Russian Avant-Garde(Alexander Rodchenko, Project #3)

Project #3: Rodchenko Poster

Create a poster about Alexander Rodchenko. Due Thur., Oct. 18

Aleksander Rodchenko was a Russian artist, sculptor, photographerand graphic designer who lived in the early 20th cent. He was one ofthe founders of Constructivism.

General Requirements:• Page size: 8.5" x 11"• Include the following info:

a) The name of the artist: Alexander Rodchenkob) A quote by Rodchenko: “Life, conscious and organized life, capable of seeing and constructing, is contemporary art".

• The poster has to be created in the style of Constructivism

Rodchenko Exhibit at EVC(3rd floor, Library building)

About the EVC Rodchenko Exhibit

Year 2012 is the year of the 10th Golden Bee biennale, whichmakes it our 20th anniversary. The main event of the 2012biennale is an international design competition conducted in a form of a poster exhibition with a slogan “Rodchenko 120”.

This exhibit celebrates the 120th anniversary of great Russianavant-garde artist Alexander Rodchenko, and explores theinfluence of this important movement on the world of art. Itconsists of posters created by the leading Russian graphicdesigners.

Who’s Alexander Rodchenko?

• Russian artist and designer who lived in the early 20th cent.

• Founder of “Constructivism”

• Was part of the Russian Avant-Garde movement

Constructivism (1920s-30s)

- Was the last and most influential modern art movement to flourish in Russia in the 20th century

- Evolved just as the Bolsheviks came to power in the October Revolution of 1917

- Initially provided hope for many of the most advanced Russian artists who supported the revolution’s goals(equality, power to the masses, etc.)

- Proposed to replace art’s traditional concern with composition with a focus on “construction” (i.e. more emphasis on functionality than beauty)

Constructivism (1920s-30s)

- Artists insisted it was their civic duty to engineer a more stable and harmonious society

- Believed that the visual form of a work of art should be dictated by its materials

- Tried to express their experience of modern life – its dynamism, its new and disorientating qualities of space and time

- Applied their ideals across the entire social spectrum of contemporary experience to every mode of creative endeavor (art, dance, fashion, film, theater, etc.)

Constructivist Ideas

“The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. Thissymbol is not a recognizable form of anything which is already finished, already made, already existing in the world - it is a symbol of a new world, which is being built upon and which exists by way of people.”

- El Lizzitsky (artist)

Elements of Constructivist Style

• A feverish depiction of line

• Dynamic composition

• Abstracted iconography

• Stark silhouetting

• Emphasis on simple geometry

• Highly innovative use of collage and photomontage

Anatoly Belsky, 5 Minutes, 1929.

Similar Project Created by Students

http://portfolios.sva.edu/gallery/Rodchenko-Remix/4140343

Make sure to take a look at other links posted on the class site:

1. Student projects from Missouri State University2. Posters designed by Rodchenko