Summary
The phenomenon that came to be known as Russian Futurism is not an easily defined movement and was entirely separate from Italian Futurism, which was founded in Milan in 1909. As an ideological umbrella, Russian Futurism was intentionally flexible, accommodating diverse artists and practices during a period roughly dated from 1912 to 1916. Distinct collaborative groups of Russian Futurists formed in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, publishing journals, organizing debates, and curating exhibitions of their work. The individuals practicing as Futurists (whether self-identified or identified as such by critics and the press) shared a passion for exploring new modes of expression in poetry, visual art, music, and performance, while also shattering the distinctions between these mediums.
Drawing on influences from the West and mingling these with their own Russian heritage, the Futurists celebrated new concepts in psychology, color theory, and linguistics. One of their most unusual elements was a latent archaism, or attachment to Russian traditions in spite of an otherwise overwhelming focus on new technologies and forms. The events of World War I left many artists seeking a profound new meaning for their work and the Futurist vein soon developed into (or was superseded by) movements such as Suprematism and Constructivism. Possibly because Russian Futurism first emerged as a predominantly literary movement, some of its most stunning and original works are experimental books. These collaborations between poets and painters offer its most distinctive legacy, one that can be traced into mid-century sound poetry artworks and Conceptual art.
Key Ideas
Most Important Art
Haycutters (1907-1908)
A keen sense of motion is created in the painting by the many opposing diagonals: the scythe, the worker's bodies and wheat, and the road traveled by the horse and carriage each carry the viewer's eye in a different direction. Goncharova combined these elements with the heroic scale of the central peasant to create a scene in which farm workers are inextricably linked to the land. Rather than depicting non-Western "primitive" cultures of Africa, Asia, or the Pacific Islands, the Neo-Primitivist Haycutters celebrates traditional Russian culture and reinforces the fundamental value of the peasant in Russian society. In this way Neo-Primitivism marks an important, specifically Russian, departure from similar styles in Western Europe.
Igra v adu (A Game in Hell) (1912)
Dyr bul shchyl (1913)
Just as important as the creativity of a zaum poem's author was the creativity of its reader. Entirely without formal rules, zaum practitioners believed this "language" was universal to all people, thus overcoming the obstacles inherent to languages that must be translated and transcribed in order for comprehension and appreciation to be achieved. Kruchenykh's push toward the basic, abstract building blocks of language was mirrored by Futurist visual artists whose works were also increasingly abstract. Zaum is less well known than the similar language experiments of the Dada movement, though Dada embraced miscommunication and the failure of language.
The Cyclist (1913)
Bull's Head (1913)
Although Larionov's 1913 Rayonist manifesto flatly denounced the West, Rayonism represented perhaps the closest Russian relative of Italian Futurism, combining the Italians' depiction of movement with the Cubists' multi-planar analysis of objects. Indeed, Larionov and Goncharova were among the Russian avant-garde artists with the most direct connection to the West; they both spoke fluent French and eventually emigrated to Paris in 1914. Their departure from Russia signaled the end of the Rayonist movement; although other artists signed the associated manifesto, Larionov and Goncharova were the primary adherents of this visual style and it represented the culmination of their achievements in pre-war Russia.
Cow and Violin (1913)
Victory Over the Sun (1913)
Fully intended to shock the spectators, this performance is an exemplary expression of the pre-war Russian artistic world at a breaking point, fully rejecting the past and launching itself whole-heartedly into the future. The show's performances likely represented the public's most widespread introduction to zaum language. The significance for Malevich's career cannot be overstated; for the first time, he was not only a mere contributor to a group, but an essential part of a collaborative, multi-media trio. With this collaboration Malevich was able to find his own unique voice, which he would soon develop into his own movement of Suprematism.