RODCHENKO AND THE ARTS OF REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA
David Elliott
David Elliott [Editor]: RODCHENKO AND THE ARTS OF REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979. First American edition. Quarto. Photo-illustrated wrappers. 136 pp. Illustrated throughout in duotone with 16 pages of color. Light wear overall. Interior unmarked and very clean. Out-of-print. A very good to nearly fine copy.
8.25 x 11.5 softcover book with 136 profusely-illustrated pages. This book accompanied the first complete retrospective exhibition of Rodchenko's work since his death 22 years before, held at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. An excellent, profusely illustrated and documented work on Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1956).
In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, a group of artists who came to call themselves Constructivists sets out to create a new art in the spirit of the new society to come. Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891-1956), the most important and versatile member of the group, made outstanding and original works in virtually every field of the visual arts. In the first part of his career, Rodchenko produced innovative abstract painting, sculpture, prints and drawings. In 1921, however, he made a bold break, committing himself to applied art in the service of revolutionary ideals, and moving on to lasting achievements in photocollage, photography, and design of all kinds: books, posters, magazines, advertising, furniture.