Exhibition “Rodchenko School. Favorites
Alexander Rodchenko(1891–1956) was absolutely universal in his work: photographer, architect, designer, true multimedia artist. Multimedia Art Museum, which has held fifty exhibitions of the remarkable master both in Russia and abroad, today opened perhaps the most complete of all Rodchenko exhibitions, reflecting all the stages and logic of the development of his work.
"Experiments for the future" dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth and 60th anniversary of the artist’s death. The project, which is supervised by Olga Sviblova and Alexander Lavrentyev, Rodchenko’s grandson, involves the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Pushkin Museum. A. S. Pushkin, Theater Museum named after. A. A. Bakhrushin, MAMM, museums of Astrakhan, Vyatka, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm.
Mikhail Kaufman
“Alexander Rodchenko in the workshop in a production suit against the background of spatial structures”
1924
Rodchenko did not make any distinction between genres of visual art. And this is clearly visible in his works in painting, graphics and linocuts, spatial structures, posters, architectural sketches, collages, designs for fabric, photomontages, scenery and costumes for theatrical and film productions and photographs, of course. It seems that since the advent of diagonal composition and the technique of perspective photography, invented by Rodchenko, no special discoveries have happened in world photography. Everyone continues to quote the Russian constructivist, sometimes without even realizing it. Rodchenko created the typeface today known throughout the world as "Rodchenko font".
"Girl with a Watering Can"
1934
In 1925, Rodchenko was commissioned to develop a project for an exhibit for International exhibition decorative arts in Paris. It was a workers' club, exemplary in design and at the same time typical in the nature of the premises, an absolute prototype of a functional space. Rodchenko hung circulation posters on the walls, including his own poster “Kinoglaz”, for Dziga Vertov’s 1924 documentary about the new state – the USSR. One of his episodes dedicated to the pioneers, by the way, can be seen at the current exhibition. All titles with elements of non-objective compositions were made by Rodchenko - he glued together volumes of paper and cardboard and attached letters to them. And under the master’s hand, silent cinema acquired a “visual” voice.
Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova
"Young glider pilots" Sketch of a spread for the magazine “USSR in Construction”
1933
Rodchenko is, of course, a man ahead of his time, who foresaw the capabilities of the modern computer. “Recently, Anti was daydreaming; he would like to find himself in time five hundred years ahead - to see what happened to his paintings in the future, and to return back immediately. He is, of course, sure that there have never been and never will be such things as his.”, Varvara Stepanova wrote in her diary in 1920 about her husband (Anti is Rodchenko’s home name).
Cover of the book “About This” by Vladimir Mayakovsky
1923
"Poet Vladimir Mayakovsky"
1924
"Security next to the Shukhov Tower"
1929
"Pioneer" / "Pioneer Trumpeter"
1930
"Radio Listener"
1929
"Portrait of a Photographer's Mother"
1924
"Ladder"
1930
"Fire escape". From the series “House on Myasnitskaya Street”
1925
Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (1891–1956) - one of the greatest representatives of contemporary art of the last century, the founder of non-objective painting, chief engineer constructivism, a pioneer of Soviet photography, who already became its classic during his lifetime. One of the best Russian experimental photographers of the mid-20th century, who laid the foundation for many trends in photography. Today, Rodchenko is the most popular Russian photographer, in demand in the West, whose masterpieces are successfully exhibited and purchased by the world's largest museums - MoMa (New York, USA), Ludwig Museum (Cologne, Germany), Winterthur Photo Museum (Switzerland), Museum history of Vienna (Austria), the Russian Museum (Russia) and many others. The direction in photography created by A. Rodenko gave Russian photography to many famous photographers of the 30s, such as Arkady Shaikhet, Boris Ignatovich, Mark Alpert.
The Moscow House of Photography held annual exhibitions of Rodchenko for 10 years, opening his archive piece by piece; scanning the negatives took 4 years. In 2004, the House of Photography presented Rodchenko with a prize for his contribution to culture - during his lifetime he did not receive a single award. The prize was transferred to the heirs of Rodchenko, an amazing family that operates as a research institute, and thanks to which today we generally have an idea of Russian photography of the 20-40s. The heirs decided that they would use the prize to publish a monograph on Rodchenko, the presentation of which would take place at the opening of the exhibition.
The Russian avant-garde of the twentieth century is a unique phenomenon not only in Russian but also in world culture. The dazzling energy of creation developed by the artists of this great era still nourishes modern artistic culture and each of us who comes into contact with the art products of the era of Russian modernism. Alexander Rodchenko, of course, was one of the main generators of creative ideas and the general spiritual aura of this time. Painting, design, theater, cinema, printing, photography. .. - all areas artistic culture, into which the mighty talent of this very beautiful and very strong man invaded, underwent a transformation that opened up fundamentally new paths of development.
The beginning of the 1920s is the “era of the gap,” to use the term of Viktor Shklovsky, one of the best critics and theorists of the time, the moment when - albeit short time, albeit illusory, a resonance arose between artistic and social experiment. It was at this time, in 1924, that Alexander Rodchenko, an already established and famous artist who placed the slogan “We must experiment” at the center of his aesthetics, invaded photography. The result of this invasion is not only the masterpieces he created, which are included in the classics of world and Russian photography, but also a change in ideas about the nature of photography and the role of the photographer. The photo includes design thinking. It turns out to be not only a reflection of reality, but also becomes a way of visual presentation of dynamic mental structures.
Rodchenko introduced the ideology of constructivism into photography and developed methodological tools for its implementation. The techniques he discovered were rapidly replicated. They were used both by his students and like-minded people, as well as by aesthetic and political opponents. However, the use of the “Rodchenko method” itself, which included the diagonal composition he discovered, angle photography and other techniques, did not automatically guarantee the artistic scale of the photograph. Rodchenko’s practice as a photographer turned out to be implicated not only and not so much in formal techniques, for which he was mercilessly criticized since the end of the 1920s, but rather in the deep inner romance inherent in him even in his student years (just remember his amazing fairy tale letters, which he wrote to Varvara Stepanova in the first years of their acquaintance).
This romantic beginning, laid in his childhood spent behind the scenes of the theater where his father worked, was transformed into the powerful utopian thinking of Rodchenko the constructivist, who believed in the possibility of a positive transformation of the world and man. In the 1920s, in each new photographic series, Rodchenko set new goals and created manifestos about what photography and life should become, transformed by the constructivist artistic principle. In the 1930s, especially in the late 1930s, exhausted by criticism and persecution, he tried to analyze both life and artistic practice, including his own, the evolution of which largely determined the later aesthetics of socialist realism. By the way, in the entire history of Russian photography of the first half of the twentieth century, Alexander Rodchenko is the only one who, thanks to his printed articles and diary entries, left unique evidence of the artistic reflection of a photographer-thinker who carried out his creativity consciously.
Tired of continuous revolutionary changes that created a reality far from the ideals that inspired the early period of his work, on February 12, 1943, he noted in his diary: “Art is service to the people, and the people are led in different directions. But I want to lead people to art, and not lead people somewhere with art. Was I born early or late? We must separate art from politics...”
Alexander Rodchenko, betrayed by friends and students, survived persecution and was deprived of the opportunity to work and earn a living, participate in exhibitions, expelled from the Union of Artists, seriously ill in recent years life, lucky. He had a family: friend and ally Varvara Stepanova, daughter Varvara Rodchenko, her husband Nikolai Lavrentyev, his grandson Alexander Lavrentyev and his family - a small but very close-knit clan, charged with creative energy. Like for Alexander Rodchenko, creativity became the main thing in their lives. They also dedicated their lives to preserving the legacy of Alexander Rodchenko and to the service of photography. Thanks to their work, Rodchenko rediscovered the world and his country. If it were not for this family, perhaps the first photographic museum in Russia, the Moscow House of Photography, would not have appeared. In the Rodchenko house, together with the Rodchenko family, we discovered and studied the history of Russian photography, which cannot be imagined without Alexander Rodchenko.
Olga Sviblova, director of the Moscow House of Photography museum
The Russian avant-garde of the twentieth century is a unique phenomenon not only in Russian but also in world culture. The dazzling energy of creation developed by the artists of this great era still nourishes modern artistic culture and each of us who comes into contact with the art products of the era of Russian modernism. Alexander Rodchenko, of course, was one of the main generators of creative ideas of this time. Painting, design, theater, cinema, printing, photography... - all areas of artistic culture, into which the mighty talent of this very beautiful and very strong man invaded, underwent transformation, everywhere he opened fundamentally new paths.
The beginning of the 1920s is the “era of the gap,” to use the term of Viktor Shklovsky, one of the best critics and theorists of the time, the moment when, albeit briefly, albeit illusory, a resonance arose between artistic and social experiment. It was at this time, in 1924, that Alexander Rodchenko, an already established and famous artist, who placed the slogan “We must experiment”1 at the center of his aesthetics, invaded photography. The result of this invasion were not only the masterpieces he created, which were included in the classics of the world and Russian photography, but also a change in ideas about the nature of photography and the role of the photographer. Design thinking is introduced into photography. It turns out to be not only a reflection of reality, but also becomes a way of visual presentation of dynamic mental structures.
Rodchenko introduced the ideology of constructivism into photography and developed methodological tools for its implementation. The techniques he discovered were rapidly replicated. They were used both by his students and like-minded people, as well as by aesthetic and political opponents. However, the use of the “Rodchenko method” itself, which included the diagonal composition he discovered, angle photography and other techniques, did not automatically guarantee the artistic scale of the photograph. Rodchenko’s practice as a photographer turned out to be implicated not only and not so much in formal techniques, for which he was mercilessly criticized since the end of the 1920s, but rather in the deep inner romance inherent in him even in his student years (just remember his amazing fairy tale letters, which he wrote to Varvara Stepanova in the first years of their acquaintance). This romantic beginning, laid in his childhood spent behind the scenes of the theater where his father worked, was transformed into the powerful utopian thinking of Rodchenko the constructivist, who believed in the possibility of a positive transformation of the world and man. In the 1920s, in each new photographic series, Rodchenko set new goals and created manifestos about what photography and life should become, transformed by the constructivist artistic principle. In the 1930s, especially in the late 1930s, exhausted by criticism and persecution, he tried to analyze both life and artistic practice, including his own, the evolution of which largely determined the later aesthetics of socialist realism. By the way, in the entire history of Russian photography of the first half of the twentieth century, Alexander Rodchenko is the only one who, thanks to his printed articles and diary entries, left unique evidence of the artistic reflection of a photographer-thinker who carried out his creativity consciously.
Tired of continuous revolutionary changes that created a reality far from the ideals that inspired the early period of his work, on February 12, 1943, he noted in his diary: “Art is serving the people, and people are led in all directions. But I want to lead the people to art, and not with art to lead somewhere. Was I born early or late? We must separate art from politics... “2
Alexander Rodchenko, betrayed by friends and students, surviving persecution and deprived of the opportunity to work and earn a living, participate in exhibitions, expelled from the Union of Artists, and seriously ill in the last years of his life, was lucky. He had a family: friend and ally Varvara Stepanova, daughter Varvara Rodchenko, her husband Nikolai Lavrentyev, grandson Alexander Lavrentyev and his family. A small but very close-knit clan, charged with creative energy. Like for Alexander Rodchenko, creativity became the main thing in their lives. Rodchenko's work rediscovered the world and his country. With Alexander Rodchenko we discover and study the history of Russian photography, which cannot be imagined without his work.
Olga Sviblova, director of the Moscow House of Photography museum
1 Alexander Rodchenko. Experiments of the future. M., 1996, p. 199-200.
2 Alexander Rodchenko. - In the same place, s. 282.
From September 24 to November 13, the Multimedia Art Museum will present an exhibition of works by the legendary Soviet photographer, representative of the Russian avant-garde of the 20th century, Alexander Rodchenko. Entry for participants is free.
The Russian avant-garde of the twentieth century is a unique phenomenon not only in Russian but also in world culture. The dazzling energy of creation developed by the artists of this great era still nourishes modern artistic culture and each of us who comes into contact with the art products of the era of Russian modernism. Alexander Rodchenko, of course, was one of the main generators of creative ideas of this time. Painting, design, theater, cinema, printing, photography... - all areas of artistic culture, into which the mighty talent of this very beautiful and very strong man invaded, underwent transformation, everywhere he opened fundamentally new paths.
The beginning of the 1920s is the “era of the gap,” to use the term of Viktor Shklovsky, one of the best critics and theorists of the time, the moment when, albeit briefly, albeit illusory, a resonance arose between artistic and social experiment. It was at this time, in 1924, that Alexander Rodchenko, an already established and famous artist who placed the slogan “We must experiment”* at the center of his aesthetics, invaded photography. The result of this invasion is not only the masterpieces he created, which are included in the classics of world and Russian photography, but also a change in ideas about the nature of photography and the role of the photographer. Design thinking is brought into photography. It turns out to be not only a reflection of reality, but also becomes a way of visual presentation of dynamic mental structures.
Rodchenko introduced the ideology of constructivism into photography and developed methodological tools for its implementation. The techniques he discovered were rapidly replicated. They were used both by his students and like-minded people, as well as by aesthetic and political opponents. However, the use of the “Rodchenko method” itself, which included the diagonal composition he discovered, angle photography and other techniques, did not automatically guarantee the artistic scale of the photograph. Rodchenko’s practice as a photographer turned out to be implicated not only and not so much in formal techniques, for which he was mercilessly criticized since the end of the 1920s, but rather in the deep inner romance inherent in him even in his student years (just remember his amazing fairy tale letters, which he wrote to Varvara Stepanova in the first years of their acquaintance). This romantic beginning, laid in his childhood spent behind the scenes of the theater where his father worked, was transformed into the powerful utopian thinking of Rodchenko the constructivist, who believed in the possibility of a positive transformation of the world and man.
In the 1920s, in each new photographic series, Rodchenko set new goals and created manifestos about what photography and life should become, transformed by the constructivist artistic principle. In the 1930s, especially in the late 1930s, exhausted by criticism and persecution, he tried to analyze both life and artistic practice, including his own, the evolution of which largely determined the later aesthetics of socialist realism. By the way, in the entire history of Russian photography of the first half of the twentieth century, Alexander Rodchenko is the only one who, thanks to his printed articles and diary entries, left unique evidence of the artistic reflection of a photographer-thinker who carried out his work consciously.
Tired of continuous revolutionary changes that created a reality far from the ideals that inspired the early period of his work, on February 12, 1943, he noted in his diary: “Art is service to the people, and the people are led in different directions. But I want to lead people to art, and not lead people somewhere with art. Was I born early or late? We must separate art from politics...”**
Alexander Rodchenko, betrayed by friends and students, surviving persecution and deprived of the opportunity to work and earn a living, participate in exhibitions, expelled from the Union of Artists, and seriously ill in the last years of his life, was lucky. He had a family: friend and ally Varvara Stepanova, daughter Varvara Rodchenko, her husband Nikolai Lavrentyev, grandson Alexander Lavrentyev and his family. A small but very close-knit clan, charged with creative energy. Like for Alexander Rodchenko, creativity became the main thing in their lives. Rodchenko's work rediscovered the world and his country. With Alexander Rodchenko we discover and study the history of Russian photography, which cannot be imagined without his work.
Contact information
Address: Moscow, Ostozhenka, 16.
Ticket prices: adults: 500 rubles, full-time students of the Russian Federation: 250 rubles, pensioners and schoolchildren: 50 rubles, disabled people of groups I and II: free.
For members of the Russian Photo club, admission is free.
Opening hours and days: 12:00 - 21:00, every day except Monday.
MAMM presents the exhibition of Alexander Rodchenko “Experiments for the Future” dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth and 60th anniversary of the death of one of the main leaders of the Russian artistic avant-garde of the early twentieth century.
2016 also marks the 20th anniversary of the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, which boasts the largest collection of photographs by Alexander Rodchenko.
Our museum has held more than 50 exhibitions of this great master in Russia and abroad, but this exhibition is special. It reflects all the stages and logic of the development of Alexander Rodchenko’s creativity. For the first time, the exhibition “Experiments for the Future” (the title of the artist’s book of the same name) contains not only paintings, graphics, linocuts, three-dimensional objects, photomontages, architectural experiments, but also unique materials, including sketches of scenery and costumes for theatrical and film productions, as well as film fragments , in the work on which Alexander Rodchenko was directly involved. And of course, his photographs.
“And in life we, humanity, have experiments for the future,” wrote Alexander Rodchenko. The great Russian poet of the early twentieth century, Velimir Khlebnikov, introduced the word “Budetlyanin” into the Russian language. Alexander Rodchenko worked on the design of books by Velimir Khlebnikov, including the book “Zamniki” (1922), the cover of which will be shown at the exhibition. The term “budetlyanin” can probably be attributed to the personality of Alexander Rodchenko.
The artist never made any distinction between different genres of visual art. To use modern terminology, Alexander Rodchenko was a multimedia artist. Creating paintings, graphic works, photomontages, posters, working on the creation of a new font, today known throughout the world as the “Rodchenko font”, approaching the creation of film titles as the most important and interesting creative task, designing a workers’ club, creating architectural fantasies for cities of the future, dreaming that art would take to the streets, Rodchenko saw main task in the creative transformation of the present for the sake of the future.
He wrote: “I created today so that tomorrow I will look for something new, although it will turn out to be nothing in comparison with yesterday, but the day after tomorrow I will surpass today.” His work turned out to be one of the most important factors influencing changes in both art and the environment in the twentieth century. His life guidelines, formulated in theoretical works, the vector of movement he set and the ability to dream about the future are important for us today.
In the 20s, Rodchenko worked on creating a new type of museum, where the boundaries between types and genres of art would be erased. These principles were laid in the foundation for the creation and development of our museum, of which the School of Photography and Multimedia named after 10 years ago became a part. Alexandra Rodchenko.
Thanks to the colleagues and partners of the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, who provided unique works for this exhibition: State Tretyakov Gallery, State Russian Museum, State Museum fine arts them. A.S. Pushkin, State Central Theater Museum named after. A.A. Bakhrushin, Moscow Museum contemporary art, Astrakhan art gallery them. P.M. Dogadin, Vyatka Regional Art Museum named after. V.M. and A.M. Vasnetsov, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Perm State Art Gallery, and private collectors, we have the opportunity to fully demonstrate the versatility of the great master’s talent. The artist did not have random works or abandoned ideas. He wrote: “If you look at all my work over time, it will be a huge and completely new work.” We hope that the exhibition “Experiments for the Future” will help demonstrate the unique integrity of Alexander Rodchenko’s work.