Russian Constructivism

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Constructivism, an artistic and architectural movement, arose in Russia after the Revolution of 1917 and how the Revolution set the stage for one of the most remarkable transformations of artistic theory in the history of art. It looks at how the Constructivists strove to produce bold work in painting, sculpture, photography, and architecture through the use of new media and how they abandoned traditional media and embraced influences from the progressive and technologically advanced industrial society after the Revolution. Although there are many artists who have contributed a significant amount to the movement, it focuses on those made by Rodchenko, Malevich and Popova.

From the Paper:

"The reforms of Alexander II brought the emancipation of the serfs and opened the way for industrial development. However, emancipation imposed harsh economic conditions on the lower class and did not satisfy their need for farmland. Industrialization concentrated people in urban centers, where the exploited working class was a receptive audience for radical ideas. By 1903, Russia was divided into several political groups. The autocracy was upheld by the landed nobility and the higher clergy; the capitalists desired a constitutional monarchy; the liberal bourgeoisie made up the bulk of the group that later became the Constitutional Democratic party; lower and middle class were incorporated into the Socialist Revolutionary party; and the workers, influenced by Marxism, were represented in the Bolshevik and Menshevik factions of the Social Democratic Labor party."

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