RU s Co sia ns n tr Uc t
ivi
sm
CONTENT 1
INTRO
2
BRIEF HISTORY
4
EL LISSITZKY
6
ALEXANDER RODCHENKO
10
STENBERG BROTHERS
12
LEGACY
14
BIBLIOGRAPHY / COLOPHON
Lissitzky, Beat The Whites, Lithograph (1920)
O R T IN
e , th ssia ind u R of to m think ly come people e l e p y o lik man ence t pe ost mos t will m et, what ge influ with n Whe hts tha e. Y e hu arts g is th of the ctivism. gativ thou are ne ognize s area ost c y nstru toda il to re ifferent sian co re, or m n a d s f u t u s s ia R on ec will ade tion of y, archit the Ru after m y r ; d the ontribu poet sign ishe c was hic de at flour esh new t the i r r p h f of tt the gra men , was a ioneers c Whe tantly e v o p r m sti od impo ructivist ry peri ign. The nal arti d a s t n nte itio cons volutio hing de trad xperime uld c e d r a e e wo ject tead the ppro hat e. of a ment re ins as t e com d way e d i o n t ov d a s n r m a the ositions niques a e ye in th h p com ew tec fluence n n jor i with a ma e v ha
Left Page: Lissitzky, “Beat the whites with the Red Wedge�, Lithograph (1920)
1
BRIEF HISTORY t the turn of the twentieth century, the aftermath of Russia’s involvement with World War I and the revolution that quickly followed had dramatically altered the political and social foundations. It began with an uprising of the lower class people who protested the war, the poor living conditions and their contempt for the aristocracy who were responsible. As a result, Czar Nicholas II and his royal family were overthrown and executed by the Bolshevik revolution that eventually took control of the government by 1917. ”During this period of political trauma, a brief flowering of creative art in Russia had an international influence on twentieth-century graphic design.”
A
2
Immediately after the revolution the Bolsheviks established a news agency, the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA), to disseminate their political ideals and reject Czarist Russia. Artist and poet, Vladimir Mayakovski, created ROSTA posters that were heavily influenced by Russian futurist publications. These posters were displayed in shop windows and simple enough for the largely illiterate audience to understand. He used simple geometric illustrations depicting capitalist and their evil ways with bold typefaces to get the message across. This massive propaganda campaign marked the beginning of new movement in Russia called constructivism.
Mayakovski, ROSTA Windows, Lithographs (1920-21)
“ Constructivism sought to reconstruct a new society in which workers; artists’, engineers, and scientists would search for solutions to their modern problems.” The Russian constructivist movement was an artistic philosophy that became prominent in response to reshape the political and social culture in the country. The movement drew influence and characteristics from concurring movements at the time such as cubism, futurism, Dadaism, and more. It sought to reconstruct a new society in which workers; artists’, engineers, and scientists would search for solutions to their modern problems. Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko led twenty-five artists to advance this new constructivist viewpoint. Their goal was to “devote themselves to industrial design, visual communications, and applied arts serving the new communist society.” These artists called themselves constructivists who were guided by an ideology formulated by Aleksei Gan’s 1922 brochure, Konstructivizm. In contrast to this ideology, another key pioneer to the movement was, Kasimir Malevich, who founded a painting style of basic form and pure color that he called suprematism. “In the early 1910’s, Malevichs’ painting of a single black square defined suprematism, a new aesthetic based on nonrepresentational imagery that distilled visual forms to an essential grammar.” He clung to the idea of art for art’s sake and rejected both utilitarian and pictorial representations. This in turn, developed the deep ideological
Mayakovski, Black Square, Painting (1923)
split concerning the role of the artist in the new communist state. Artists, including Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky, “argued that art must remain an essentially spiritual activity apart from the utilitarian needs of society.” Both Constructivism and suprematism simultaneously had an influence on Russian artists that helped develop the foundations of what would become Russian Constructivism.
3
EL LAVAR LISSITZKY l Lissitzky was one of the most innovative and proficient designers of the constructivist ideal. At age nineteen, he studied architecture at the Darmstadt, Germany School of Engineering and Architecture, which later influenced his mathematical and structural approach to art. In 1919 he was invited to join the faculty at the revolutionary art school in Vitebsk. Here, he developed a painting style that he called PROUNS, which was heavily influenced by Malevich’s suprematism. “In contrast to the absolute flatness of Malevich’s picture plane, PROUNS introduced three-dimensional illusions that receded behind the picture plane and projected forward from the picture plane.”
E
4
In 1921 Lissitzky was appointed head of the architectural faculty at VKhUTEMAS art school in Moscow. By this time he was traveling back and forth to Germany where it became a breeding ground for eastern and western ideas to flourish. Excellent printing facilities in Germany allowed him to develop his typographic ideas rapidly. “His tremendous energy and range of experimentation with photomontage, printmaking, graphic design, and painting enabled him to become the main conduit through which suprematist and constructivist ideas flowed into Western Europe.” Lissitzky became a tremendous influence on the structural layouts of book design and advertisements from various commis-
Lissitzky, self portrait, photograph manipulation (1924)
sions and publications. One of the most influential book designs was The Isms of Art 1914-1924. His three column horizontal grid for the title page and three column vertical grid used for text became an important step toward organizing information. Before his death in 1941, due to an eighteen-year battle with tuberculosis, he spent most of his time with large exhibition projects for the Soviet government. To this day, His standard of excellence in his design work still continues to influence todays modern graphic design techniques.
“SUCH WORK NOW BELONGS TO THE DUTY OF THE ARTIST AS A CITIZEN OF THE COMMUNITY WHO IS CLEANING THE FIELD OF THE OLD RUBBISH IN PREPARATION FOR THE NEW LIFE” —EL LISSITZKY
Top left: Book cover of periodical “Merz” 8-9, graphic design (1924); Right: The Sentinel Pobeda nad Solntsem, Lithograph (1923) Bottom left: First Kestner Portfolio: PROUN, Lithograph (1923); Right: “For the Voice”, Artist book, graphic design (1923)
5
ALEXANDER RODCHENKO lexander Rodchenko was another influential artist of Russian constructivism. Originally, he created geometric and precise paintings, but eventually abandoned his practice to pursue visual communication in 1921. Rodchenko believed he had a duty to support the Russian society instead of creating selfish works of art. He collaborated with Mayakovski to create page designs in which he experimented with strong geometric construction, large areas of pure color, and concise, legible lettering. “His heavy san-serif handlettering engendered the bold san-serif types that were widely used in the Soviet Union.”
A
6
In 1923, Rodchenko and Mayakovski continued to collaborate on the design of a magazine, entitled Novyi Lef that encompassed all fields of the creative arts. “Rodchenko often deployed contrasting bold, blocky type and hardedged shapes against the softer forms and edges of photomontages.” The development of photomontage in film highly motivated Rodchenko to innovate an illustration technique that suited the twentieth century. He explored various techniques such as showing simultaneous action; super-imposing images; using extreme close-ups and perspective images, often together; and rhythmically repeating an image. He also developed a serial design technique where he applied an underlying structure of common
Rodchenko, O.M.Brik, Photomontage (1927)
elements that unified a series. Rodchenko’s consistent exploration of various techniques and use of photomontage are a testament to his contribution to the world of graphic design. His work directly influenced the next generation of twentieth century graphic designers.
“THE LINE HAS REVOLTIONIZED OUR VIEW OF THE PICTORIAL SURFACE BY CHANGING THE IDEA THAT FORM IS NO MORE THAN A PATCH OF COLOUR.” —ALEXANDER RODCHENKO
Rodchenko, “Better Pacifiers there were never, I’m prepared to suck forever.”, collage gouache on photographic paper. (1923)
7
8
Rodchenko, Poster for the film “The Battleship Potemkin”, Lithograph. (1925)
9
Left: LEF Cover design for issue No.2, Graphic Design (April-May 1923) Right: LEF Cover design for issue No. 3, Graphic Design (June-July 1923)
STENBERG BROTHERS eorgii and Vladimir Augustovich Stenberg both studied engineering but later attended the Stroganov School of Applied Art in Moscow. These talented brothers collaborated together and were very prolific in producing numerous film posters and theatrical designs. “Mindful of the reproduction difficulties with photographs at the time, they improvised a projector to enlarge film images and then made meticulously realistic drawings for their posters by skewing, tracing, and combining the images.” They experimented with three-dimensional illusions that were contrasted by flat forms and bright colors that conveyed a strong direct message in their poster designs. The Stenberg brothers can arguably be said to be the pioneers of modern day movie poster designs.
G
10
Film poster for “The General”, graphic design (1929)
11
Left: Film poster for “The Man with the Movie Camera”, graphic design (1929) Right: Film poster for “The Eleventh Year of the Revolution”, graphic design (1928)
THE LEGACY onstructivism was an artistic movement that has come to define a tumultuous time in Russian history. The desire to change Russian society was the encouragement that these artists used to communicate to the masses. These designers were a diverse group of minds that had a core understanding of the need for change in Russia. The designers discussed here, such as El Lissitzky, Alexander Rodchenko, Kasimir Malevich, and the Stenberg brothers created new ways of thinking and approaching design that still resonate in todays graphical communication. Their work in the form of graphic design is highly distinguishable due to its basic form and function; it’s renowned calculated and ordered structure, geometric styling, page space, economy of materials, and the simple yet emotive choices of color. Despite its decline in Russia, constructivism flourished elswhere. It was an important early influence on the European modern movement, and became an enduring inspiration to Western artists and designers through the teachings of Constructivist thinkers.
C
12
Gyorgy Kepes, Juliet with Peacocock Feather and Red Leaf, gelatin silver print with red gouche (1937)
13
Left: Gyorgy Kepes, Untitled, photograph gelatin silver print (date unknown) Right: Saul Bass, film trade ad “On The Mark� (date unkown)
BiBLIOGRAPHY Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 317. Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 319.
14
Drucker, J., & McVarish, E. (2013). Graphic design history: A critical guide,2nd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson, p. 181 Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 319. Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 319. Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 320. Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 325.
Meggs, Phillip B. (2016) History of Graphic Design, 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, p. 327.
COLOPHONE This catalogue was created in InDesign. All images are not my property. The font used for all body-text is Akzidenz Grotesk regular 9/12 pt.; Qutoes 14/16.8 pt. Titles in Kremlin 30/30 pt. Catalogue was printed on Epson Super B3. This Catalogue was designed by Joseph Bueno
Malevich, Red Square, Painting oil on canvas, (1925)