Constructivism
Description
Constructivism (Russian: конструктивизм, romanized: konstruktivizm) is an early twentieth-century art movement founded in 1915 by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko. Abstract and austere, constructivist art aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space. The movement rejected decorative stylization in favour of the industrial assemblage of materials. Constructivists were in favour of art for propaganda and social purposes, and were associated with Soviet socialism, the Bolsheviks, and the Russian avant-garde. Read more ↗
Key Artists
Vladimir Tatlin
Founder of Constructivism who pioneered three-dimensional 'counter-reliefs' and designed the monumental industrial tower Monument to the Third International.
Alexander Rodchenko
Co-founder and versatile master of spatial constructions, photomontage, graphic design, and industrial photography who championed utilitarian art for the proletariat.
Varvara Stepanova
Leading constructivist designer and theorist who applied geometric structures to industrial textile production, theatrical costumes, and typography.
Liubov Popova
Brilliant painter and designer who transitioned from 'Painterly Architectonics' to utilitarian constructivist set design and mass-produced clothing fabrics.
El Lissitzky
International ambassador of Constructivism whose 'Prouns', exhibition designs, and radical book layouts influenced the German Bauhaus and Dutch De Stijl.
Naum Gabo
Pioneer constructivist sculptor who co-authored the 1920 Realistic Manifesto, utilizing transparent glass, plastic, and metal wires to articulate space and time.
Antoine Pevsner
Sculptor and co-signer of the Realistic Manifesto who constructed dynamic, twisted surface planes out of welded copper and industrial metals.
Alexander Vesnin
Leading constructivist architect and stage designer who co-founded the OSA Group and designed functionalist, glass-and-steel industrial architecture.
Famous Artworks
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Fun Facts
In 1921, twenty-five leading members of the Institute of Artistic Culture (INKhUK) in Moscow formally voted to abandon easel painting forever, renouncing fine art as a bourgeois luxury and pledging to apply their skills strictly to industrial design, typography, and Soviet mass production.
↗ Source: tate.org.uk
Vladimir Tatlin designed his famous 400-meter-tall Monument to the Third International with three colossal internal glass buildings that would physically rotate at different speeds: the bottom cube once a year, the middle pyramid once a month, and the top cylinder once a day.
↗ Source: britannica.com