Vladimir Tatlin's Social Art and the Reception of His Works in Soviet Russia
Type
presentation
Date Issued
2015-04-30
Author(s)
Abstract
The phenomenon of the study concentrates on the Vladimir Tatlin's ideas that reflect relationship between Russian avant-garde art, utopia, and social Revolution in the Soviet Union. The other aim of the project is to analyse a reception on his art in the USSR press (1915 - 1991).
Preliminary review revealed a broad panorama of research dedicated to Tatlin's personality and art. Over the last 50 years, significant research has been undertaken on his paintings, III International Tower, counter-reliefs, and Letatlin, which has been investigated from utopian, ideological, symbolic perspectives. However, there is only one monograph dedicated to this artist by John Milner, and it dates back to 1984.
In spite of the fact that Tatlin was one of the most important artists in the Russian avant-garde, there is an obvious omission in the academic literature during the last decades. Russian language literature does not provide any influential resources because of 70-year ban on avant-garde and its "heritage" in post-soviet Russia during the era of Social Realism. Further, there has been no complex research on Tatlin's ideas in English academic literature. In a broad perspective, Literature on Soviet culture and art has dealt with these topics as political and utopian ideas of avant-garde but not as a solid theoretical base; and vice-versa, some classical research of avant-garde does not consider the central influence of Russian avant-garde (or only in a peripheral role).
Identifying literature raises formulated two main questions:
First, are Tatlin's social ideas compatible with a concept of "new life," based on a contemporary approach to his work of productivism?
Second, what was the function of art criticism in the transformation of Tatlin's image in the rise of totalitarian tendencies in Soviet art?
Therefore, this article focuses on two themes that have previously almost not been analyzed: Vladimir Tatlin's ideas about organizing the new everyday life objects in new Soviet reality (1920s), productivism, and reception on his art in the USSR press (1915 - 1991). Therefore, identifying and articulating these concepts allows us to learn new and different aspects beyond what is already known about this artist and his heritage.
Preliminary review revealed a broad panorama of research dedicated to Tatlin's personality and art. Over the last 50 years, significant research has been undertaken on his paintings, III International Tower, counter-reliefs, and Letatlin, which has been investigated from utopian, ideological, symbolic perspectives. However, there is only one monograph dedicated to this artist by John Milner, and it dates back to 1984.
In spite of the fact that Tatlin was one of the most important artists in the Russian avant-garde, there is an obvious omission in the academic literature during the last decades. Russian language literature does not provide any influential resources because of 70-year ban on avant-garde and its "heritage" in post-soviet Russia during the era of Social Realism. Further, there has been no complex research on Tatlin's ideas in English academic literature. In a broad perspective, Literature on Soviet culture and art has dealt with these topics as political and utopian ideas of avant-garde but not as a solid theoretical base; and vice-versa, some classical research of avant-garde does not consider the central influence of Russian avant-garde (or only in a peripheral role).
Identifying literature raises formulated two main questions:
First, are Tatlin's social ideas compatible with a concept of "new life," based on a contemporary approach to his work of productivism?
Second, what was the function of art criticism in the transformation of Tatlin's image in the rise of totalitarian tendencies in Soviet art?
Therefore, this article focuses on two themes that have previously almost not been analyzed: Vladimir Tatlin's ideas about organizing the new everyday life objects in new Soviet reality (1920s), productivism, and reception on his art in the USSR press (1915 - 1991). Therefore, identifying and articulating these concepts allows us to learn new and different aspects beyond what is already known about this artist and his heritage.
Language
English
Keywords
: constructivism and avant-garde
art and politics
Soviet ideology and art critiques
contemporary aesthetics
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Event Location
Berlin
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
241089