Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova Were Involved in Which Art Movement?

Russian artist (1894–1958)

Varvara Stepanova
The artists and married couple Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova, 1920s.
Built-in	1894
Died	1958
Nationality	Russian
Movement	Productivist art, a branch of Constructivism
Spouse(s)	Alexander Rodchenko

Varvara Fyodorovna Stepanova (Russian: Варва́ра Фёдоровна Степа́нова; iv Nov [O.Southward. 23 October] 1894^{[notation 1]} – May 20, 1958)^[one] was a Russian artist. With her husband Alexander Rodchenko, she was associated with the Constructivist co-operative of the Russian advanced, which rejected artful values in favour of revolutionary ones. Her activities extended into propaganda, poetry, stage scenery and textile designs.

Biography [edit]

Stepanova and Rodchenko in their studio, 1920s

Varvara Stepanova who was born in Kaunas (in modern-day Lithuania) came from peasant origins but was able to get an education at Kazan Fine art School, Kazan. There she met her subsequently husband and collaborator Alexander Rodchenko. In the years earlier the Russian Revolution of 1917 they leased an apartment in Moscow, owned past Wassily Kandinsky. These artists became some of the main figures in the Russian avant-garde. The new abstruse art in Russian federation which began effectually 1915^[2] was a culmination of influences from Cubism, Italian Futurism and traditional peasant art. She designed Cubo-Futurist piece of work for several artists' books, and studied under Jean Metzinger at Académie de La Palette, an art academy where the painters André Dunoyer de Segonzac and Henri Le Fauconnier also taught.^[3]

In the years post-obit the revolution, Stepanova involved herself in verse, philosophy, painting, graphic art, stage scenery structure, and fabric and clothing designs. She contributed work to the 5th State Exhibition and the Tenth State Exhibition, both in 1919.

In 1920 it came to a division between painters like Kasimir Malevich who connected to paint with the idea that art was a spiritual activity, and those who believed that they must piece of work directly for the revolutionary development of the club. In 1921, together with Aleksei Gan, Rodchenko and Stepanova formed the first Working Group of Constructivists, which rejected fine fine art in favor of graphic design, photography, posters, and political propaganda.^[4] Also in 1921, Stepanova declared in her text for the exhibition 5x5=25, held in Moscow:

Composition is the contemplative approach of the artist. Technique and Industry have confronted art with the problem of construction as an active process and not cogitating. The 'sanctity' of a piece of work as a single entity is destroyed. The museum which was the treasury of art is at present transformed into an archive.

The term 'Constructivist' was by then being used past the artists themselves to describe the management their work was taking. The theatre was another area where artists were able to communicate new artistic and social ideas. Stepanova designed the sets for The Death of Tarelkin in 1922.

Wearable blueprint and textiles [edit]

In 1921, Stepanova moved well-nigh exclusively into the realm of production, in which she felt her designs could accomplish their broadest impact in aiding the development of the Soviet society.^[5] Russian Constructivist habiliment represented the destabilization of the oppressive, aristocracy aesthetics of the past and, instead, reflected utilitarian functionality and production. Gender and class distinctions gave mode to functional, geometric clothing. In line with this objective, Stepanova sought to free the torso in her designs, emphasizing clothing's functional rather than decorative qualities. Stepanova securely believed article of clothing must be looked at in activity. Unlike the aristocratic wear that she felt sacrificed physical liberty for aesthetics, Stepanova defended herself to designing habiliment for particular fields and occupational settings in such a mode that the object's construction evinced its function. In addition, she sought to develop expedient means of article of clothing production through uncomplicated designs and strategic, economic utilise of fabrics.^[6]

Clothing designs [edit]

Stepanova, thus, identified vesture as occupying two groups: prodezodezhda and sportodezhda. Within these categories, she attended to logical, efficient production and construction of the garments.^[7] However, war-induced poverty placed economic restrictions on the Russian Constructivists' industrial fervor, and their direct engagement with production was never fully realized. Thus, well-nigh of her designs were not mass-produced and circulated.^[8]

The first, prodezodezhda, or production/working clothing in basic styles, included theater costumes too equally professional and industrial garments.^[9] In the early 1920s, Stepanova entered the clothing industry through her costume designs in theater, in which she translated her creative affinity for geometric shapes into functional, allegorical vesture. Fabricated of nighttime blue and grey cloth, the graphic costumes immune actors to maximize the appearance of their movements, exaggerating them for the stage and transforming the body into a dynamic limerick of geometric shapes and lines.^[10]

Within this category, Stepanova began designing spetsodezhda, or habiliment specialized for a specific occupation.^[7] In doing so, she designed clothing for men and women in both industrial and professional capacities with meticulous consideration of seaming, pockets, and buttons to ensure each aspect of the costume maintained a functional intention. Regardless of the occupational context, her working clothing carried a distinctive geometric and linear border, rendering the body into a graphic composition and boxy, androgynous form.^[10]

The 2nd category, sportodezhda, or sports costumes, also presented bold lines, large forms, and contrasting colors to enable and emphasize the torso's movements and allow spectators to hands distinguish one team from the other. Stepanova even rendered the squad's keepsake into a graphic design.^[10] The sports arena offered a context for Stepanova to realize an idealized bodily neutralization, and her uniforms were often unisex with pants and a belted tunic that obscured the human class.^[xi]

Textile product [edit]

Stepanova carried out her ideal of engaging with industrial production in the following yr when she, with Lyubov Popova, became designer of textiles at the Tsindel (the First State Textile Manufacturing plant) well-nigh Moscow, and in 1924 became professor of fabric blueprint at the Vkhutemas (College Technical Artistic Studios). As a constructivist, Stepanova non but transposed bold graphic designs onto her fabrics, but as well focused heavily on their production. Stepanova only worked a little over a year at The Get-go Textile Printing Factory, but she designed more than 150 fabric designs in 1924. Although she was inspired to develop new types of cloth, the electric current engineering science restricted her to printed patterns on monotone surfaces. By her own creative selection, she likewise limited her color palette to one or 2 dyes. Although she only used triangles, circles, squares, and lines, Stepanova superimposed these geometric forms onto i another to create a dynamic, multi-dimensional design.^[12]

Graphic design [edit]

Poster for the "Volume Evening," 1924.

Stepanova practiced typography, book design and contributed to the magazine LEF throughout the early 1920s.^[thirteen] Equally function of a government campaign to promote universal literacy, Stepanova organized a "Book Evening" in 1924.^[13] This was a performance that featured characters from pre- and mail-revolutionary literature battling each other.^[13]

Tribute [edit]

On October 22, 2018,^{[note 1]} Stepanova was honoured with a Google Doodle posthumously on her 124th birthday.^[14]

See also [edit]

• Anti-art (Note: information technology is disputed whether or not artwork associated with Varvara Stepanova is indeed "anti-fine art".)
• Soviet fashion design

References and sources [edit]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Sources differ regarding the date of birth, in which they wrote either iii, 4 or nine November based on the Gregorian calendar.

References

1. ^ "Varvara Stepanova". Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved October six, 2008.
2. ^ "The Collection | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Fine art.
3. ^ Examiner, Constructivism & early avant-garde Russian fashion design, November three, 2009
4. ^ Jones, Yvonne. "Rodchenko, Alexander". The Oxford Companion to Western Art - Oxford Art Online . Retrieved ten May 2013.
5. ^ Lavrentiev, Alexander (2000). John E. Bowlt and Matthew Drutt (ed.). Amazons of the avant-garde : Alexandra Exter, Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Varvara Stepanova, and Nadezhda Udaltsova. New York: Guggenheim Museum. p. 241. ISBN0810969246.
6. ^ Lodder, Christina (1985). Russian constructivism (4. print. ed.). New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press. p. 148. ISBN0300034067.
7. ^ ^{a b} Adaskina, Natalia (1987). "Constructivist Fabrics and Dress Design". The Periodical of Propaganda Arts. 5: 149.
8. ^ Lodder, Christina (1985). Russian constructivism (iv. print. ed.). New Oasis [Conn.]: Yale Academy Press. p. 145. ISBN0300034067.
9. ^ Lodder, Christina (1985). Russian constructivism (4. print. ed.). New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Printing. ISBN0300034067.
10. ^ ^{a b c} Lavrentiev, Alexander (1988). John E. Bowlt (ed.). Varvara Stepanova, the consummate piece of work (1st MIT Press ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. p. 79. ISBN0262620820.
11. ^ Kiaer, Christina (2008). Imagine no possessions : the socialist objects of Russian constructivism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT. p. 114. ISBN978-0262612210.
12. ^ Lavrentiev, Alexander (1988). John E. Bowlt (ed.). Varvara Stepanova, the complete piece of work (1st MIT Press ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. p. 80. ISBN0262620820.
13. ^ ^{a b c} Yablonskaya, Thou. N. (1990). Parton, Anthony (ed.). Women Artists of Russias New Age: 1900-1935. New York: Rizzoli. pp. 153–154.
14. ^ "Varvara Stepanova's 124th Birthday". October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.

Sources

• The Russian Experiment in Art, Camilla Grayness, Thames and Hudson,1976
• Avant-garde Russe, Andrei Nakov, Art Data, 1986
• Russian Constructivism, Christina Lodder, Yale University Printing, 1985
• Varvara Stepanova, The Complete Works, Alexander Lavrentiev, MIT Printing, 1988

External links [edit]

Media related to Varvara Stepanova at Wikimedia Commons

• Fine art engineers: Rodchenko and Stepanova (in Russian) – biographical article

woodsalthat1974.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varvara_Stepanova

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