Constructivism

Constructivism is an art movement which originated in Russia in the 1920’s. It rejected art as an autonomous idea, but favored it as a social one. Constructivists supported the Bolshevik government. They were involved in public life. Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893 –1930), the Russian poet, playwright and artist declared: “the streets are our brushes, the squares our palettes” Constructivists not only employed the plastic arts as their means of expression, but expanded to the areas of industry, graphic design and the performing arts. Members, such as Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova and Liuboy Popova developed the definition of Constructivism as a combination of faktura the particular material properties of an object, and tektonika, its spatial presence. The artists employed angular and geometric shapes in their composition. Constructivism influenced other art movements of the twentieth century, such as Bauhaus and De Stijl.