Chapter 15: A New Language of Form

El Lissitzky understood the constructivist idea and applied it to his works. Kisimir Malevich introduced him to a 3D style called PROUNS. Lissitzky went on to experiment with photomontage, printmaking, painting, and graphic design. His hard work greatly influenced the course of graphic design. After his death, Jan Tschichold, wrote that he was one of the great pioneers and that a generation that has never heard of him stands upon his shoulders. In the early 1920's the Soviet government encouraged the new Russian art and offered to help publicize it. The Isms of Art was one of the most influential book designs at this time, its architectural framework was an important step toward the creation of a visual program for organizing information.  Gustav Klutsis was the master of propaganda photomontage, his work has been compared to John Heartfield's stong political statements. Unlike Heartfield, Klutsis was arrested for his new style approach during the Stalinist purges and died in the labor camps. Vladimir Vasilevich Lebedev is another constructivist who greatly influenced Russian modernism. He is the father of the 20th century Russian picture book, influenced by propaganda posters for ROSTA. Piet Mondrian was part of the De Stijl movement and painted geometric abstractions. The primary colors and geometric abstractions became very popular in the works of artists in this movement. Geometric construction was a big step in the direction towards organized printed pages.

I found it very interesting that Gerrit Rietveld's Schroder House was found so radical that people threw rocks at it and that the children were given a hard time at school.

What affect did the political trauma in Russia have on Russian art?