The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, 1917-1946

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Rodchenko: Design

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A new title in the Design series and an excellent introduction to the life and work of this versatile Russian artist. Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (1891-1953) was a central figure in the Russian Constructivist art movement; a radical activist, a pioneer of photomontage, a theorist, and a teacher. He was an active force in the organization of the first museums of modern art that arose in Russia in the first years after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Attending art school in 1914 in Kazan was to be a defining influence: that year Russian Futurists performed in the town, and Rodchenko saw their leading figures in action. It transformed his vision and he was still working with Futurist artists and their ideas twenty-five years later. And it was at art school where Rodchenko first met the artist Varvara Stepanova, with whom he collaborated extensively, and who would become his life-long partner. Central in the re-examination of art and its place in society after the Revolution, and in the search for a new culture without the class implications of the past, Rodchenko's radical approach proposed a new understanding of a constructed, rather than a tastefully composed, culture. This concise, comprehensive and informative work focuses largely on Rodchenko's graphic work in the form of book jackets, posters and advertising. Abbemuseumr is Visiting Professor at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Tutor, painter, writer, and exhibition organizer, John Milner specialises in nineteenth and twentieth century art in France and in Russia. He is currently preparing a re-presentation of the extensive collection of works by El Lissitzky at the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Netherlands. He has lectured at the National Gallery, Tate, and Royal Academy of Arts in London, at the Henry Moore Institute, and at many other universities and museums.

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Aleksandr Rodchenko

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Five essays from five contributors. catalogue and reference material. comprehensive overview of work by Aleksander Rodchenko; 221 color plates, 114 duotone illustrations.,

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Rodchenko & Popova: Defining Constructivism

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Experiments for The Future: Diaries, Essays, Letters and Other Writings

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This book contains all of the diaries, programs, essays, and major articles written by Alexander Rodchenko between 1911 and 1956. The word "experiment" was a key word for the artist, who conceived of his multimedia oeuvre as one huge experiment. Referred to by his friends and contemporaries as "a scout of the future," Rodchenko sought new paths in graphic design and painting, sculpture and architecture, poster design and cinema, photography and book design, and furniture and theatre design. The first chapter in this volume covers the early life of Rodchenko and relates to the time of his studies in the Kazan art school. His diaries from 1911-15 relate the vivid atmosphere of the school, explain the artist's early tastes for theatrical, oriental and medieval motifs, and recall the moments when he first met Varvara Stepanova, his lifetime partner and fellow artist. The second chapter covers the most active years of the Russian avant-garde movement: 1916-21. Here Rodchenko is linked to Vladimir Tatlin and his evolution as a non-objective painter comes about. His writings from this period explore his interest in the artistic process, in the way ideas are born, and often make comparisons with other artistic trends of the time: suprematism, cubism, and impressionism. The third chapter runs through the 20s and the height of the constructivist movement, when Rodchenko became one of the leading designers of the time. This chapter is the most comprehensive, featuring writings dedicated to industrial design education, graphic design, advertising, photomontage and photography. The fourth chapter reveals the artist's mood and the general Soviet culture situation of the 30s, a time of political change, accusations of formalism, and great success in photography. The last chapter is dedicated to the war and postwar period and contains only diary texts in which the artist recounts his family's evacuation to the country, his subsequent hard living and working conditions, as well as his musings on the cultural politics of the time and life in general. Originally published in 1996 in Moscow by Rodchenko's family, Experiments for the Future appears here in its first English edition. This new edition contains additional material and features a different design and images, but the content remains essentially unchanged.

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Aleksandr M. Rodchenko and Varvara F. Stepanova: The Future Is Our Only Goal (Art & Design)

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