The Russian Avant-garde artists

Some of these artists were avid Communists, some - the very opposite. Others believed in the wind of change and the future of social revolution, only to be disillusioned and bitterly disappointed. Most saw themselves as actively involved in the life of their country and the changes, whether desired or not, understood or not, shared or not - and dedicated to artistic expression of the world changing rapidly in front of their eyes.

Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.
1918. Self-Portrait.

It was an exciting time to live in. Everything in Russia was changing all at once. Political change brought with it technological and industrial development in an unprecedented speed. There was a call for self-sacrifice, for personal excellence, for rearranging it all into a new and just system. If a call such as this went up today, can you see yourself swept up in the pure energy of renewal? Of the promise of improvement in every possible sphere?

As artists, they were mostly well-educated and traveled people, and they indeed saw themselves as public figures, with obligation before the Russian people, the so-called "masses", who were less fortunate and not as well-educated. They felt it was up to them to show them what is happening, to guide the "masses" into the new reality. Hence they needed to evolve their language - art - into new forms which would fit the changes they experienced. No longer was the old art applicable in the old ways, as the world was now new, moved faster and in a different manner.

The world as they have known it was ending.

Vera Ermolaeva.
1932. Self-Portrait.

It was clear to the artists that their own education is placing them above the mostly uneducated masses, and in the newly emerging socially just world, where free accessible education to all was one of the slogans, they saw themselves obligated to serve as deacons of this education for said masses. No longer could the art remain the exclusive sphere of the elite, especially not the newly emerging, more complicated art. No longer can creation of art be justified for the sake of art, or for the benefit of the few. Many artists felt, and this was part of their emerging ideology, that their new role was not only to express themselves through art, but to bring art into forms which would best serve the masses on their way up. Thus was industrial art born, including Constructivism as art brought into and merged with the sphere of daily life of "simple" people. This coincided with the rapid industrial development, so that artists pioneered the textile industry, printing industry, interior design, architectural innovation.

One such new branch was photography, where artists saw themselves obligated to reflect the happenings back to the people by truthfully portraying the communal effort. The evolving abilities of the camera enthralled some of them, with the new possibilities emerging. Photography made possible another new artistic achievement: collage, which was put to good use in the poster and illustration fields.

Alexandr Drevin. 1915.
 Playing Cards. Self-Portrait.

However, soon enough the winds of change have brought with them a change of official attitude. It is common knowledge today that the intended freedom and equality turned within a little over a decade into the worse kind of dictatorship, which has reached its suffocating tendrils into the arts. Beginning in the late twenties the tendencies were felt by all non-conformist artists, meaning all those who have left the path of Realism. The lives of the artists have become difficult. Their art and their freedom of expression were increasingly repressed, until in the early 1930s they were forced into the clear choice: to conform or to rebel and ear the dire consequences. Many were repressed, which in the Soviet language translates into being persecuted, arrested, sent to camps, sentenced to death (shot) or left to starve without ability to work. Many perished during that time, their works destroyed or hidden in some remote basements. Many others conformed and "performed" as ordered. Still others have found a way to express themselves while seemingly conforming.

Browsing these pages, remember: this is their story, their time, their hard and sometimes impossible choices, that I am bringing here to you.

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