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by A. Lavretiev
GRANT Publ., Moscow, Russia, 2000.
256 pp.
ISBN: 5-89135-150-1.
Reviewed by Ekaterina Lavrentieva, Russia.
E-mail: strog1232@mtu-net.ru


This book was put together and designed for the students. It was planned to become a source for visual information about the constructivist style in graphic design. That is why it somewhat looks like a family photo-album. The author placed all of his precious memorabilia here. The only difference is that instead of pictures of relatives, curled hair and dried flowers he put photographs, schemes and book covers. This personal approach makes the whole selection quite warm.

The author teaches history of graphic design in two institutions now: at the Moscow University of Design named after Stroganov and at the University of Typography. This gives him the ability to vividly represent the tendencies in art and design. So in general, his aim was to provide the young generations of graphic designers with effective methods of work.

Fundamental visual and graphic principles remain stable to some extent in art and design despite the computer revolution of the 1980-s and 1990-s. The book shows different aspects of creative visual thinking which defines the essence of any design activity. The book falls into eight chapters that were called "Experiments" because artists of the 1920-s and especially the Russian Constructivists produced a number of very important experiments in visual art and design. Following these experiments and attempting to develop them as formal and compositional exercises one can get his own "Experience".

Nobody can doubt that at the basement of contemporary graphic design we can find evident traces of the violent period of Russian Futurism. Experiment 1 is dedicated to the artists who explored technology of collage, sound poetry, unusual typesetting. Vladimir Tatlin and Kazimir Malevich were putting together different textures and materials enabling them to "speak" visually in the situation of conflict and contrast. Artists and poets like Michail Larionov and Velimir Khlebnikov, Olga Rozanova and Alexei Kruchonikh were chasing a very subtle object: the unity of word (sound) and graphic form. Abstract sound poetry was represented by means of abstract graphics; it looked like the model of the origin of the language (both visual and verbal). The joyful play with typefaces attracted poets and artists.

Suprematism showed its universality of the philosophy in art, painting method and graphic instrument in works done by Malevich or under his influence at the Unovis in Vitebsk in 1920. El Lissitsky turned graphic studies into a professional graphic design activity in his book "About the Two Squares" and Vladimir Mayakovsky's selected poems "Dlya Golosa" ("For Recital"), published in Berlin in 1922-1923. Lissitsky was one of the founders of the principle of VISUAL LANGUAGE in communication as one can see from his article "The Book from the Point of View of visual Perception is the visual Book". So the second "Experiment" is about problems of the visual language.

Speaking about Constructivist Laboratory one cannot avoid the most central subject - the role of the pure Construction in art. When I say "pure construction" I mean the importance of abstract constructions - both spatial and graphic. Construction became the leading principle of organization in abstract art. Composition was considered to be the contrary method to Construction. Construction was understood as organization of elements stressing the visual stability of forms. Alexander Rodchenko, Stenberg brothers and Gustav Klutsis were constructing spatial objects in order to represent the very basic ideas of structure, to show solid links between the elements, to introduce mathematical and geometrical conformity into art. Line was the equivalent of the constructive elements in graphics. Here was a link towards engineering design, towards technology reworked by the artist, here was a starting point towards functional design and communication where the structure of visual information played the main role. Thus "Experiment 3" is about the use of construction in graphic design. The principle of graphic construction affected the style of book covers, posters, and illustrations. Words and letters were used as basic geometrical blocks of composition, displaying their spatial characteristics. The famous GRID of 1960-s functional typography has its roots in the structural studies of graphic designers of 1920-s. There were three main aspects of constructivist graphic design: constructive composition, photomontage and geometric design in typesetting.

Photomontage - "Experiment 4" - was used for book and magazine illustration, poster and theater design.

Rodchenko, Klutsis, Lissitsky, Varvara Stepanova and Solomon Telingater show here such aspects of this new communicative and illustrative media like dramaturgy, spatial problems, creating serial designs. Articles by Klutsis and Lissitsky on the subject of photography in graphic design are incorporated into this section. Documents and photographs used by artists in their works played an important communicative role. They were included into advertising, political posters, book and magazine covers. Photographs were representing certain types of people.

"Experiment 5" shows how these social, professional and cultural HEROES were born. A graphic designer and teacher at the Moscow University of Design Kirill Parmon prepared this chapter. "Experiment 6" is about graphic patterns and schemes in illustration. Graphic artists of the 1920-s introduced a very special way of rendering people, object, machines, and buildings - all the visual world. They avoided naturalistic light and shadow and constructed images from rather simplified geometric elements. This principle was mostly used in the 1920-s and early 1930-s in children's books and special graphic diagrams. Galina and Olga Chihagova developed a new type of education books for children. The books "Charlie's Travel", "A Book for Children about the Newspaper", "Where does Pottery come from" opened a new genre of visual stories.

Experiment 7 is dedicated to principles of constructivist typography. Instead of drawing Alexei Gan, El Lissitsky and many others started to use combinations of different typefaces and linear elements as their artistic media. They went to the print workshop to construct the composition of any printed matter from ready elements of typesetting. Varvara Stepanova developed rather revolutionary ideas of complete standardization of modular layout of magazines. Nikolai Ilyin proved that there was no such a design, which could not be turned into a typesetted structure.

Corporate Identity problems are analyzed in the last "Experiment 8". Different firms of 1920-s like Mosselprom, Dobrolet and Gosizdat gained their specific visual features due to the activity of the Constructivists of the 1920-s. They designed advertising, street kiosks, labels and signboards as well as packaging, logos and trademarks. Everything was done with the equal sense of artistic responsibility. Designers Alexander Rodchenko and Anton Lavinsky gained the support from poets Vladimir Majakovsky and Nikolai Aseev in creating the typical constructivist advertising with witty texts.

In fact this book was prepared during quite a short period of time - just one year after the intention was formed. Another twenty years of collecting illustrations form the bottom of the iceberg.

Designing the cover for this book was one of my first independent works as a graphic designer. So as representative of the younger generation I can say that all that is gathered and classified here under the book-cover has an up-to date meaning.

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