building a glorious new future

In the aftermath of the revolution, the world had to be recreated anew, rejecting everything that could be possibly connected to the old. This creation had to take place in every sphere of life: in politics, education, the army, and not least, in visual culture. At the vanguard of visual reimaginings of the homeland were Aleksandr Rodchenko and Lyubov Popova. There work is currently on display at Tate Modern, and I had a wander through on Saturday. Construction art equated the artist with the engineer, as both were building the new society emerging around them. The rendering of the visual into the useful was the aim of Rodchenko and Popova, and they cultivated seriousness as a way of life. The exhibit features one of Rodchenko’s sculptures, which doubled as a Newspaper Kiosk, while Popova additionally designed patterns for the clothes of the workers. Yet my favourite part of the exhibit was the advertising section from the NEP era. Although such work was produced decades before my birht, it reminded me of my childhood. The style of production Rodchenko and Popova pioneered has lingered to the present. The theatre posters looked nearly identical to those on display outside Russian theatres today. The poster for Red October biscuits looked similar to some I used to have hanging in my room. I love the clean lines, the direct messages and the kitschy symbolism. And I was impressed that large numbers of non-Russians were showing up for this (not inexpensive) display of constructivism abroad.