Branches of Unovis in Smolensk and Orenburg

Chapter 6 Branches of Unovis in Smolensk and Orenburg

Alexander Lisov

Kazimir Malevich realised that Suprematism could only be firmly established as a substantial art movement in Russia with the support of an association of like-minded individuals. He had thought about this a long time before he arrived in Vitebsk on 5 November 1919, but he only succeeded in actually or- ganising such an association in Vitebsk, where he established a ‘party of Supre- matism’, Unovis (Utverditeli novogo iskusstva – Champions of the New Art), in January-February of 1920. By the summer of that year, the Suprematists dom- inated the school. From the very beginning of Unovis, Malevich intended to extend the influence of his ideas beyond Vitebsk. He counted on gaining the support of art schools in other Russian cities, including Moscow, and securing the assistance of artists with whom he had already cooperated. The author of the first brief account of the group’s origin, published in the Unovis almanac, was probably Ivan Gavris. At the end of May 1920, he reported that ‘during the comparatively short period of its existence, Unovis has man- aged to make contact with and organise Unovis in other cities’.1 It is clear from the text that one of these branches was in Smolensk. In fact, Gavris names no other cities in which branches were established. Evidently, the possibility of setting up other branches of Unovis had been discussed from the moment of its creation in Vitebsk. In this endeavour, Malevich’s working relations with his former students at the Second State Free Art Studios (Gosudarstvennye svobodnye khudozhestvennye masterskie – Svomas) in Moscow were vital. The artist evidently worked on creating other branches of Unovis by correspondence, which unfortunately is not preserved in its entirety.2 First of all,

1 [I.T. Gavris], ‘Kratkaia istoriia vozniknoveniia “Unovis”’, Unovis No. 1 (Vitebsk: Unovis, 1920), [sheet 44]; reprinted in ‘Unovis No. 1. Vitebsk. 1920. Prilozhenie k faksimil’nomu izdaniiu’, in Unovis No. 1. Vitebsk. 1920. Faksimil’noe izdanie, ed. Tat’iana Goriacheva (Moscow: State Tretyakov Gallery / Izdatel’stvo Skanrus, 2003), 88-90; English translation as ‘A Short History of the Origins of Unovis’, in Larissa A. Zhadova, Malevich: Suprematism and Revolution in Russian Art 1910-1930, trans. Alexander Lieven (London: Thames and Hudson, 1982), 305-309. 2 For surviving items of correspondence, see Kazimir Malevich, Letters, Documents, Memoirs and Criticism, Russian edition: eds., Irina A. Vakar and Tatiana N. Mikhienko; English edition: trans. Antonina W. Bouis, ed. Wendy Salmond, general ed. Charlotte Douglas (London: Tate Publishing, 2015), 2 vols.

Malevich turned to Petr Miturich in Moscow who was close to Velimir Khleb- nikov and to Grigorii Petnikov in Kharkov. It is revealing that Unovis, like the earlier Supremus group, was conceived as an alliance of innovators, not only in the field of fine arts, but also in literature, music, and the theatre. Malevich placed great hopes on the conference at the State Free Art Studios in Moscow and on the accompanying exhibition of the Vitebsk Unovis in June 1920. The exhibition was intended to demonstrate the organisation’s successes and the quality of Malevich’s pedagogical system. He was not disappointed. Branches of Unovis began to be set up in Perm, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Saratov, and Odessa. A special role was played by the branches in nearby Smolensk and Orenburg, where some degree of success was achieved in developing and applying the principles of Malevich’s system, and where the artist himself be- came directly involved in their activities. Malevich regarded Unovis as an organisation of representatives of the most recent art trends – Cubism, Futurism and Suprematism. Among these, Supre- matism was naturally the ultimate goal and was seen as the culmination of painting’s evolution. He called Unovis ‘a party in art’, an association of like- minded creative figures, who would fight for Suprematism, its philosophy and world view. Malevich made these attitudes clear in his article entitled ‘Con- cerning a Party in Art’.3 Yet Malevich also thought about Unovis in relation to the practical tasks of art education. He realised that, in the current situa- tion, he needed to promote the programme of artistic training (that he had developed) in the provincial art schools and gain support there, before he would be able to introduce his approach to the capital. It would clearly not be possible for his ideas to gain immediate acceptance in the centre, since he had encountered such strong opposition from the leadership of the Moscow State Free Art Studios, as well as from the Department of Fine Arts within the People’s Commissariat of Education (Otdel izobrazitel’nykh iskusstv, Nar- odnyi komissariat prosveshcheniia – IZO Narkompros) in the person of David Shterenberg. Malevich counted on gaining the support of the student masses and like-minded artists in the provinces. He thought of his stay in Vitebsk as temporary and forced. Once he had acquired support, then his new pedagogical system would be approved and implemented throughout the new Russia. This was one of his main concerns in 1920-1921.

3 Kazimir Malevich, ‘O partii v iskusstve’ [Concerning a Party in Art], Put’ Unovisa, 1 (Jan- uary 1921); reprinted in Kazimir Malevich, Sobranie sochinenii v piati tomakh, ed. Aleksandra Shatskikh (Moscow: Gileia, 1995), I: 223-230; English translation in Anna Kafetsi, ed., Russian Avant-Garde 1910-1930: The G. Costakis Collection: Theory – Criticism (Athens: Ministry of Cul- ture, National Gallery / Alexandros Soutzos Museum; and Delphi: European Cultural Centre of Delphi, 1995), 556-558.