first world war and revolution

 

Despite his anarchist political inclinations, Gan served in World War I, where he suffered a severe concussion. After the October Revolution he began working with an organization called Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups. However, as anarchists started losing leverage in communist Russia, Gan drifted towards Bolshevism. Later, in 1918, all Soviet anarchist organizations were crushed by the Bolsheviks and banned until the end of the 1980’s. Gan’s anarchist links became a liability, and eventually may have cost him his life.

In Alexander Rodchenko’s studio
Esfir Shub smoking a cigarette, looking into camera

Esfir Shub.

Created with Sketch.

typography was a field that the constructivists innovated, and for which they are famous for. the effects can still be widely seen today. —eleanor rees, poet and critic

Back cover of Soviet Architecture (SA) magazine, issues 5–6, 1926

Back cover of SA magazine, issues 5–6, 1926.

 

mass action as proto-constructivism

 

One of the art forms that preceded and influenced Constructivism was mass actions—a highly orchestrated form of happening associated with Bolshevism, which began in 1918. Mass actions included, for instance, a reenactment of Revolution Night staged by thousands of actors, directed in Saint-Petersburg in 1920 by Nikolai Evreinov. Gan directed mass actions from 1918 to 1920 in Moscow. His ideas were radical, such as coordinating the entire population of Moscow to perform in the May Day spectacle.

Mass action gradually became a cornerstone of Gan’s theoretical work, earning him the title “constructor of mass action.” This was somewhat ironic, as the practicality of mass actions steadily decreased throughout the 1920’s due to the intensifying political climate.

 

Parade in front of Kremlin dedicated to the second centenary of the October Revolution
Vladimir Lenin addressing a May 1 demonstration in front of the walls of Kremlin

Parade in front of Kremlin dedicated to the second centenary of the October Revolution, Moscow, November 7, 1919.

Vladimir Lenin addressing a May 1 demonstration in front of the walls of Kremlin, 1919.

 

best known as co-founder of the first working group of constructivists and author of the group’s agitational and theoretical texts, gan's own oeuvre was comprised of amateur performances and mass-media objects (texts, books, journals, and films). —kristin romberg, soviet art historian

 

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