Constructivism
A resource on constructivism, focusing primarily on the movement in Russia and east-central Europe from the late 1910s through the 1930s.
The page contains an overview of major exhibitions and catalogues, selection of works, list of (digitised) magazines, pamphlets and books, anthologies of texts (also merged into a single table), historical studies and analyses, and profiles of artists, theorists and groups.
First published 25 September 2015.
Contents
Events
Exhibition catalogues
Some of the catalogues are available online, follow PDF links in captions.
Erste Russische Kunstausstellung, Berlin, Oct 1922. (German)
Wystava nowej sztuki, Vilnius, May-Jun 1923. Design: Vytautas Kairiūkštis. (Polish)
Contimporanul, Bucharest, Nov-Dec 1924, PDF. (Romanian)
Konstruktivisten, Basel, Jan-Feb 1937. Design: Jan Tschichold. [1] (German)
Exhibitions, conferences
- Second Spring Exhibition of OBMOKhU in Moscow, May-June 1921. Several weeks earlier, in March 1921, five of the exhibiting artists (Rodchenko, Ioganson, Stenberg brothers, Medunetsky) formed together with Stepanova and Gan the First Working Group of Constructivists at the Moscow Institute of Artistic Culture (INKhUK).
- Constructivists [Конструктивисты] exhibition in Moscow, January 1922. Stenberg brothers and Medunetsky show 61 constructivist works and publish a catalogue with manifesto. [2]
- The Congress of International Progressive Artists [Kongress der Union Internationaler Fortschrittlicher Künstler] in Düsseldorf on 29-31 May 1922. Formation of the International Faction of Constructivists was organised by van Doesburg (representing the journal De Stijl), Richter (representing 'the Constructivist groups of Romania, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Germany') and Lissitzky (representing the editorial board of Veshch'-Gegenstand-Objet). The faction's declaration was later published in De Stijl (no. 4, 1922).
- Congress of the Constructivists and Dadaists, Weimar, 25-26 September 1922.
- The First Russian Art Exhibition [Erste russische Kunstausstellung] opened at Galerie van Diemen in Berlin on 15 October 1922, with over 1,000 objects by c180 artists: 237 paintings, more than 500 graphic works, sculptures, as well as designs for theater, architectural models, and porcelain. The exhibition's official host was the Russian Ministry for Information, and it was put together by the artists Gabo, David Sterenberg, and Nathan Altman. Version of the exhibition later travelled to Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, in April-May 1923.
- New Art Exhibition [Wystawa Nowej Sztuki], organised by Strzemiński and Kairiūkštis in Vilnius on May-June 1923. The works included painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, scenography, and print; cubist, constructivist, and suprematist compositions predominated. The 7 exhibiting artists went on to form the Blok collective.
- The Block of Cubists, Constructivists and Supermatists [Blok Kubistów, Suprematystów i Konstruktywistów], an exhibition of Blok at the Laurin & Clement car dealer's shop in Warsaw, March 1924. Works by 9 artists.
- First Zenit International Exhibition of New Art [Прва Зенитова међународна изложба нове уметности], organised by Micić in April 1924 in Belgrade. Featured one hundred works advertised as "futurism, cubism, expressionism, ornamental cubism, suprematism, constructivism, neoclassicism and the like".
- The First Contimporanul International Exhibition organised by Contimporanul magazine in November 1924 in Bucharest brought together the Romanian avant-garde along with international artists.
- The a.r. International Collection of Modern Art, donated by a.r. group to the Municipal Museum of History and Art (now Museum of Art; Museum Sztuki) in Łódź, opened to the public in February 1931. It included 111 works and represented - as no other contemporary European collection had done - the main movements of avant-garde art, from Cubism, Futurism and Constructivism, through Purism and Surrealism, to Neo-Plasticism, Unism and Formism.
- The Constructivists [Die Konstruktivisten] exhibition at Kunsthalle Basel, Jan-Feb 1937. Poster. Review.
- Retrospective exhibitions
- Constructivism in Poland 1923-1936: BLOK, Praesens, a.r., Museum Folkwang, Essen, May-Jun 1973. Also shown in Otterlo/NL 1973; Stockholm 1975-76, New York 1976 [3], Detroit 1976, Buffalo 1976, Montreal 1977, Rome 1979, Genoa 1979, Venice 1979, Belgrade 1979, Zagreb 1979, Cambridge 1984, London 1984, Oxford 1984, Budapest 1990, Washington 1993. [4]
- Konstruktywizm w Polsce 1923-1936, Muzeum Sztuki, Łódź, May 1978, Catalogue.
- The Planar Dimension: Europe, 1912-1932, Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1979. Curated by Margit Rowell. Catalogue published.
- Europa, Europa. Das Jahrhundert der Avantgarde in Mittel- und Osteuropa, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, 27 May - 16 October 1994. Large-scale exhibition with constructivist section. 4-volume catalogue published.
- Central European Avant-Gardes, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2002. Curated by Timothy O. Benson. Large-scale exhibition with constructivist section. Catalogue published: TOC.
- Von Kandinsky bis Tatlin: Konstruktivismus in Europa/From Kandinsky to Tatlin: Constructivism in Europe, Staatliches Museum, Schwerin, and Kunstmuseum, Bonn, 2006. Catalogue published.
Paintings, constructions, designs, models (selection)
Naum Gabo, Constructed Head No. 2, c1916. Galvanised iron painted yellow ochre. 45x40.5x40.5 cm. Tate. More works in the series.
Lyubov Popova, Painterly Architectonic, 1917. Oil on canvas, 80x98 cm. MoMA. More works in the series.
Alexander Rodchenko, Spatial Construction No. 5 from his First Series of Spatial Constructions, 1918. Painted aluminum. 48x38x21 cm. More works in the series.
Konstantin Medunetsky, Spatial Construction (Construction no. 557), 1919. Tin, brass, painted iron, and steel. 46x18x18 cm (with base). Yale. More works.
Alexander Rodchenko, "Ellipse" from his Second Series of Spatial Constructions, 1920-21. Plywood, open construction partially painted with aluminum paint, and wire. 61x84x47 cm. MoMA. More works in the series.
Karl Ioganson, Spatial Constructions, 1920-21. Wood, metal, and wire. Dimensions unknown. More works.
Georgii Stenberg, Spatial Construction KPS 58 N XIII, 1921. More works.
Vladimir Tatlin, model for the Monument to the Third International, 1920. More images.
Gustav Klutsis, Hanging Construction, 1921. Photograph, 20,1x25,6 cm, printed from Klutsis's negative. Costakis. More works.
Katarzyna Kobro, Suspended Construction (1), 1921. Epoxy resine, fiberglass, wood, metal. 20x40x40 cm. Reconstruction by B. Utkin and J. Utkin, 1972. More works.
Mieczysław Szczuka, Spatial Construction—Portrait of a Revolutionary, 1922. Metal, wood. Łódź. More works.
Lajos Kassák, Bildarchitektur II (Entwurf eines Kiosks), 1922. Gouache, cardboard. More works.
Lyubov Popova, Alexander Vesnin, photograph of the maquette of "City of the Future" for the mass festival Struggle and Victory of the Soviets, 1921. Costakis. More images.
Lyubov Popova, poster with a model of stage set for Magnanimous Cuckold, directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold, 1922. More images.
Varvara Stepanova, stage set for Tarelkin's Death, directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold, 1922. More images.
Varvara Stepanova, Designs for sports clothing, 1923. More works.
Karel Teige, design for Vítězslav Nezval's poetry book Abeceda, 1926. Full book.
Yakov Chernikhov, A Special-Purpose Giant Plant, 1931. More works.
Film
- Aelita, Queen of Mars, dir. Iakov Protozanov, 1924. Based on the novel by Alexei Tolstoy (1923).
- Interplanetary Revolution, dir. N. Khodataev, Z. Komisarenko, and Y. Merkulov, 1924. Animated film.
Magazines
MA, Budapest/Vienna, 1916-25
De Stijl, Delft/Leiden/Meudon, 1917-32
Zenit, Zagreb/Belgrade, 1921-26
Kino-fot, Moscow, 1922-23
Zwrotnica, Cracow, 1922-23, 1926-27
7 Arts, Brussels, 1922-28
G, Berlin, 1923-26
LEF, Moscow, 1923-25
Blok, Warsaw, 1924-26
ABC, Basel, 1924-28
Sovremennaya arkhitektura, Moscow, 1926-30
Praesens, Warsaw, 1926/30
- MA: Internacionális aktivista müvészeti folyóirat, 76 numbers, eds. Lajos Kassák and Béla Uitz, Budapest (1916-19) and Vienna (1920-25), 1916-25. (Hungarian)
- De Stijl: Maandblad voor de moderne beeldende vakken (en kultuur), 90 numbers, ed. Theo van Doesburg, Delft (1917-18), Leiden (1918-21), Meudon: Theo van Doesburg, 1917-32. (Dutch)
- Zenit, 43 numbers, ed. Ljubomir Micić, Zagreb (1921-23) and Belgrade (1923-26), 1921-26. On art and literature. (Serbo-Croatian),(French),(German),(Russian)
- Zwrotnica: sztuka teraźniej szości, 12 numbers, ed. Tadeusz Peiper, Cracow, 1922-23, 1926-27. On art and literature. (Polish)
- 7 Arts: tous les arts, 156 numbers, eds. Pierre Bourgeois and Victor Bourgeois, Brussels: L'Equerre, 1922-28. (French)
- G: Material zur elementaren Gestaltung, 5 numbers, ed. Hans Richter, Berlin, 1923-26. On architecture, industrial design, photography, art, film. (German)
- LEF, 7 numbers, eds. Osip Brik and Vladimir Mayakovsky, Moscow: Levy Front Iskusstv, 1923-25. On literature, art, journalism, photography. (Russian)
- Blok: czasopismo awangardy artystycznej, 11 numbers, ed. Blok, Warsaw: Blok, 1924-26. On art, architecture, theatre. (Polish)
- ABC: Beiträge zum Bauen, 10 numbers, eds. Hans Schmidt, Mart Stam, El Lissitzky and Emil Roth, Basel, 1924-28. On architecture. (German)
- Kino-fot: zhurnal kinematografii i fotografii, 6 numbers, ed. Aleksei Gan, Moscow: Aleksei Gan, 1922-23. On film and photography. (Russian)
- Pásmo: revue internationale moderne, 24 numbers, ed. Artuš Černík, Brno, 1924-26. (Czech)
- Sovremennaya arkhitektura, 30 numbers, eds. Moisei Ginzburg (1926-28), Vesnin brothers (1926-28) and Roman Khiger (1928-30), Moscow: OSA, 1926-30. On architecture. (Russian)
- Praesens: revue moderne, 2 numbers, ed. Szymon Syrkus, Warsaw, 1926 & 1930. On architecture, painting, photography, theatre, film, poetry. (Polish),(French)
Artists, groups, theorists
- 7 Arts
- A.r.
- ABC
- Die abstrakten hannover
- Akarova
- Bauhaus
- Henryk Berlewi
- Blok
- Osip Brik
- Avgust Černigoj
- Aleksei Chicherin
- Congress of the Constructivists and Dadaists
- Contimporanul
- Theo van Doesburg
- First Russian Art Exhibition
- First Zenit International Exhibition of New Art
- Jaromír Funke
- G
- Naum Gabo
- Aleksei Gan
- Moisei Ginzburg
- Group of Estonian Artists
- Karol Hiller
- INKhUK
- Integral
- Karl Ioganson
- Marcel Janco
- Vytautas Kairiūkštis
- Lajos Kassák
- Gustav Klutsis
- Katarzyna Kobro
- Nadezhda Lamanova
- LEF
- Ivan Leonidov
- El Lissitzky
- MA
- Konstantin Medunetsky
- Konstantin Melnikov
- Ljubomir Micić
- László Moholy-Nagy
- Tomoyoshi Murayama
- Műhely
- New Art Exhibition (1923)
- OBMOKhU
- Plastique
- Lyubov Popova
- Praesens
- Punct
- Alexander Rodchenko
- Zdeněk Rossmann
- Stefan Sebök
- Josip Seissel
- Sovremennaya arkhitektura
- Henryk Stażewski
- Stenberg brothers
- Varvara Stepanova
- Władysław Strzemiński
- Ladislav Sutnar
- Mieczysław Szczuka
- Tank
- Nikolai Tarabukin
- Karel Teige
- Travelers
- Urmuz
- Veshch/Gegenstand/Objet
- Vesnin brothers
- VKhUTEMAS
- Josef Vydra
- Eugen Wiškovský
- Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
- Teresa Żarnowerówna
- Zenit
- Zwrotnica
Books and pamphlets of theory and criticism
Gabo, Pevsner, Realisticheskii manifest, 1920. 59x74 cm.
Punin, Pamyatnik III internatsionala, 1920. 28x20 cm.
Gan, Konstruktivizm, 1922.
Ginzburg, Stil' i epokha, 1924.
Chernikhov, Konstruktsiya arkhitekturnykh i mashinnykh form, 1931.
Martin, Nicholson, Gabo (eds.), Circle: International Survey of Constructive Art, 1937.
- Naum Gabo (Н. Габо), Nathan Pevsner (Нотон Певзнер), Realisticheskii manifest [Реалистический манифест], Moscow: Second State Printing House, 5 Aug 1920, 1 sheet (58.8x73.6 cm — edition of 5000). Manuscript. Issued as a poster to accompany the artists' joint open-air exhibition on Tverskoie Boulevard. Points out the limitations of cubism and futurism, outlining the principles for a new sculptural technique; in the 1923 version for G compressed into four points: the importance of life as the starting point for art, the emphasis on space and time, the rejection of mass, and the espousal of kinetic rhythms as a means of expressing time. Written by Gabo, signed also by Pevzner. Issued as a poster to accompany the artists' joint open-air exhibition on Tverskoie Boulevard, which opened 6 Aug. In a note written ca. in the 1970s, Gabo stated that the manifesto poster was stuck up all over Moscow by students from the Vkhutemas (at this point still the Free Studios) on the second day of the exhibition, 7 Aug. 1967 recording of Gabo reading the manifesto. Discussed in Lodder 1983: 38-40, Khan-Magomedov 1996 (RU). (Russian)
- "The Realistic Manifesto", trans. Naum Gabo, in Gabo: Constructions, Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings, Engravings, London: Lund Humphries, 1957, pp 151-152; repr. in The Tradition of Constructivism, ed. Stephen Bann, New York: Viking Press, 1974, pp 5-11; repr. in Russian Art of the Avant-Garde: Theory and Criticism, 1902-1934, ed. John E. Bowlt, New York: Viking Press, 1976, pp 208-214; repr. in Art in Theory, 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, eds. Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, Blackwell, 1992, pp 297-299. (English)
- more translations
- Nikolay Punin (Н. Пунин), Pamyatnik III internatsionala. Proyekt khud. E. Tatlina [Памятник III интернационала. Проект худ. Е. Татлина], St. Petersburg [Петроград]: IZO Narkompros [Отд. изобразительных искусств Н.К.П; Department of Visual Arts of Narkompros], Summer 1920, [8] pp (28.1x22 cm), JPGs, DOC, bib. Punin's diary notes (1920). Discussed in Shklovsky 1923/2005, Boym 2007, Murray 2012, Gough 2015. (Russian)
- "Tatlin's Tower", trans. John Bowlt, in The Tradition of Constructivism, ed. Stephen Bann, New York: Viking Press, 1974, pp 14-17. (English)
- "The Monument to the Third International", trans. Christina Lodder, in Art in Theory, 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, eds. Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, 1992, pp 311-315. Trans. made in 1983 for the Open University. (English)
- more translations
- Aleksei Gan (Алексей Ган), Konstruktivizm [Конструктивизм], Tver: Tverskoe izdatelstvo, Summer 1922, 70 pp (23,5х19,9 cm — edition of 2000). (Russian)
- "Constructivism" [Extracts], trans. John Bowlt, in The Tradition of Constructivism, ed. Stephen Bann, New York: Viking Press, 1974, pp 32-42; repr. in Russian Art of the Avant-Garde: Theory and Criticism, 1902-1934, ed. & trans. John E. Bowlt, New York: Viking Press, 1976, pp 214-225; repr. in Art in Theory, 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, eds. Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, Blackwell, 1992, pp 318-320. (English)
- Constructivism, trans. & intro. Christina Lodder, Barcelona: Tenov Books, 2014, xciii+77 pp. [5] Reviews: Rees (RAC 2014), Taplin (RBTH 2014), Hatherley (RP 2015), Rosenfeld (SEER 2015). (English)
- more translations
- Moisei Ginzburg (М.Я. Гинзбург), Stil' i epokha [Стиль и эпоха. Проблемы современной архитектуры], Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatelstvo, 1924, 238 pp. Excerpts. Discussed in Khan-Magomedov. (Russian)
- Style and Epoch, intro. & trans. Anatole Senkevitch, Jr., foreword Kenneth Frampton, MIT Press (Oppositions Books), 1982, 160 pp. (English)
- Yakov Chernikhov (Яков Чернихов), Konstruktsiya arkhitekturnykh i mashinnykh form [Конструкция архитектурных и машинных форм; The Construction of Architectural and Mechanical Forms], intro. Erik Fedorovich Gollerbakh, Leningrad: Ob-vo arkhitektorov, 1931, 232+[2] pp (30х21,3 cm — edition of 5150). (Russian)
- trans.: Introduction, Excerpt. (English)
- Katarzyna Kobro, Władysław Strzemiński, Kompozycja przestrzeni. Obliczenia rytmu czasoprzestrzennego [Spatial Composition: Calculating the Spacetime Rhythm], Łódź: a.r. (Biblioteka a.r., 2), 1931, 79+[32] pp; repr., intro. Janusz Zagrodzki, Łódź: Łódzkie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Książki, 1974; repr., Łódź: Muzeum Sztuki, 1993. Excerpt. (Polish)
- Circle: International Survey of Constructive Art, eds. Leslie Martin, Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, London, 1937; repr., New York: Praeger, 1971, viii+291 pp. (English)
Anthologies, readers, sourcebooks
- Books
- Constructivismo, trans. F. Fernández Buey, Madrid: Alberto Corazón, 1973, viii+374 pp. Twenty-nine texts by Soviet authors in 3+1 sections. (Spanish)
- The Tradition of Constructivism, ed. & intro. Stephen Bann, New York: Viking Press, 1974, xlix+334 pp, PDF. Fifty-one texts from 1920-65 in 7 sections. Review: Compton (SR 1975). (English)
- Le constructivisme russe. I. Les arts plastiques. II. Le constructivisme littéraire, 2 vols., ed. & intro. Gérard Conio, trans. Gérard Conio and Larissa Yakoupova, Lausanne: L'Age l'Homme, 1987, 482 & 228 pp. [6] [7] [8] [9] Review: Sola (RES 1988). (French)
- Art Into Life: Russian Constructivism, 1914-1932, eds. & intro. Richard Andrews and Milena Kalinovska, New York: Rizzoli, 1990, 276 pp. Twenty-five texts. TOC. (English)
- Book sections
- "Neo-plasticism and Constructivism: Abstract and Nonobjective Art", ch 6 in Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics, ed. Herschel Browning Chipp, University of California Press, 1968, pp 309-365. (English)
- "Constructivism and the Industrial Arts", ch. 5 in Russian Art of the Avant-Garde: Theory and Criticism, 1902-1934, ed. John E. Bowlt, New York: Viking Press, 1976, pp 205-261. Twelve short texts by Soviet authors from 1920-31. (English)
- "Constructivismo y realismo en Rusia", ch. 12 in Escritos de arte de vanguardia 1900/1945, eds. Francisco Calvo Serraller, Simón Marchán Fiz and Ángel González García, Madrid: Turner, 1979; Madrid: Akal, 1999; 2009, pp 285-352. [10]. (Spanish)
- "Utility and Construction", ch. IIId in Art in Theory 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, eds. Charles Harrison and Paul Wood, Blackwell, 1992, pp 308-330. Twelve short texts by Soviet authors from 1919-24. (English)
- "Konstruktivismus", ch. in Europa, Europa. Das Jahrhundert der Avantgarde in Mittel- und Osteuropa, 3, ed. Hubertus Gassner, Bonn, 1994, pp 190-225. Thirty-six short texts by central and eastern European authors from 1920-36. (German)
- in Między sztuką a komuną: teksty awangardy rosyjskiej, 1910-1932, ed. Andrzej Turowski, Kraków: Universitas, 1998. (Polish)
- "International Constructivism in Germany and Austria" (ch. 7) & "International Constructivism in Central Europe" (ch. 8), in Between Worlds: A Sourcebook of Central European Avant-Gardes, 1910-1930, eds. Timothy O. Benson and Éva Forgács, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2002, pp 385-486 & 487-603. Fourty-four & fifty-four texts from 1920-28 in 10 sections. (English)
- "Kino-Pravda and Constructivism", ch. 3 in Lines of Resistance: Dziga Vertov and the Twenties, ed. & intro. Yuri Tsivian, trans. Julian Graffy, Gemona: Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, 2004, pp 55-65. Six texts. [11] (English)
- "Konstruktivizm", ch. in Tri veka russkoy metapoetiki: Legitimatsiya diskursa, 3 [Три века русской метапоэтики: Легитимация дискурса, 3], ed. K.E. Shtayn, Stavropol: Izdatelstvo Stavropolskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, 2006, pp 475-644. Forty-nine texts of literary constructivism. (Russian)
- "Constructivismul", Manifestele avantgardei rusei, ed. Leo Butnaru, Bucharest: Biblioteca Bucureştilor, 2012, pp 186-195. Four texts by Soviet authors from 1922-28. (Romanian)
- "Russian Suprematism and Constructivism", trans. John E. Bowlt, ch. 3 in The Russian Avant-Garde and Radical Modernism: An Introductory Reader, eds. Dennis G. Ioffe and Frederick H. White, Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2012, pp 277-293. Three texts by Soviet authors from 1920-23. (English)
Anthologised texts
A collection of texts from selected English-language anthologies (ToC = Bann 1974, RAA = Bowlt 1976, AiT = Harrison & Wood 1992, BW = Benson & Forgács 2002, LoR = Tsivian 2004). Links in the fourth column lead to versions of the texts as they appear in the anthologies, together with editorial introductions. The last column represents themes. Most of the columns are sortable.
Author | Yr | Title | Bk | Th |
---|---|---|---|---|
KOMFUT | 1919 | Program Declaration | RAA, AiT | Ru |
Tatlin | 1919 | The Initiative Individual in the Creativity of the Collective | AiT | Ru |
Popova | 1919 | statement in the catalogue of the Tenth State Exhibition | RAA, AiT | Ru |
Gabo; Pevsner | 1920 | The Realistic Manifesto | ToC, RAA, AiT | Ru |
Tatlin; Shapiro; Meyerzon; Vinogradov | 1920 | The Work Ahead of Us | ToC, RAA | Ru |
Punin | 1920 | The Monument to the Third International | ToC, AiT | Ru |
1920 | Program of the Productivist Group | ToC | Ru | |
Filippov | 1921 | Production Art | ToC | Ru |
Toporkov | 1921 | Technological and Artistic Form | ToC | Ru |
Rodchenko | 1921 | 'Slogans' and 'Organizational Programme' of the Workshop for the Study of Painting in State Art Colleges | AiT | Ru |
Gan | 1922 | from Constructivism | ToC, RAA, AiT | Ru |
Pertsov | 1922 | At the Junction of Art and Production | RAA | Ru |
Rodchenko; Stepanova | 1922 | Programme of the First Working Group of Constructivists | AiT | Ru |
Arvatov | 1922 | The Proletariat and Leftist Art | RAA | Ru |
Arvatov | 1923 | from Art and Class | ToC | Ru |
Arvatov | 1923 | Materialized Utopia | ToC | Ru |
Brik | 1923 | Into Production! | ToC | Ru |
Brik | 1923 | The So-called 'Formal Method' | AiT | Ru |
LEF | 1923 | Whom Is LEF Alerting? | ToC, AiT | Ru |
Tatlin | 1923 | On Zangezi | ToC | Ru |
Lissitzky; Ehrenburg | 1922 | The Blockade of Russia Is Coming to an End | ToC | Ru |
Gan | 1922 | The Tenth Kino-Pravda | LoR | RuCi |
Gan | 1922 | The Thirteenth Experiment | LoR | RuCi |
LEF | 1923 | The Constructivists | LoR | RuCi |
Kino | 1923 | Kino-Pravda | LoR | RuCi |
Izvestiia | 1924 | Goskino and the Capturing of Daily Life | LoR | RuCi |
Gan | 1924 | Recognition for the Kinocs | LoR | RuCi |
1922 | A Short Review of the Proceedings | ToC, BW | CIPA | |
Lissitzky; Ehrenberg | 1922 | Statement by the Editors of Veshch/Gegenstand/Objet | ToC, AiT | CIPA |
van Doesburg | 1922 | Statement by the Stijl Group | ToC | CIPA |
Richter | 1922 | Statement by the Constructivist Groups of Rumania, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and Germany | ToC | CIPA |
van Doesburg; Lissitzky; Richter | 1922 | Statement by the International Faction of Constructivists | ToC, BW | CIPA |
Kubicki, et al. | 1922 | Manifesto of the Commune | BW | CIPA |
Kubicki, et al. | 1922 | Second Manifesto of the Commune | BW | CIPA |
Berlewi | 1922 | The International Exhibition in Düsseldorf | BW | CIPA |
Kassák, et al. | 1922 | The Stand Taken by the Vienna Ma Group Toward the First Düsseldorf Congress of Progressive Artists | BW | CIPA |
Shterenberg | 1922 | Foreword in the Catalogue of the First Exhibition of Russian Art | ToC | RuExh |
Holitscher | 1922 | Statement | ToC | RuExh |
1922 | from Introduction to Catalogue of the First Exhibition of Russian Art | ToC | RuExh | |
Westheim | 1922 | The Exhibition of Russian Artists | BW | RuExh |
Behne | 1922 | On the Russian Exhibition | BW | RuExh |
Kassák | 1922 | The Russian Exhibit in Berlin | BW | RuExh |
Kallai | 1923 | The Russian Exhibition in Berlin | BW | RuExh |
Kemeny | 1923 | Notes to the Russian Artists' Exhibition in Berlin | BW | RuExh |
Poljanski | 1923 | Through the Russian Exhibition in Berlin | BW | RuExh |
Kassák | 1920 | To the Artists of All Nations! | BW | ExVie |
1920 | The Provisional Int'l Moscow Bureau of Creative Artists, Questions to the Hungarian Activists, and their Reply | BW | ExVie | |
Kallai | 1921 | Moholy-Nagy | BW | ExVie |
Kallai | 1921 | Lajos Kassák | BW | ExVie |
Kassák | 1922 | Picture-Architecture | BW | ExVie |
Uitz | 1922 | The Great Festival in Moscow | BW | ExVie |
Kallai | 1923 | Constructivism | BW | ExVie |
Kallai | 1923 | Correction (to the Attention of De Stijl) | BW | ExVie |
Kallai, et al. | 1923 | Manifesto | BW | ExVie |
Lissitzky | 1924 | The Electro-Mechanical Show | BW | ExVie |
Walden | 1924 | Theater as an Artistic Phenomenon | BW | ExVie |
Gaspar | 1924 | The Hungarian Activist Movement | BW | ExVie |
Hausmann; Arp; Puni; Moholy-Nagy | 1921 | A Call for Elementarist Art | ToC, BW | Ber |
Mattis-Teutsch | 1921 | statement from Der Sturm catalogue | BW | Ber |
Moholy-Nagy; Kemeny | 1922 | Dynamic-Constructive System of Forces | BW | Ber |
Hausmann; Peri | 1922 | Aims of the Pre??? Theater | BW | Ber |
Berlewi | 1922-23 | The Arts Abroad | BW | Ber |
Kemeny | 1923 | Constructivist Art and Peri's Spatial Constructions | BW | Ber |
Eggeling; Hausmann | 1923 | Second Presentist Declaration - Addressed to the International Constructivists | BW | Ber |
Kemeny | 1923 | The Dynamic Principle of Cosmic Construction, as Related to the Functional Significance of Constructive Design | BW | Ber |
Kemeny | 1924 | Abstract Design from Suprematism to the Present | BW | Ber |
Richter | 1924 | G | ToC | Ber |
Hilberseimer | 1924 | Construction and Form | ToC | Ber |
Richter | 1924 | Prague | BW | Ber |
Richter | 1924 | Toward Constructivism | BW | Ber |
Tzara | 1924 | Photography in Reverse | BW | Ber |
Braun | 1925 | Concrete Light | BW | Ber |
Moholy-Nagy | 1922 | Production-Reproduction | BW | Bau |
Molnar | 1922 | KURI Manifesto | BW | Bau |
Schlemmer | 1923 | Bauhaus Manifesto | BW | Bau |
Moholy-Nagy | 1924 | Film Sketch: Dynamics of a Metropolis | BW | Bau |
Molnar | 1925 | Life at the Bauhaus | BW | Bau |
Moholy-Nagy | 1926 | Film at the Bauhaus: a Rejoinder | BW | Bau |
Kallai | 1928 | Herwarth Walden | BW | Bau |
Moholy-Nagy | 1928 | Letter of Resignation from the Bauhaus | ToC | Bau |
Micić | 1922 | Shimmy at the Latin Quarter Graveyard | BW | Yu |
Micić | 1922 | A Categorical Imperative of the Zenithist School of Poetry | BW | Yu |
Micić | 1924 | Barbarogenius | BW | Yu |
Micić | 1924 | The New Art | BW | Yu |
Micić | 1924 | Zenithosophy: Or the Energetics of Creative Zenithism | BW | Yu |
Ratkovic | 1925 | Barbarism as Culture | BW | Yu |
Raith | 1926 | Toward the Documentation of the European Cultural Crisis: Five Years of Zenithism | BW | Yu |
Poljanski | 1926 | Upside Down | BW | Yu |
Micić | 1926 | Beyond-Sense Poetry | BW | Yu |
Micić | 1926 | Zenithism through the Prism of Marxism | BW | Yu |
Janco | 1922 | Notes on Painting | BW | Buc |
Janco | 1924 | Art Notes | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1924 | Victor Brauner | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1924 | Aviograma | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1924 | untitled statement | BW | Buc |
Brauner; Voronca | 1924 | Pictopoetry | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1924 | Assessments | BW | Buc |
Callimachi | 1924 | The Contimporanul Exhibition (Notes) | BW | Buc |
Vianu | 1924 | The First Contimporanul International Exhibition | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1924 | Marcel Janco | BW | Buc |
Maxy | 1924 | Visual Chrono-metering | BW | Buc |
Aderca | 1925 | Conversations with Lucian Blaga | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1925 | Grammar | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1925 | Voices | BW | Buc |
Cisek | 1925 | The International Exhibition Organized by the Magazine Contimporanul | BW | Buc |
Integral | 1925 | Man | BW | Buc |
Voronca | 1925 | Surrealism and Integralism | BW | Buc |
Cosma | 1925 | From Futurism to Integralism | BW | Buc |
Michailescu | 1925 | Black Art | BW | Buc |
Petrascu | 1925 | Note about Sculpture | BW | Buc |
Jacques | 1926 | Initiation in the Mysteries of an Exhibition: The Sensational Pronouncements of Militsa Petrascu and Marcel Janco | BW | Buc |
Janco | 1926 | Cubism | BW | Buc |
Janco | 1927 | Coloring | BW | Buc |
Bogza | 1928 | Urmuz | BW | Buc |
Bonset | 1923 | Toward a Constructive Poetry | ToC | NL |
van Doesburg | 1923 | Elemental Formation | ToC | NL |
van Doesburg; van Eesteren | 1923 | Toward a Collective Construction | ToC | NL |
1923 | Picture | ToC | Prag | |
Teige | 1924 | Poetism | BW | Prag |
Teige | 1925 | Constructivism and the Liquidation of Art | BW | Prag |
Styrsky; Toyen | 1927-28 | Artificialism | BW | Prag |
Styrsky; Toyen | 1927-28 | The Poet | BW | Prag |
Teige | 1928 | Poetism Manifesto | BW | Prag |
Teige | 1928 | Ultraviolet Paintings, or, Artificialism (Notes on the Paintings of Styrsky and Toyen) | BW | Prag |
Berlewi | 1924 | Mechano-facture | BW | Pol |
Blok | 1924 | Editorial Statement | BW | Pol |
Stażewski | 1924 | untitled statements on Suprematism and painting | BW | Pol |
Strzemiński | 1924 | Theses on New Art | BW | Pol |
Szczuka | 1924 | An Attempt to Explain the Misunderstandings Related to the Public's Attitude to New Art | BW | Pol |
Blok | 1924 | What Constructivism Is | ToC, BW | Pol |
Strzemiński | 1924 | B=2 | BW | Pol |
Szczuka | 1924 | Photomontage | BW | Pol |
Stażewski | 1924 | On Abstract Art | BW | Pol |
AARA | 1924 | Concretists | RAA | Ru |
AARA | 1924 | The Projectionist Group | RAA | Ru |
AARA | 1924 | The First Working Group of Constructivists | RAA | Ru |
AARA | 1924 | The First Working Group of Artists | RAA | Ru |
Brik | 1924 | From Pictures to Textile Prints | RAA, AiT | Ru |
Literary Center of Constructivists | 1924 | The Basic Tenets of Constructivism | ToC | Ru |
Tatlin | 1924 | Report of the Section for Material Culture's Research Work for 1924 | AiT | Ru |
Gan | 1928 | Constructivism in the Cinema | ToC | Ru |
Rodchenko | 1928 | Against the Synthetic Portrait, For the Snapshot | RAA | Ru |
Lissitzky | 1930 | from Russia: The Reconstruction of Architecture in the Soviet Union | ToC | Ru |
Chernikov | 1931 | from The Construction of Architectural and Mechanical Forms | ToC, RAA | Ru |
Gollerbakh | 1931 | Introduction to Chernikov's The Construction of Architectural and Mechanical Forms | ToC | Ru |
Tatlin | 1932 | Art Out into Technology | ToC | Ru |
Cernigoj | 1927 | Greetings! | BW | Lju |
Polic | 1927 | Marij Kogoj's Black Masks | BW | Lju |
Delak | 1927 | Theater Co-op | BW | Lju |
Cernigoj | 1927 | Tank Manifesto | BW | Lju |
Cernigoj | 1927 | The Constructivist Group in Trieste | BW | Lju |
Seuphor | 1930 | In Defense of an Architecture | ToC | |
Carlsund; van Doesburg; Hélion; Tutundjian; Wantz | 1930 | The Basis of Concrete Painting | ToC | |
Torres-García | 1933 | The Constructive Art Group — Joint Collaborative Work | ToC | |
Gorin | 1936 | The Aim of Constructive Plastic Art | ToC | |
1937 | Editorial in Circle — International Survey of Constructive Art | ToC | Circ | |
Gabo | 1937 | The Constructive Idea in Art | ToC, AiT | Circ |
Gabo | 1942 | Letter to Herbert Read | ToC | Circ |
Biederman | 1948 | from Art as the Evolution of Visual Knowledge | ToC | |
Gabo | 1948 | On Constructive Realism | ToC | |
Schöffer | 1960 | Spatiodynamism, Luminodynamism, and Chronodynamism | ToC | |
Vasarely | 1965 | Planetary Folklore | ToC | |
Hill | 1959 | On Constructions, Nature, and Structure | ToC | Str |
Lohse | 1961 | A Step Farther — New Problems in Constructive Plastic Expression | ToC | Str |
Baljeu | 1964 | The Constructive Approach Today | ToC | Str |
Martin | 1964 | Construction from Within | ToC | Str |
- Abbreviations of themes
Bau = The Bauhaus; Ber = Berlin; Buc = Bucharest; CIPA = statements from and reaction to the Congress of International Progressive Artists, Düsseldorf; Circ = Circle; ExVie = Exile Vienna; Lju = Ljubljana; Pol = Poland; Prag = Prague; Ru = Russia; RuCi = Russian cinema; RuExh = First Russian Exhibition in Berlin; Str = Structure; Yu = Zagreb/Belgrade.
Historical studies and analyses
See also catalogues of retrospective exhibitions, introductions and commentaries to translations of primary books, introductions in anthologies and readers, and bibliographies on pages of respective artists, groups and theorists.
Russian
- N.A. Nikonov (В.А. Никонов), Staty o konstruktivistakh [Статьи о конструктивистах], Ulyanovsk: Strezhen, 1928, 102 pp.
- Tekhnicheskaia estetika (Trudy VNIITE) [Technical Aesthetics (Transactions of the VNIITE], Moscow: Dept of the History and Theory of Design/VNIITE, 1964-92. Journal. Selected numbers from 1986-92.
- S.O. Khan-Magomedov (С.О. Хан-Магомедов), INKhUK i ranniy konstruktivizm [ИНХУК и ранний конструктивизм: научное издание], Moscow: Architectura, 1994, 248 pp.
- E.V. Sidorina (Е.В. Сидорина), Russkiy konstruktivizm: idei, istoki, praktika [Русский конструктивизм: Идеи, истоки, практика], Moscow: n.p., 1995, 240 pp.
- G.V. Titova (Г.В. Титова), Tvorcheskiy teatr i teatralnyy konstruktivizm [Творческий театр и театральный конструктивизм], St Petersburg: St Petersburg Academy of Theatrical Arts, 1995, 255 pp.
- Alexander Lavrentiev, Laboratoriia konstruktivizma, Moscow: Grant, 2000.
- O.V. Akhmatova, Russkii konstruktivizm (opyt sotsial'no-filosofskogo analiza), Moscow: Sputnik, 2001.
- Mariya Zalambani (Мария Заламбани), Iskusstvo v proizvodstve: avangard i revolyutsiya v Sovetskoy Rossii 20-kh godov [Искусство в производстве: Авангард и революция в Советской России 20-х годов] [1998], trans. N.B. Kardanov (Н.Б.Карданов), Moscow: IMLI RAN, 2003, 240 pp.
- S.O. Khan-Magomedov (С.О. Хан-Магомедов), Konstruktivizm. Kontseptsiya formoobrazovaniya [Конструктивизм — концепция формообразования], Moscow: Stroyizdat [Стройиздат], 2003, 576 pp. TOC.
- S.O. Khan-Magomedov (С.О. Хан-Магомедов), Aleksandr Vesnin i konstruktivizm. Zhivopis', teatr, arkhitektura, risunok, knizhnaia grafika, oformlenie prazdnikov [Александр Веснин и конструктивизм], Moscow: Architectura, 2007, 412 pp.
- E.V. Barkhatova (Е.В. Бархатова), "Russkiy konstrukivizm 1920-kh - 1930-kh godov" [Русский конструктивизм 1920-х - 1930-х годов], nlr.ru (Russian National Library), 2010.
- E.V. Sidorina (Е.В. Сидорина), Konstruktivizm bez beregov. Issledovaniya i etydy o russkom avangarde [Конструктивизм без берегов. Исследования и этюды о русском авангарде], Moscow: Progress-Traditsiya, 2012, 656 pp.
English
- George Rickey, Constructivism: Origins and Evolution, New York: G. Braziller, 1967, xi+306 pp; rev.ed., 1995, xi+306 pp.
- Constructivism in Poland 1923-1936: BLOK, Praesens, a.r., Lodz: Muzeum Sztuki, 1973, 208 pp. Catalogue. [12] Review: Werner. (English),(Dutch),(German)
- Willy Rotzler, Constructive Concepts: A History of Constructive Art from Cubism to the Present, London: Academy Editions, 1977, 299 pp.
- Margit Rowell, "New Insights into Soviet Constructivism: Painting, Constructions, Production Art", in Art of the Avant-Garde in Russia: Selections from the George Costakis Collection, New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1981, pp 15-32.
- "The Inkhuk and Constructivism", in Art of the Avant-Garde in Russia: Selections from the George Costakis Collection, New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1981, pp 198-258. Catalogue of works.
- Christina Lodder, Russian Constructivism, Yale University Press, 1983, viii+328 pp.
- S.O. Khan-Magomedov, Alexander Vesnin and Russian Constructivism, New York: Rizzoli, 1986.
- Patricia Railing, From Science to Systems of Art: on Russian Abstract Art and Language 1910/1920, and Other Essays, Artists Bookworks, 1989, 154 pp. [13]. Review: Stupples (NZSJ 1991).
- Briony Fer, "Metaphor and Modernity: Russian Constructivism", Oxford Art Journal 12:1 (1989), pp 14-30.
- Art Into Life: Russian Constructivism, 1914-1932, eds. & intro. Richard Andrews and Milena Kalinovska, New York: Rizzoli, 1990, 276 pp. TOC. On the occasion of a travelling exhibition. Essays by Strigalev, Khan-Magomedov, Lodder, Senkevitch Jr., Bann, Andel, Foster.
- Christina Lodder, "The Transition to Constructivism", in The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932, New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1992, pp 266-281.
- Hubertus Gassner, "The Constructivists. Modernism on the Way to Modernization", in The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde, 1915-1932, New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1992, pp 298-319.
- Briony Fer, "The Language of Construction", ch 2 in Fer, Batchelor, Wood, Realism, Rationalism, Surrealism: Art Between the Wars, Yale University Press, 1993, pp 87-169.
- Victor Margolin, The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, 1917-1946, University of Chicago Press, 1998, 276 pp. [14]
- Roann Barris, "Russian Constructivist Architecture as an Urban Carnival: The Creation and Reception of a Utopian Narrative", Utopian Studies 10:1 (1999), pp 42-67.
- Christina Kiaer, "The Russian Constructivist Flapper Dress", Critical Inquiry 28(1): "Things" (Autumn 2001), pp 185-243.
- Eva Forgacs, "Between Cultures: Hungarian Concepts of Constructivism", in Central European Avant-Gardes: Exchange and Transformation, 1910-1930, ed. Timothy O. Benson, MIT Press/Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2002, pp 146-164.
- Christina Lodder, "Art into Life: International Constructivism in Central and Eastern Europe", in Central European Avant-Gardes: Exchange and Transformation, 1910-1930, ed. Timothy O. Benson, MIT Press/Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2002, pp 172-198.
- Barrett Watten, The Constructivist Moment: From Material Text to Cultural Poetics, Wesleyan University Press, 2003.
- Maria Gough, The Artist as Producer: Russian Constructivism in Revolution, University of California Press, 2005, xi+257 pp. Reviews: Wood (AJ 2006), Douglas (MM 2006), Valkenier (RR 2006), Railing (SR 2007), Greenfield (SEEJ 2007), Barris (SECACr 2007).
- Christina Lodder, Constructive Strands in Russian Art, London: Pindar Press, 2005, ix+589 pp. Collected essays by the author. TOC.
- Christina Kiaer, Imagine No Possessions: The Socialist Objects of Russian Constructivism, MIT Press, 2005, xvii+326 pp. TOC, [15]. Reviews: Wood (AJ 2006), Doy (AB 2006), Aulich (SR 2007), Reid (JDH 2007), Bader (AH 2008), Apkarian (RR 2008), Nieslony (Sehepunkte 2008), Nguyen (RJC 2014).
- Kristin Romberg, Aleksei Gan's Constructivism, 1917-1928, New York: Columbia University, 2010, 576 pp. Ph.D. Dissertation.
- Christine Schick, Russian Constructivist Theory and Practice in the Visual and Verbal Forms of "Pro Eto", Berkeley: University of California, 2011, 178 pp. Dissertation.
- "Illusions Killed by Life": Afterlives of (Soviet) Constructivism, Princeton University, 2013. Conference proceedings.
- Roann Barris, "The Life of the Constructivist Theatrical Object", Theatre Journal 65:1 (March 2013).
- Brandon Taylor, After Constructivism, Yale University Press, 2014, 292 pp. [16]
- Kamila Kuc, Visions of Avant-Garde Film: Polish Cinematic Experiments from Expressionism to Constructivism, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2016.
- Pete Gubbins, Constructivism to Minimal Art: from Revolution via Evolution, Winterley: Winterley Press, 2017, 226 pp. Based on PhD thesis.
- Catherine Walworth, Soviet Salvage: Imperial Debris, Revolutionary Reuse, and Russian Constructivism, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2017, 231 pp.
- Dictionary entries on Constructivism
German
- Willy Rotzler, Konstruktive Konzepte: eine Geschichte der konstruktiven Kunst vom Kubismus bis heute, Zurich: ABC, 1977, 299 pp; new ed., 1988, 332 pp; 3rd ed., 1995, 332 pp.
- Rainer Georg Grübel, Russischer Konstruktivismus. Künstlerische Konzeptionen, literarische Theorie und kultureller Kontext, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1981, 263 pp. Excerpt, [17].
- Lothar Lang, Konstruktivismus und Buchkunst, Leipzig: Edition Leipzig, 1990, 208 pp. TOC.
- Kristina Passuth, Treffpunkte der Avantgarden: Ostmitteleuropa 1907–1930 [1988], trans. Aniko Harmath, Dresden: Verlag der Kunst, 2003, 337 pp. (German) Review: Dmitrieva-Einhorn (H-Soz-Kult 2006).
Polish
- Andrzej Turowski, W kręgu konstruktiwizmu, Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Artystyczne i Filmowe, 1979, 288 pp.
- Andrzej Turowski, Konstruktywizm polski: próba rekonstrukcji nurtu, 1921-1934, Wroclaw: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1981, 360 pp. Review: Gryglewicz (FHA 1985).
Spanish
- Christina Lodder, El constructivismo ruso [1983], trans. María Cóndor Orduña, Madrid: Alianza, 1988, viii+327 pp.
- Claude Leclanche-Boulé, Tipografías y fotomontajes: constructivismo en la URSS [1984], trans. Rosa Vercher González, intro. Juan Manuel Bonet, Valencia: Campgràfic, 2003, 273 pp.
French
- Claude Leclanche-Boulé, Typographies et photomontages constructivistes en URSS, Paris: Papyrus, 1984, 173 pp; new ed. as Le constructivisme russe: typographies & photomontages, Paris: Flammarion, 1991, 173 pp.
- Kristina Passuth, Les avant-gardes de l'Europe Centrale, 1907-1927, Paris: Flammarion, 1988, 327 pp.
- François Albéra, Eisenstein et le constructivisme russe, Lausanne: L'Âge d'homme, 1990. [18]
- Valerie Camden, L'influence du proletkult sur la théorie et la pratique constructivistes, Quebec: Université Laval, 2010, 147 pp. Dissertation.
- Gérard Conio, Dépassements constructivistes: Taraboukine, Axionov, Eisenstein, Lausanne: L'Âge d'homme, 2011, 396 pp. TOC.
Hungarian
- Kristina Passuth, Avantgarde kapcsolatok Prágától Bukarestig 1907-1930 [1988], Budapest: Balassi, 1998, 381 pp.
Turkish
- Victor Margolin, Ütopya mücadelesi: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, 1917-1946 [1998], trans. M. Emir Uslu, Istanbul: Espas Sanat Kuram Yayınları, 2012, 286 pp.
Italian
- Maria Zalambani, L'arte nella produzione: avanguardia e rivoluzione nella Russia sovietica degli anni '20, Ravenna: Longo, 1998, 258 pp.
See also
- Bibliography on Central and Eastern European constructivism and futurism
- Bibliography on Russian avant-garde
- Publications on constructivism at Monoskop Log
Documentaries
- Away From All Suns!, dir. Isa Willinger, 2013, 74 min. On constructivist architecture of the 1920s. [19] [20]
See also
Visual art | ||
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Movements – 1990s – East Central Europe – Writers – Historians – Care – Museums – References. |