in the illustrations to novel Tbe Bncbanted Wanderer. The poem is Soviet Union, and created film titles for the "Autoanimals." The marvelous combination unusual in Tretiakov's oeuvre, which is more cinematographer Dziga Vertov (1896-1954). of geometric precision in the cut-out forms generally ofa documentary nature, but itstands Tretiakov-himselfa photographer-appre andthefantasy-shapes ofthefigures represent -along with Alexander Rodchenko's photo ciated Rodchenko's photographic talents and the whimsical abstraction developed by Rod illustrations-as a splendid example ofSoviet chose him as theillustrator ofAutoanimals. chenko earlier in the 1920s in film titles, children's literature. (The works of Samuel For his projected illustrations, Rodchenko advertising posters, and commercial logos." Marshak arealso called tomind inthis regard.) -along with his wife Varvara Stepanova For example, inthelogo for "News" reproduced photographed cardboard cut-out figures that here(Fig. 7), theprecise, colored geometric Tbe poem: Autoanima/s describes eight ani he had constructed in theform oftheanimals shapes are relieved from their background mals-elephant, tortoise, ostrich, seal, giraffe, and children mentioned in the text (Figs. surface by hard-edged contour and comple cuttlefish, kangaroo, horse-anthropomorph 1-6). Itseems highly possible thatRodchenko mentary relationships (red-green). The geo ized to a high degree. Tretiakov attributes intended such pop-up figures to be the final metric precision is repeated in the cut-out human emotional and social values to these illustrations forAutoanima/s but that hewas forms ofthe"Autoanimals," andthe chromatic
Fall 1981 245 Notes on Autoanimals creatures. Forexample, thetortoise is a good forced byeconomic stringencies tousephoto humored animal ("never bears a scowl") graphic illustrations instead. Such actual, three Tbe author: Ajournalist, novelist, anddocu and the elephant has been brought up well dimensional designs would have accomplished mentary photographer specializing in the Orient, (vcoached/Nct like people-but almost"). Rodchenko's artistic goals of presenting the Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov (1892 -1939) Each stanza is divided into two parts: thefirst multiple viewpoints and heightened realism received his first recognition as a member of is devoted to the animal itself andthesecond that are best achieved in cinematic art. The theSiberian Futurist organization Tvorchestvo to a child'sportrayal ofthat animal. photographic medium provided him with an (Creativity), active from 1919 to 1921. In excellent alternative forachieving these goals. 1923, he was a founding member ofLEF (Left Susan Coo"Summer and The reason for employing cut-out models Front of the Arts), the Moscow journal of Gall Harrison Roman instead of creating two-dimensional designs literature, criticism and art, whose editorial was to exploit thestarktonal effects resulting staff included the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky from the shadow reflections of the figures and the critic Osip Brik. LEF was published photographed in bright light. The sculptural, from 1923 to 1925 and published as Novyi angular forms ofthe characters boldly challenge LEF (New LEF) in 1927 and 1928. Tretiakov the two-dimensional quality of the book. The took over the position of editor-in-chief of play oftheshadows energizes thebackground Novyi LEF from Mayakovsky for the last five and extends the book-page into a stage-like numbers issued in 1928. Cinematic Whimsy: space. Furthermore, these works suggest cine Tretiakov's most important works include Rotkhenllo's Pboto matic motion and dynamism as actual and Listen, Moscow!, an agit-play produced in silhouetted forms are relieved through tonal 1923 by the cinematographer Sergei Eisen Illustrationsfor anddimensional contrasts with the background stein; Roar, China, a propagandistic play of Autoanimals space. It was undoubtedly hisexperience with 1926; andChina Testament: The Autobiogra film design (titles, posters, books) that inspired phy ofTan Sbib-bua of1934. Also, in 1929 he In 1926, Sergei Mikhailovich Tretiakov (1892 Rodchenko to create such highly animated contributed seven essays to theLiterature of 1939) commissioned theartist Alexander Mik figures. The shadows ofthe animals andchildren Fact, edited by Vladimir Chuzhak, which hailed hailovich Rodchenko (1891-1956) to design echo their actual forms, thus suggesting their the death of fiction and advocated literature illustrations for a projected (but unrealized) extension, or "movement," from the two-dimen thatwould express Marxist-Leninist theories as bookofhispoem Autoanima/s (Samozveri). I sional page to a potential three-dimensional thecornerstone ofthenew (Soviet) society. In 1921, Rodchenko had turned from easel portrayal. Tretiakov was purged and apparently exe painting andsculpture toutilitarian, "produc The elimination of unnecessary details and cuted during the late 1930s. His works were tivist" art:domestic design (furniture, clothing); the use of silhouetted forms emphasize the "rehabilitated" in theSoviet Union in 1956. typography (posters, publications); and pho elegant, simple geometry of the animals and tography (photomontage, film titles). Through children astheirshadows form patterns onthe Tbe b«"ground of tbe poem: Whereas outthe 1920s, Rodchenko increasingly devoted background of thepages. Perhaps theexcited theearlierLEF was more insistently devoted to hisefforts to books, journals, posters, photog animation described inthetext motivated Rod agitational propaganda ("agit-prop")-includ raphy, and film titles. Above all, his book chenko to create these mechanically whimsical ing optimistic manifestoes and excited rallying designs- represent thedynamism andoptimism figures. Unlike Tretiakov, forwhom Autoani cries ("For Innovation!")-the later Novyi lEF inspired by the social, political, and cultural mats seems to represent a psychological and placed greater emphasis on straightforward hopes oftheyoung Soviet Union. Experimental artistic respite from straightforward documen factography and advocated a platform ofutili bookdesign- in Russia dates from as early as tary works, Rodchenko employs for this project tarian arts. Tretiakov's unpublished text for 1910, but post-Revolutionary activity in the thesame artistic devices that can beobserved in Autoanima!s dates from 1926, ayear inwhich arts especially encouraged innovation and his more agitational, productivist work inboth theLEF presses lay dormant. This poem seems production. typography and photography; he even adapted to represent fortheauthor a breathing period Rodchenko's book designs areboth political certain stylistic tendencies ofhis pre-utilitarian between the stringent ideological demands of and artistic. As chief designer for the avant paintings andsculpture inthese designs. LEF and Novyi LEP. Perhaps Tretiakov was garde journals LEF andNovyi lEF, heproduced The bold planar juxtapositions of the geo
Downloaded by [George Mason University] at 04:09 19 December 2014 indulging some personal whim, seeking creative covers, title pages, illustrations, and layouts, metric forms--circles, cylinders, rectangles; expression in a work not necessarily motivated aU ofwhich show hisenthusiasm forvanguard curvilinear and straight-edged shapes-are byexternal sociopolitical conditions. art forms as a manifestation ofthenew social drawn from the geometric abstraction that Unlike much Soviet children's literature of andartistic organization ofSoviet life. 4 characterized Rodchenko's art during the this period, Autoanimals isnotpropagandistic. From hisearliest association with LEF, Rod pre-LEF years. The dynamic rhythm of his It retains thewhimsy ofOld Russian fairy tales chenko hadexperimented extensively with pho Compass-and-Ruler works andhisexperimen andsome ofthefantasy ofNikolai Leskov's 1873 tography. S He introduced photomontage tothe tal sculpture- reappear in the illustrations to novel Tbe Bncbanted Wanderer. The poem is Soviet Union, and created film titles for the "Autoanimals." The marvelous combination unusual in Tretiakov's oeuvre, which is more cinematographer Dziga Vertov (1896-1954). of geometric precision in the cut-out forms generally ofa documentary nature, but itstands Tretiakov-himselfa photographer-appre andthefantasy-shapes ofthefigures represent -along with Alexander Rodchenko's photo ciated Rodchenko's photographic talents and the whimsical abstraction developed by Rod illustrations-as a splendid example ofSoviet chose him as theillustrator ofAutoanimals. chenko earlier in the 1920s in film titles, children's literature. (The works of Samuel For his projected illustrations, Rodchenko advertising posters, and commercial logos." Marshak arealso called tomind inthis regard.) -along with his wife Varvara Stepanova For example, inthelogo for "News" reproduced photographed cardboard cut-out figures that here(Fig. 7), theprecise, colored geometric Tbe poem: Autoanima/s describes eight ani he had constructed in theform oftheanimals shapes are relieved from their background mals-elephant, tortoise, ostrich, seal, giraffe, and children mentioned in the text (Figs. surface by hard-edged contour and comple cuttlefish, kangaroo, horse-anthropomorph 1-6). Itseems highly possible thatRodchenko mentary relationships (red-green). The geo ized to a high degree. Tretiakov attributes intended such pop-up figures to be the final metric precision is repeated in the cut-out human emotional and social values to these illustrations forAutoanima/s but that hewas forms ofthe"Autoanimals," andthe chromatic
Fall 1981 245 effects are analogous to thetonal contrasts- drawn also from black-and-white film5--{)f Autoanimals. We wait anxiously for these charming figures to move asifthey were made of sheet metal andhinged at theedges ofeach geometric section. Although itisonlyourmind that casts them into "animated narration," the cinematic effect isachieved. Finally, thevaried planar perspectives, unusual viewpoints and dramatic chiaroscuro heighten our apprecia tionofthe forms themselves aswell asoftheir narrative function . These effects also appear in Rodchenko's photographs" (Figs. 8 and 9) , andthey represent inlarge measure theartist's attempts to re-form the spectator's visual ex perience. In 1927 hewrote:
. .. one circles an object, a building, ora person and thinks: "How should I take this-this way, or that way orthis way?" It's alloutmoded. We have been educated, raised for thousands ofyears ona variety
Fig. 7Alexander Rodcbenko. titleJar News logo. 1924- ofpaintings, to see everything according to the compositional rules ofour grand mothers. But we must revolutionize people by making them see from all vantage points andinalllights. 9 The photo-pictures designed by Rodchenko for Autoanimals both highlight and comple Fig. 8 Alexander Rodchenko, Diving, photograph, 1936 Private Collection. ment Tretiakov's text. Rodchenko's "camera eye"animates thecharacters both emotionally Notes rison Roman,"The Ins and Outs of Russian
Downloaded by [George Mason University] at 04:09 19 December 2014 and dynamically. These ingenious figures en IAGerman translation has recently been pub Avant-Garde Books: AHistory, 1910 - 1932." hance thewhimsical nature andtheentertain lished as Selbst Gemachte Tiere, ed. Werner The Auant-Garde in Russia. 1910-1932: ment value of the poem. The organic link Fiitterer and Hubertus Gassner, Cologne, 1980. Neu:Perspectives, Los Angeles County Museum between content andform inillustrated litera I am not in complete agreement with the ofArt, 1980. ture dates back to Symbolism in Russia, as format orthe commentary ofthis edition. 4 On LEF, see: Robert Sherwood,"Introduction elsewhere. Rodchenko felt a special affinity for 2On Rodchenko 's book designs, see my essay to LEF," Form, x, October, 1969, 29ff; The the works of Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) "Graphic Commitment," Rodchenko, ed. David Tradition ojConsJrucJivism, ed. Stephen Bann, and Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1911) , and the Elliott, Oxford, Museum ofModem Art, 1979; New York, 1974, 79ff; Russian Art oj the transformational effects ofimages andshadows L. Volkov-Lannit,AlexLlnder Rodchenko:Risuet, Aoant-Garde: Theory and Criticism, 1902 in Autoanimals may well remind us of the Fotograjiruet, Spoti! (Draughtsman, Photog 1934, ed. John E. Bowlt, New York, 1977, works ofthese two Symbolist artists. Ultimately, rapher. Sportsman) , Moscow, 1968. 199ff. Rodchenko's cover designs for LEF and Rodchenko's extension ofthe traditional bound 3 On Russian experimental book design, see: Nouyi LEF areillustrated in Elliott, ed., Rod aries of art into a synthetic representation of Szymon Bojko, New Graphic Design in Revo cbenko, 20 - 23. two-dimensional photo-illustrations andthree lutionary Russia. New York, 1972; Arthur A. 5 Rodchenko was accused, apparently unjustly, dimensional cinematic effects has transformed Cohen, "Futurismand Constructivism: Russian by some critics of plagiarizing the works of en page the characters of Autoanima/s into and Other," PrintCollectors ' Neusleuer, VII, foreign photographers, most notably Moholoy visionary emotive shapes that represent, among no. I, 1976, 2-4; Susan Compton, The World Nagy. This controversy can be followed inpart other things: the purposeful stride of the ele Backwards: Russian Futurist Books, 1912 in the polemical essays and letters by Rod phant, thegraceful silliness ofthegiraffe, and 1916, London, 1978;Vladimir Markov, Russian chenko himself andthe critic Boris Kushner in thegleeful imitations by thechildren. Futurism:AHistory. London, 1969; Gail Har- thepages ofNovyi LEF. 246 ArtJourtl41 Fig. 9 Alexander Rodchenko, Young Woman in"Speckled Light," photograph, 1934. Private CollecJion.
6These works are illustrated in Elliott, ed., Downloaded by [George Mason University] at 04:09 19 December 2014 Rodchenko, 29- 53- 7A limited amount of private enterprise was allowed to function , under the supervision of theCommunist party, inorder to stimulate the Soviet economy. This program, which included advertising, was known as NEP for "New Eco nomic Policy," and it lasted from 1921 to 1928. 8 On Rodchenko's photography, see: Ronny H. Cohen,"Alexander Rodchenko," Print Col leaors' Newsletter, \111 , no. 3, 1977,68 - 70. On Russian photography of the period, see: Susan Compton, "Art and Photography," Print Collectors'Newsletter, \11, no. I, 1976, 12 -14. 9Alexander Rodchenko, "Zapisnaya Kniga 'LEFa', ['LEF' Notebook], Novy; LEF, 6, 1927,3-4.
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