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Christina Kiaer Has Described the Main Aim of the Constructivist Movement as ‘to Mass Produce Transparent Utilitarian Things for Use in Everyday Life’. How Adequate Is This Description?

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Christina Kiaer Has Described the Main Aim of the Constructivist Movement as ‘to Mass Produce Transparent Utilitarian Things for Use in Everyday Life’. How Adequate Is This Description?
Christina Kiaer has described the main aim of the constructivist movement as ‘to mass produce transparent utilitarian things for use in everyday life’. How adequate is this description?

Constructivism is primarily an art movement that was based in Russia in the early 20th century. It had a considerable link to the Russian Communist Revolution. They merged the arts with modern technological rationalism for political and ideological uses, being essentially a form of Soviet propaganda. The theory of constructivism was a departure from Russian Futurism that sought to break and destroy traditions, but is also derived from Russian Suprematism, Dutch De Stijl and the German Bauhaus. The artists did not believe in abstract ideas, rather they tried to link art with concrete and real ideas. Early modern movements around WWI were idealistic, seeking a new order in art and architecture that dealt with social and economic problems. They wanted to renew the idea that art does not revolve around "fine art", but rather emphasized on "practical art" while combining man and mechanization1. Constructivism was an invention of the Russian avant-garde that found ‘followers’ across the continent. They depicted art that was mostly three dimensional, and they also often portrayed art that could be connected to their Proletarian beliefs. The group of artists and designers involved in constructivism (including Rodchenko, Vesnin, Popova...) had political as well as artistic ambitions. Christina Kiaer has described the main aim of the constructivist movement as “to mass produce transparent utilitarian things for use in everyday life”. We can ask ourselves: how adequate is this description?

We will examine the constructivist’s involvement on Bolshevik public relations campaigns and propaganda and even be seen as a tool for social reform, underlining their role in the revolution; whereas secondly discussing the group 's main aims like to help stimulate industry and



Bibliography: Edwards S., Wood P., Art of the Avant-Gardes: Art of the 20th Century, 2004 Fosnot, Catherine Twomey, Ed Gleason A., MR Richard Stites, Bolshevik Culture: Experiment and Order in the Russian Revolution, 1985 Gough M., The Artist As Producer: Russian Constructivism In Revolution, 2005 Jarzombek M.M., Prakash V., A Global History of Architecture, Tatlin’s Tower, 2011 Kenez P., The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929, 1985 Kiaer C., The Russian Constructivist Flapper Dress, 2001 Klutsis G., "Worker Men and Women: Everyone Vote in the Soviet Elections" (poster), 1930 Kolli N., “Red Wedge” (sculpture), 1918 Lissitzky E., “Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge” (poster), 1920 Lynton N., Tatlin 's Tower: Monument to Revolution, 2009 Margolin V., The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, 1917-1946, 1997 Papadakēs A., Cooke C., The Avant-garde: Russian architecture in the twenties, 1991 Perloff N.L., Reed B., Lissitzky E., Situating El Lissitzky: Vitebsk, Berlin, Moscow, 2003 Rickey G., Constructivism: origins and evolution, 1995 Rodchenko A., “Lengiz - Books in all Branches of Knowledge” (poster), 1925 Shapiro D., Social realism: art as a weapon, 1973

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