AVANT-GARDE EXHIBIT EXUDES ENERGY OF REVOLUTION
NIZHNY - When Petrograd erupted in rebellion, curators considered scrapping all plans for their avant-garde exhibit that is set to premiere next week at the Shukhov Rotunda. How could one even begin to think of culture amid war, violence and revolt? Yet plans have gone forward because it will be "a statement" -- and with so much destruction, art may very well be the final chance to sustain what is left of Russian culture.
Throughout centuries of history, Russia has boasted rich sources of art, literature, music and philosophy. When a country finds itself in the middle of armed conflict, however, art moves to reflect the horrors at home, and the artist becomes a voice for revolution. Such revolution is certainly visible in this avant-garde exhibit. In vehement opposition to the senseless slaughter of the Great War, this new wave of design signals an end to the traditional mode of art and an end to the traditional mode of life.
Throughout centuries of history, Russia has boasted rich sources of art, literature, music and philosophy. When a country finds itself in the middle of armed conflict, however, art moves to reflect the horrors at home, and the artist becomes a voice for revolution. Such revolution is certainly visible in this avant-garde exhibit. In vehement opposition to the senseless slaughter of the Great War, this new wave of design signals an end to the traditional mode of art and an end to the traditional mode of life.
The exhibit is located at the Shukhov Rotunda in Nizhny. Designed by Vladimir Shukhov in 1895, the structure has left a lasting legacy for Constructivist architecture. Constructivism was fascinated by the speed and restlessness of modern machines and urban life. As a result, it rejected the exclusivity of traditional art in favor of more accessible expression. The Rotunda's original purpose was to host the All-Russia Exhibition in 1896, commissioned by Czar Nicholas II. The Exhibition housed the best achievements of industrial development in Russia, including Popov's radio receiver, Yakovlev and Freze's automobile and many other technological innovations and artistic achievements. Though the 1896 Exhibition was funded by the Czar, the fact that exhibitions continue to be displayed in the Rotunda demonstrates how art need not sponsorship from the authoritative elite in order to survive -- rather, art is fueled by the artists themselves, empowered by revolution.
With artists seeing themselves as part of political revolution, there has indeed been a burgeoning of avant grade cultural activity, including Cubo-Futurist works like those that opened the exhibit. Objects are broken up and reassembled in abstract form, a dramatic departure from the conventional image and visual style.
With artists seeing themselves as part of political revolution, there has indeed been a burgeoning of avant grade cultural activity, including Cubo-Futurist works like those that opened the exhibit. Objects are broken up and reassembled in abstract form, a dramatic departure from the conventional image and visual style.
The exhibit continues into Suprematist works that focus on basic geometric forms painted in a limited range of colors. Again, this abandons the classic composition in which a particular image or scene is the main focus -- instead, it is the artistic energy emitted through the shapes and colors that impacts the viewer.
"A blissful sense of liberating non-objectivity drew me forth into a 'desert', where nothing is real except feeling."
-Kazimir Malevich
Though varied and individualistic, the collection is unified in its desire to arouse controversy by rejecting the static art of the past. The destruction from the Great War, in addition to revolution on the horizon, naturally cast major doubts toward pre-established beliefs and institutions. With such a traumatic nature of events, art's realistic depiction of life seemed inadequate in the face of the immense power of trench warfare and meaningless murder. It was in this way that the artist was recast no longer as a passive bystander, but as an engaged revolutionary.