Home » category : Art » article : Gustav Klucis (1895-1944)

Gustav Klucis (1895-1944)

Posté par admin
samedi 07 janvier 2006 [n° 967]

Constructionnist, designer, pioneer of propaganda photomontage

Gustav Klucis :

Born on January 4, 1895 in Valmiera district (Latvia), repressed and killed in 1938 in Russia. Poster and project designer, pioneer of Soviet propaganda photomontage. 1

An outstanding representative of Russian Constructivism. A painter early in his artistic career, in 1918 he turned to photomontage and posters, employed photomontage as an original technique for book illustration and layout design, and engaged in press graphic. He designed projects for propaganda objects, including Soviet pavilions at the World Exhibitions in Berlin (1929) and Paris (1924, 1937). ”

Klucis
Construction. 1921. Graphite, gouache, Indian ink, sealing-wax on paper. 49 x 62 cm”

Russian constructivism

“Constructivism may be considered the natural development of the tendency towards abstraction and the quest for new methods of artistic representation characteristic of the early 20th century Russia. First introduced by Tatlin in 1915 (see his Relief of 1914-17), it began with a focus on abstraction through “real materials” in “real space.” Tatlin expressed his ideas through unique three-dimensional constructions, Counterreliefs and Corner Counterreliefs, made of paper, glass, metal, or wood. For Tatlin, the material reality (faktura — texture) of wood, metal, glass, paper, cloth, paint, etc., dictated the very form of the construction. After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, Constructivism was embraced by most of the avant-garde artists. They tried to apply the laws of “pure” art to objects of utilitarian purpose and mass consumption, and to “build a bridge” between art and the new “savior” of the people”. 2

_____________________________________

GUSTAV KLUCIS (1895-1944)

R.S.I. Sports Contest in Moscow. 1928
Gouache, photo, collage on cardboard

Une exposition au Musée de Strasbourg présente des oeuvres de Gustav Klucis (18 novembre 2005 – 26 février 2006)

“Peintre Letton, Gustav Klucis a fait partie des premiers élèves de Malevitch aux Ateliers Libres de Moscou. Adoptant dès 1919 la logique des formes suprématistes, il essaie de la conformer aux exigences constructivistes du style ” linéiste “. A ce moment naissent des œuvres non objectives, en deux et en trois dimensions (sculptures suspendues), dont peu ont survécu. En orientant rapidement son art vers la production d’objets utilitaires, il dessine vers 1921 une série de projets pour des kiosques de propagande. L’élégance de ces constructions, l’originalité de leurs structures, contribuent rapidement à leur popularité. Mais c’est dans le domaine de l’affiche et du photomontage que Klucis donne la mesure d’un talent reconnu en dehors des frontières.”


  1. Russian Suprematist and Constructivist Collage, Relief and Construction The International Museum of collage, assemblage and construction [back]
  2. Gray, Camilla. The Russian Experiment in Art 1863-1922. Revised and enlarged by Marian Burleigh-Motley. London: Thames and Hudson, 1986. quoted by Alexander Boguslawski’s page on Russian constructivism [back]
Art

Si vous avez apprécié cet article, s'il vous plait, prenez le temps de laisser un commentaire ou de souscrire au flux afin de recevoir les futurs articles directement dans votre lecteur de flux.

Commentaires

Pas encore de commentaire.

Laisser un commentaire

(requis)

(requis)




Navigation : Home » Art » Blog article: Gustav Klucis (1895-1944)