The Struggle for Utopia
Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy, 1917-46
Victor Margolin(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Published on 23. June 1997
Book
Hardback
276 pages
978-0-226-50515-2 (ISBN)
Description
Following World War I, a new artistic-social avant-garde emerged with the ambition to involve the artist in the building of social life. This project is exemplified in the lives of Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, whose careers, which covered a broad range of practices and political situations, are studied in this text. Through close readings of their work Margolin examines the way these three artists negotiated the changing relations between their social ideals and the political realities they confronted. He traces their careers through the 1920s and 1930s in Moscow, Berlin and Chicago, documenting their contributions to Utopian architecture, Constructivist ideology, industrial design, photography, visual communication and design education. Each essay adopts a chronological perspective, beginning with the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and ending with Chicago after World War II. Focusing on the difficult relationship between art and social change, the author seeks to bring new insights to our understanding of the avant-garde's role in a period of great political complexity.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
107 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 167 mm
Weight
670 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-50515-2 (9780226505152)
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Schweitzer Classification
Content
Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1: Visions of the Future: Rodchenko and Lissitzky, 1917-1921 2: Constructivism in Germany: Lissitzky and Moholy-Nagy, 1922-1923 3: Inventing the Artist-Constructor: Rodchenko, 1922-1927 4: The Politics of Form: Rodchenko and Moholy-Nagy, 1922-1929 5: Representing the Regime: Lissitzky and Rodchenko, 1930-1941 6: Design for Business or Design for Life? Moholy-Nagy, 1937-1946 Epilogue Index