Leonardo

Revolutionary Soviet Film Posters by Mildred Constantine; Alan Fern; Unofficial Art fromthe Soviet Union by Igor Golomshtok; Alexander Glezer; Michael ScammellReview by: John E. BowltLeonardo, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Summer, 1978), p. 253Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1574183 .

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Lef in 1922, since this magazine did not start publication until 1923 (p. 7); what was the curious international exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1906 that, allegedly, 'represented the avantgarde of the West and East' (p. 3)? Questions of a more intricate nature are circumvented by the authors: one wonders, for example, to what extent Rodchenko's photographic experiments interacted with his poster compositions, how exactly the geometric styles of Lissitzky, Malevich, Popova et al influenced the development of the cinema poster, whether the Soviet concept of photo-montage did not owe more to the collage and assemblage systems of the pioneer Russian innovators than to Victorian trick photography or to the later achievements of Grosz and Heartfield. The absence of biographical data, even life/death dates, of the artists represented is regrettable. Still, the posters themselves, these extraordinary monuments to constructivism, more than com- pensate for such faults.

The second book is very different. It was published in connection with the exhibition of unofficial Soviet art opened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in January, 1977 and, apart from introductory remarks by Michael Scammell and Roland Penrose, consists basically of two valuable essays by Golomshtok (Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union) and Glezer (The Struggle to Exhibit), very useful biographies and manifes- toes of the artists represented and a copious bibliography. This book is the most comprehensive study of its kind and, inevitably, surpasses in scope and quality the pioneer monograph by Paul Sjeklocha and Igor Mead, Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1967). Major and minor figures of the unofficial movements are discussed and illustrated, including Masterkova, Rabin, Rukhin, Sveshnikov, Yankilevsky et al. Golomshtok's intelligent essay merits particular attention for, although an 'inside story', it is marked by a welcome objectivity and precision. Golomshtok places contemporary trends in their historical perspective, referring to the main political junctures that affected the zigzag development of Soviet art-the establishment of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia in 1922, the decree On the Reconstruction of Literary and Artistic Organizations of 1932, the advocacy of Socialist Realism in 1934, the campaign against Russian and Western formalism in the 1930s-1950s. My only point of criticism is that Golomshtok does not focus adequate attention on the newest developments in Soviet cultural policy: the fact that there was an important exhibition of Tatlin's work at the Union of Writers of the USSR in Moscow in the spring of 1977, the fact that Soviet publications on Malevich, Matiushin et al are now appearing suggest a change in attitude. Similarly, a discussion of the current effect of Western art and life on the work of emigres such as Neizvestny, Nusberg, Prokofiev, Shemyakin, et al would also have been welcome. Glezer's essay can also be criticized on this level, although the author's sincerity and conviction of purpose aroused my sympathy and certainly express the intense pathos that surrounds the whole notion of Soviet unofficial art. As one reads of the machinations behind the 1962 Manege exhibition, of the difficulties encountered during the ephemeral exhibitions at scientific institutes during the 1960s, of the catastrophe of the first open-air exhibition in Moscow in 1974, I cannot but conclude that Glezer himself is as much a representative of the dissident spirit as are the unofficial artists. As Glezer emphasizes, artistic conditions in the Soviet Union have certainly mollified over the past few years, but his optimistic prognosis ('A genuine culture has been rekindled after decades of burial, and it is only a matter of time before its independence is acknowledged and accepted' (p. 120)) is, I believe, highly debatable.

Photomontage. Dawn Ades. Thames & Hudson, London, 1976. 112 pp., illus. Paper, ?2.50. Reviewed by Jacques J. Halbert

The book contains no less than 174 illustrations, some full-page. The quality of some of these is acknowledged by the author to be somewhat wanting, as they come from secondary sources and

Lef in 1922, since this magazine did not start publication until 1923 (p. 7); what was the curious international exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1906 that, allegedly, 'represented the avantgarde of the West and East' (p. 3)? Questions of a more intricate nature are circumvented by the authors: one wonders, for example, to what extent Rodchenko's photographic experiments interacted with his poster compositions, how exactly the geometric styles of Lissitzky, Malevich, Popova et al influenced the development of the cinema poster, whether the Soviet concept of photo-montage did not owe more to the collage and assemblage systems of the pioneer Russian innovators than to Victorian trick photography or to the later achievements of Grosz and Heartfield. The absence of biographical data, even life/death dates, of the artists represented is regrettable. Still, the posters themselves, these extraordinary monuments to constructivism, more than com- pensate for such faults.

The second book is very different. It was published in connection with the exhibition of unofficial Soviet art opened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in January, 1977 and, apart from introductory remarks by Michael Scammell and Roland Penrose, consists basically of two valuable essays by Golomshtok (Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union) and Glezer (The Struggle to Exhibit), very useful biographies and manifes- toes of the artists represented and a copious bibliography. This book is the most comprehensive study of its kind and, inevitably, surpasses in scope and quality the pioneer monograph by Paul Sjeklocha and Igor Mead, Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1967). Major and minor figures of the unofficial movements are discussed and illustrated, including Masterkova, Rabin, Rukhin, Sveshnikov, Yankilevsky et al. Golomshtok's intelligent essay merits particular attention for, although an 'inside story', it is marked by a welcome objectivity and precision. Golomshtok places contemporary trends in their historical perspective, referring to the main political junctures that affected the zigzag development of Soviet art-the establishment of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia in 1922, the decree On the Reconstruction of Literary and Artistic Organizations of 1932, the advocacy of Socialist Realism in 1934, the campaign against Russian and Western formalism in the 1930s-1950s. My only point of criticism is that Golomshtok does not focus adequate attention on the newest developments in Soviet cultural policy: the fact that there was an important exhibition of Tatlin's work at the Union of Writers of the USSR in Moscow in the spring of 1977, the fact that Soviet publications on Malevich, Matiushin et al are now appearing suggest a change in attitude. Similarly, a discussion of the current effect of Western art and life on the work of emigres such as Neizvestny, Nusberg, Prokofiev, Shemyakin, et al would also have been welcome. Glezer's essay can also be criticized on this level, although the author's sincerity and conviction of purpose aroused my sympathy and certainly express the intense pathos that surrounds the whole notion of Soviet unofficial art. As one reads of the machinations behind the 1962 Manege exhibition, of the difficulties encountered during the ephemeral exhibitions at scientific institutes during the 1960s, of the catastrophe of the first open-air exhibition in Moscow in 1974, I cannot but conclude that Glezer himself is as much a representative of the dissident spirit as are the unofficial artists. As Glezer emphasizes, artistic conditions in the Soviet Union have certainly mollified over the past few years, but his optimistic prognosis ('A genuine culture has been rekindled after decades of burial, and it is only a matter of time before its independence is acknowledged and accepted' (p. 120)) is, I believe, highly debatable.

Photomontage. Dawn Ades. Thames & Hudson, London, 1976. 112 pp., illus. Paper, ?2.50. Reviewed by Jacques J. Halbert

The book contains no less than 174 illustrations, some full-page. The quality of some of these is acknowledged by the author to be somewhat wanting, as they come from secondary sources and

Lef in 1922, since this magazine did not start publication until 1923 (p. 7); what was the curious international exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1906 that, allegedly, 'represented the avantgarde of the West and East' (p. 3)? Questions of a more intricate nature are circumvented by the authors: one wonders, for example, to what extent Rodchenko's photographic experiments interacted with his poster compositions, how exactly the geometric styles of Lissitzky, Malevich, Popova et al influenced the development of the cinema poster, whether the Soviet concept of photo-montage did not owe more to the collage and assemblage systems of the pioneer Russian innovators than to Victorian trick photography or to the later achievements of Grosz and Heartfield. The absence of biographical data, even life/death dates, of the artists represented is regrettable. Still, the posters themselves, these extraordinary monuments to constructivism, more than com- pensate for such faults.

The second book is very different. It was published in connection with the exhibition of unofficial Soviet art opened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in January, 1977 and, apart from introductory remarks by Michael Scammell and Roland Penrose, consists basically of two valuable essays by Golomshtok (Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union) and Glezer (The Struggle to Exhibit), very useful biographies and manifes- toes of the artists represented and a copious bibliography. This book is the most comprehensive study of its kind and, inevitably, surpasses in scope and quality the pioneer monograph by Paul Sjeklocha and Igor Mead, Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1967). Major and minor figures of the unofficial movements are discussed and illustrated, including Masterkova, Rabin, Rukhin, Sveshnikov, Yankilevsky et al. Golomshtok's intelligent essay merits particular attention for, although an 'inside story', it is marked by a welcome objectivity and precision. Golomshtok places contemporary trends in their historical perspective, referring to the main political junctures that affected the zigzag development of Soviet art-the establishment of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia in 1922, the decree On the Reconstruction of Literary and Artistic Organizations of 1932, the advocacy of Socialist Realism in 1934, the campaign against Russian and Western formalism in the 1930s-1950s. My only point of criticism is that Golomshtok does not focus adequate attention on the newest developments in Soviet cultural policy: the fact that there was an important exhibition of Tatlin's work at the Union of Writers of the USSR in Moscow in the spring of 1977, the fact that Soviet publications on Malevich, Matiushin et al are now appearing suggest a change in attitude. Similarly, a discussion of the current effect of Western art and life on the work of emigres such as Neizvestny, Nusberg, Prokofiev, Shemyakin, et al would also have been welcome. Glezer's essay can also be criticized on this level, although the author's sincerity and conviction of purpose aroused my sympathy and certainly express the intense pathos that surrounds the whole notion of Soviet unofficial art. As one reads of the machinations behind the 1962 Manege exhibition, of the difficulties encountered during the ephemeral exhibitions at scientific institutes during the 1960s, of the catastrophe of the first open-air exhibition in Moscow in 1974, I cannot but conclude that Glezer himself is as much a representative of the dissident spirit as are the unofficial artists. As Glezer emphasizes, artistic conditions in the Soviet Union have certainly mollified over the past few years, but his optimistic prognosis ('A genuine culture has been rekindled after decades of burial, and it is only a matter of time before its independence is acknowledged and accepted' (p. 120)) is, I believe, highly debatable.

Photomontage. Dawn Ades. Thames & Hudson, London, 1976. 112 pp., illus. Paper, ?2.50. Reviewed by Jacques J. Halbert

The book contains no less than 174 illustrations, some full-page. The quality of some of these is acknowledged by the author to be somewhat wanting, as they come from secondary sources and

The Complete Book of Cartooning. John Adkins Richardson. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1977. 266 pp., illus. Reviewed by John Jensen *

When the term was first coined, cartoon meant simply a joke drawing or an editorial cut. Today, cartooning as a generic term covers a diversity of works, many of which have nothing at all to do with jokes: strips, animation, caricature and some forms of graphics. Each facet of cartooning offers a separate career in itself. Those who draw 'super-heroes' employ vastly different talents from the individuals who supply cartoons to magazines such as the New Yorker and Punch. Any attempt to compress such skills and techniques into one book invites confusion.

The confusion in this case arises from the author's undoubted gusto, which is greater than his expository skill. Would-be cartoonists who would like to draw but cannot must be led patiently, step-by-step, through the elementary stages of draughtsmanship and self-expression. Richardson is an en- thusiastic guide, but his method and means, not to mention his own, rather fussy illustrations, lack the necessary virtue of simplicity.

He refers his readers to the slightly old-fashioned but still sound and useful book by Andrew Loomis, Creative Illustration (New York and London: Macmillan, 1947). He might also, usefully, have referred them to A Complete Guide to Drawing Illustration Cartooning and Painting by Gene Byrnes (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948). Published 30 years ago, this manual is a model of its kind. It has the simplicity that Richardson's book lacks, together with first-class illustrations and, not un- important, restful design. For those able to seek it out, it remains an excellent beginner's guide.

Richardson's book is more useful to artists who have acquired some skills but are unsure how to embark upon a career. Here the author provides his most positive guidance. The chapters on marketing, copyright and printing techniques, the glossary of technical terms and the bibliography of comics, magazines and professional journals will at least allow neophytes to talk confidently about cartooning, which is an essential preliminary step to actually beginning a career.

Revolutionary Soviet Film Posters. Mildred Constantine and Alan Fern. John Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, Maryland, and London, 1974. 97 pp., illus.-$12.95; ?6.50. Unofficial Art from the Soviet Union. Igor Golomshtok and Alexander Glezer. Michael Scammell, ed. Secker & Warburg, London, 1977. 172 pp., illus. ?7.95. Reviewed by John E. Bowlt **

The first book is, essentially, a collection of over 70 cinema posters from the 1920s, covering such celebrated names as Natan Altman, Alexander Rodchenko and, above all, Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg. Many pieces are reproduced in good color, and their sheer exuberance and vividness overwhelm the reader immediately. Some of the posters are known from previous sources, e.g. Rodchenko's design for Kino-Glaz (1924) and the Stenbergs' for Man with a Movie Camera (1929), and, in any case, they can be seen in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Library of Confgress in Washington, D.C. Even so, these posters remain unfamiliar outside the U.S.S.R. As the authors point out in their Introduction, the posters of the 1920s suffered the same fate as constructivist art during the Stalin period. Soviet scholars are now making up for lost time and are publishing a number of related studies (e.g. Volia Liakhov's Sovetskii reklamnyi plakat 1917-1932 [The Soviet Advertising Poster 1917-1932], Moscow, 1972), but constructivist posters are still a promising sphere of enquiry. The reproductions in the book are complemented by a general essay that delineates the major influences and developments peculiar to the Soviet poster of the 1920s and early 1930s, although, on several occasions, the text contains inaccurate information: the artist Georgii Yakulov, not Tatlin, was in charge of the interior design of the Caf& Pittoresque in 1917 (p. 5); Vertov could not have contributed to

The Complete Book of Cartooning. John Adkins Richardson. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1977. 266 pp., illus. Reviewed by John Jensen *

When the term was first coined, cartoon meant simply a joke drawing or an editorial cut. Today, cartooning as a generic term covers a diversity of works, many of which have nothing at all to do with jokes: strips, animation, caricature and some forms of graphics. Each facet of cartooning offers a separate career in itself. Those who draw 'super-heroes' employ vastly different talents from the individuals who supply cartoons to magazines such as the New Yorker and Punch. Any attempt to compress such skills and techniques into one book invites confusion.

The confusion in this case arises from the author's undoubted gusto, which is greater than his expository skill. Would-be cartoonists who would like to draw but cannot must be led patiently, step-by-step, through the elementary stages of draughtsmanship and self-expression. Richardson is an en- thusiastic guide, but his method and means, not to mention his own, rather fussy illustrations, lack the necessary virtue of simplicity.

He refers his readers to the slightly old-fashioned but still sound and useful book by Andrew Loomis, Creative Illustration (New York and London: Macmillan, 1947). He might also, usefully, have referred them to A Complete Guide to Drawing Illustration Cartooning and Painting by Gene Byrnes (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948). Published 30 years ago, this manual is a model of its kind. It has the simplicity that Richardson's book lacks, together with first-class illustrations and, not un- important, restful design. For those able to seek it out, it remains an excellent beginner's guide.

Richardson's book is more useful to artists who have acquired some skills but are unsure how to embark upon a career. Here the author provides his most positive guidance. The chapters on marketing, copyright and printing techniques, the glossary of technical terms and the bibliography of comics, magazines and professional journals will at least allow neophytes to talk confidently about cartooning, which is an essential preliminary step to actually beginning a career.

Revolutionary Soviet Film Posters. Mildred Constantine and Alan Fern. John Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, Maryland, and London, 1974. 97 pp., illus.-$12.95; ?6.50. Unofficial Art from the Soviet Union. Igor Golomshtok and Alexander Glezer. Michael Scammell, ed. Secker & Warburg, London, 1977. 172 pp., illus. ?7.95. Reviewed by John E. Bowlt **

The first book is, essentially, a collection of over 70 cinema posters from the 1920s, covering such celebrated names as Natan Altman, Alexander Rodchenko and, above all, Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg. Many pieces are reproduced in good color, and their sheer exuberance and vividness overwhelm the reader immediately. Some of the posters are known from previous sources, e.g. Rodchenko's design for Kino-Glaz (1924) and the Stenbergs' for Man with a Movie Camera (1929), and, in any case, they can be seen in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Library of Confgress in Washington, D.C. Even so, these posters remain unfamiliar outside the U.S.S.R. As the authors point out in their Introduction, the posters of the 1920s suffered the same fate as constructivist art during the Stalin period. Soviet scholars are now making up for lost time and are publishing a number of related studies (e.g. Volia Liakhov's Sovetskii reklamnyi plakat 1917-1932 [The Soviet Advertising Poster 1917-1932], Moscow, 1972), but constructivist posters are still a promising sphere of enquiry. The reproductions in the book are complemented by a general essay that delineates the major influences and developments peculiar to the Soviet poster of the 1920s and early 1930s, although, on several occasions, the text contains inaccurate information: the artist Georgii Yakulov, not Tatlin, was in charge of the interior design of the Caf& Pittoresque in 1917 (p. 5); Vertov could not have contributed to

The Complete Book of Cartooning. John Adkins Richardson. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1977. 266 pp., illus. Reviewed by John Jensen *

When the term was first coined, cartoon meant simply a joke drawing or an editorial cut. Today, cartooning as a generic term covers a diversity of works, many of which have nothing at all to do with jokes: strips, animation, caricature and some forms of graphics. Each facet of cartooning offers a separate career in itself. Those who draw 'super-heroes' employ vastly different talents from the individuals who supply cartoons to magazines such as the New Yorker and Punch. Any attempt to compress such skills and techniques into one book invites confusion.

The confusion in this case arises from the author's undoubted gusto, which is greater than his expository skill. Would-be cartoonists who would like to draw but cannot must be led patiently, step-by-step, through the elementary stages of draughtsmanship and self-expression. Richardson is an en- thusiastic guide, but his method and means, not to mention his own, rather fussy illustrations, lack the necessary virtue of simplicity.

He refers his readers to the slightly old-fashioned but still sound and useful book by Andrew Loomis, Creative Illustration (New York and London: Macmillan, 1947). He might also, usefully, have referred them to A Complete Guide to Drawing Illustration Cartooning and Painting by Gene Byrnes (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1948). Published 30 years ago, this manual is a model of its kind. It has the simplicity that Richardson's book lacks, together with first-class illustrations and, not un- important, restful design. For those able to seek it out, it remains an excellent beginner's guide.

Richardson's book is more useful to artists who have acquired some skills but are unsure how to embark upon a career. Here the author provides his most positive guidance. The chapters on marketing, copyright and printing techniques, the glossary of technical terms and the bibliography of comics, magazines and professional journals will at least allow neophytes to talk confidently about cartooning, which is an essential preliminary step to actually beginning a career.

Revolutionary Soviet Film Posters. Mildred Constantine and Alan Fern. John Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, Maryland, and London, 1974. 97 pp., illus.-$12.95; ?6.50. Unofficial Art from the Soviet Union. Igor Golomshtok and Alexander Glezer. Michael Scammell, ed. Secker & Warburg, London, 1977. 172 pp., illus. ?7.95. Reviewed by John E. Bowlt **

The first book is, essentially, a collection of over 70 cinema posters from the 1920s, covering such celebrated names as Natan Altman, Alexander Rodchenko and, above all, Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg. Many pieces are reproduced in good color, and their sheer exuberance and vividness overwhelm the reader immediately. Some of the posters are known from previous sources, e.g. Rodchenko's design for Kino-Glaz (1924) and the Stenbergs' for Man with a Movie Camera (1929), and, in any case, they can be seen in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Library of Confgress in Washington, D.C. Even so, these posters remain unfamiliar outside the U.S.S.R. As the authors point out in their Introduction, the posters of the 1920s suffered the same fate as constructivist art during the Stalin period. Soviet scholars are now making up for lost time and are publishing a number of related studies (e.g. Volia Liakhov's Sovetskii reklamnyi plakat 1917-1932 [The Soviet Advertising Poster 1917-1932], Moscow, 1972), but constructivist posters are still a promising sphere of enquiry. The reproductions in the book are complemented by a general essay that delineates the major influences and developments peculiar to the Soviet poster of the 1920s and early 1930s, although, on several occasions, the text contains inaccurate information: the artist Georgii Yakulov, not Tatlin, was in charge of the interior design of the Caf& Pittoresque in 1917 (p. 5); Vertov could not have contributed to

*46 Stalbridge Flats, Lumley St., London, W1, England. **Dept. of Slavic Languages, Box 7217, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.

*46 Stalbridge Flats, Lumley St., London, W1, England. **Dept. of Slavic Languages, Box 7217, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.

*46 Stalbridge Flats, Lumley St., London, W1, England. **Dept. of Slavic Languages, Box 7217, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.

there is loss in reproduction. The text covers only 23 pages, but they are fairly dense. The text is subdivided into four large sections under the headings: The Supremacy of the Message

t14 rue des Tongres, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.

there is loss in reproduction. The text covers only 23 pages, but they are fairly dense. The text is subdivided into four large sections under the headings: The Supremacy of the Message

t14 rue des Tongres, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.

there is loss in reproduction. The text covers only 23 pages, but they are fairly dense. The text is subdivided into four large sections under the headings: The Supremacy of the Message

t14 rue des Tongres, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium.

Books Books Books 253 253 253

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