Abstract The paper discusses the architectural design ideology formulated in the texts of Soviet Constructivism theorists and embodied, to varying degrees of consistency, in their practice. Primary attention is paid to their understanding of function – the category through which Constructivist ideologists linked spatial and social aspects of architecture and articulated plans for social engineering. The interpretation of this concept (for example, the inclusion of psychological aspects in the notion of function) was one of the important foundations for distinguishing architectural groups in the 1920s. The seminal Constructivist texts, primarily the publications of Moisei Ginzburg, reveal the logic of the “functional method,” which envisions the spatial optimization of architecture and the minimization of user’s energy expenditures. The article addresses the language of Constructivist texts and the practice of using physical metaphors to describe social processes and architectural phenomena. It also deals with the public perception of Constructivist designs and the ideas they embodied. Examples are given of the application of the principles of the “functional method” to the analysis of residential and other building layouts at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. Finally, spatial optimization practices based on the Taylorist approach and physiological standardization were employed in architectural design of the subsequent period, despite the architects’ forced shift toward “the adoption of heritage.”
Abstract Although current theories of the avant-garde do not distinguish the pre- WW1 and the interbellum avant-gardes as “early” and “mature”, but rather distinguish between the historical avant-garde as a whole and a neo-avant-garde, it is clear that those artistic movements of the 1910s differed significantly from those of the following decade. This difference has been demonstrated, for example, by Nina Gurianova, according to whom the shift in artistic ideology was determined by the radical change in political structure. However, one may find a similar drift within the European avant-gardes, although the logic of such a transformation is often interpreted through the new cultural atmosphere of the post- WWI Europe, the spirit of the new era being expressed in the notion of a “call to order” ( le rappel à l’ordre ). The categories of Cosmos and Chaos, however, suggest the ancient cosmogonic principle of the birth of the former from the latter and its imprint upon on the history of the avant-garde itself: the victory of summoning “cosmic” tendencies to the later avant-garde over the spontaneous, “chaotic” tendencies of the earlier avant-garde. In turn, this reveals an immanent logic of development which was not necessarily conditioned by historical circumstances or political conjuncture. This article discusses the heuristic potential of such a theoretical model.
Abstract This paper examines the artistic philosophy and cosmic worldview of Viktor Chernovolenko, a member of the Russian cosmist art group Amaravella. Chernovolenko’s artwork reflects a deeply intuitive creative process rooted in the search for cosmic harmony, spiritual evolution, and the multidimensional nature of existence. Although lacking formal academic training, he developed a distinctive visual language grounded in light, rhythm, and fluid, radiant forms that evoke the pulsating structure of the universe. His artistic trajectory was shaped by the intellectual and philosophical context of early 20th-century Russian Cosmism, particularly the ideas of Nikolai Fedorov, Vladimir Vernadsky, Alexander Chizhevsky, and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, as well as the spiritual influence of Nicholas and Helena Roerich. For Chernovolenko, art was a means of expanding consciousness and revealing hidden cosmic processes; technical execution was secondary to intuitive insight and emotional resonance. His mature works from the 1960s onward depict the universe as a living organism composed of rays, networks, and multilayered spatial structures. Through color, sound-like rhythm, and luminous structures, his paintings invite viewers to enter a transcendental realm where the boundaries between spirit and matter dissolve. Chernovolenko’s vision anticipates a utopian future in which humanity achieves unity with nature and cosmic forces, not through technology, but through spiritual transformation. Ultimately, Chernovolenko’s artistic legacy presents a unique synthesis of philosophical cosmism, intuitive creativity, and a profound aspiration toward the infinite.
Abstract The exploration of sound in the Soviet film on the early 1930s was deeply rooted in Futurist and Formalist explorations of noise, phonetic expressivity, and the transrational (zaum’) language. The article traces this evolution along two experimental paths: one that treated industrial noise as musical material, and another that investigated voice as the carrier of meaning. Nikolai Anoshchenko attempted to reframe cinematic speech by approaching it not as a verbal but as a sonic phenomenon. The semantic power of sound was supposed to become greater than that of dialogue or monologue – an idea that shows a close relation to the sound poetry, to ‘zaum’ of Russian Futurists. Dziga Vertov’s Symphony of the Donbass ( Enthusiasm , 1930) is analyzed as a bridge between Futurist bruitism and later musique concrète, while Alexander Macheret’s Men and Jobs (1932) represents an attempt to create meaning through sound alone. Ultimately, the utopian project of a sound-based, wordless cinematic language was suppressed by the ideological and stylistic demands of socialist realism, but its experiments reveal an extraordinary moment when Soviet culture imagined hearing as a new form of understanding.
Abstract El Lissitzky (Lazar’ Markovich Lisitsky, 1889–1941) developed a strong visual theme of the “New” within the context of the avant-garde. His figurine called “The New” (1920–21) is a design for a mechanical puppet – a character from the Futurist opera Victory over the Sun. The artist creates an image-cum-construction – a dynamic, composite form comprising two distinct entities – corresponding to a complex symbolic narrative. This article attempts to interpret the “The New” or “The New One” as an archetype that Lissitzky would develop within the sphere of early Soviet culture.
