Russian Constructivism

Russian Constructivism was an art movement that originated in Russia during the 20th century (roughly 1919). It was considered to be highly influential, impacting upon the likes of of architecture, graphic design, and even affecting some of the bigger, more leading movements such as Bauhaus and De Stijl. This particular movement also took on the 'art for use' mind set, favouring art as a form of political aid and steering it towards more social purposes.

The effect that Constructivism had on graphic design was vast, and much of the artwork from this period can be seen in the form of posters (typically a mix of political propaganda and cinema adverts) or book designs. Although the artwork of this period was often created through traditional means, an exploration of artistic creation through different means began and an influx of work involving film and photography was produced. Artists also began accommodating the likes of geometrics and abstract forms into their artwork, even incorporating different materials such as plastic and metal to further enhance their pieces.

The Stenberg brothers, Vladimir and Georgii Stenber, played a crucial role within the Constructivism movement and their most significant pieces of work related to graphic design involved advertisement posters for the ever escalating cinema industry.

This poster was done for the German film Which of the Two/Manhunt (1926) and features an interesting use of circles which help emphasize the perspective of the piece, creating a sense of depth between the two figures and giving the poster an almost 3D effect. The use of colours also helps define the abstract values of the piece, enhancing the varied use of shapes and overall allowing the advertisement to 'pop' from the page.

After evaluating several of the Stenberg brothers' pieces I noticed a few recurring themes. These included the use of circular shapes (reinforcing the idea that geometrics was beginning to play a large, experimental role within design), contrasting colours which usually varied from startling yellows and reds against more monochrome tones, and surreal undertones - whether suggested subtly through use of perspective or more boldly in the design as a whole.

All in all I feel that their work is a good example of the effect Russian Constructivism had on art and design as it features all the explorational factors which were being delved into at the time. Their style of work is really quite fascinating, and I find their use of perspective to be perplexing in a way that could only further enhance the piece and it's brilliance.

Other artists to be acknowledged from this period are El Lissitzky and Alexander Rodchenko.

Sources used:

• http://www.moma.org/collection/details.php?theme_id=10955
• http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1997/sternbergbrothers/
• https://mubi.com/notebook/posts/movie-poster-of-the-week-the-posters-of-the-stenberg-brothers