A leading representative of the Russian avant-garde, Alexander Rodchenko (1891–1956) revolutionized the world of graphic art, design and photography.

The over 250 illustrations featured in this volume allow the reader to grasp the full force of this innovator and to appreciate the charisma he exerted on fellow artists as much as on the men of letters, directors and intellectuals who shared his path.
Whether it is the photomontages he created for Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poem Pro Eto (About That), the covers designed for the magazine Novy LEF (New LEF) – a veritable point of reference for the revolutionary intelligentsia – or cinema posters and book illustrations, Rodchenko’s works bear witness to his many collaborations and friendships, evoking not just the image of a brilliantly creative personality but a unique phase in twentieth-century history.

The remarkable photographic portraits by the artist, his pictures of urban landscapes and architectures, as well as his photo-reportages in factories and building sites bring back both the faces and spirit of an age of great hopes and equally great contradictions. To this day, the style of Rodchenko the photographer, marked by unusual perspectives, sharp angles and diagonals, stands as the purest witness not just to the talent of an artist but to his eagerness to modernise art and the world at large.

Complementing the volume are contributions by Olga Sviblova, the director of the House of Photography / Multimedia Art Museum of Moscow, by the grandson of the artist and leading scholar of his work Alexander Lavrentiev, in addition to writings and testimonies by Rodchenko himself and his daughter Varvara.

A new title in the Design series and an excellent introduction to the life and work of this versatile Russian artist.

Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko (1891-1953) was a central figure in the Russian Constructivist art movement; a radical activist, a pioneer of photomontage, a theorist, and a teacher. He was an active force in the organization of the first museums of modern art that arose in Russia in the first years after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Attending art school in 1914 in Kazan was to be a defining influence: that year Russian Futurists performed in the town, and Rodchenko saw their leading figures in action. It transformed his vision and he was still working with Futurist artists and their ideas twenty-five years later. And it was at art school where Rodchenko first met the artist Varvara Stepanova, with whom he collaborated extensively, and who would become his life-long partner.

Central in the re-examination of art and its place in society after the Revolution, and in the search for a new culture without the class implications of the past, Rodchenko's radical approach proposed a new understanding of a constructed, rather than a tastefully composed, culture.

This concise, comprehensive and informative work focuses largely on Rodchenko's graphic work in the form of book jackets, posters and advertising.

Альбом Александра Родченко "Революция в фотографии" представляет наследие фотографа в нескольких тематических разделах: это "Фотомонтаж", "Эксперименты и ракурсы", "Фоторепортаж", "Спорт и цирк" и "Круг Родченко".

В альбоме собраны работы из "Архива А. Родченко" и собрания музея "Московский Дом фотографии" – помимо фотографий, это обложки журналов и поэтических сборников, рекламные плакаты и коллажи.

Родченко, классик фоторепортажа и ракурсной съемки, сумел "изменить представление о фотографии и роли фотографа. В фотографию вносится проектное мышление. Она оказывается не только отражением действительности, но становится способом визуальной репрезентации динамических мыслительных конструкций" – так характеризует вклад Родченко в мировой художественный процесс Ольга Свиблова в своей вступительной статье "Генератор искусства".

"Хочется сделать фото, каких не делал раньше, чтоб это была сама жизнь, и самая настоящая, чтобы они были простые и сложные одновременно, чтоб они удивляли и поражали" – так сам Родченко определял свою работу в дневнике. В текстовую часть альбома вошел своего рода манифест Родченко "Фотография – искусство" (написанный для журнала "Советское фото" в 1934 году, но впервые опубликованный лишь в 1971-м), эссе Александра Лаврентьева "Александр Родченко: начало фотоавангарда в России", фрагмент воспоминаний Варвары Родченко "Несколько слов о моем отце", а также хроника жизни и творчества фотографа.

Александр Родченко (1891-1956) - классическая фигура русского авангарда, один из признанных лидеров русского конструктивизма. Он был разносторонним художником, пионером дизайна, архитектуры и фотографии XX века. Его интересовали возможности синтеза, перекрестного использования элементов и выразительных средств живописи, скульптуры, архитектуры, техники, кино, театра, литературы. Он работал для будущего, относился к искусству как к изобретению новых форм и возможностей, рассматривал свое творчество как огромный эксперимент.

This book contains all of the diaries, programs, essays, and major articles written by Alexander Rodchenko between 1911 and 1956.

The word "experiment" was a keyword for the artist, who conceived of his multimedia oeuvre as one huge experiment. Referred to by his friends and contemporaries as "a scout of the future," Rodchenko sought new paths in graphic design and painting, sculpture and architecture, poster design and cinema, photography and book design, and furniture and theatre design.

The first chapter in this volume covers the early life of Rodchenko and relates to the time of his studies in the Kazan art school. His diaries from 1911-15 relate the vivid atmosphere of the school, explain the artist's early tastes for theatrical, oriental and medieval motifs, and recall the moments when he first met Varvara Stepanova, his lifetime partner and fellow artist.

The second chapter covers the most active years of the Russian avant-garde movement: 1916-21. Here Rodchenko is linked to Vladimir Tatlin and his evolution as a non-objective painter comes about. His writings from this period explore his interest in the artistic process, in the way ideas are born, and often make comparisons with other artistic trends of the time: suprematism, cubism, and impressionism.

The third chapter runs through the 20s and the height of the constructivist movement, when Rodchenko became one of the leading designers of the time. This chapter is the most comprehensive, featuring writings dedicated to industrial design education, graphic design, advertising, photomontage and photography.

The fourth chapter reveals the artist's mood and the general Soviet culture situation of the 30s, a time of political change, accusations of formalism, and great success in photography.

The last chapter is dedicated to the war and postwar period and contains only diary texts in which the artist recounts his family's evacuation to the country, his subsequent hard living and working conditions, as well as his musings on the cultural politics of the time and life in general.

Originally published in 1996 in Moscow by Rodchenko's family, Experiments for the Future appears here in its first English edition. This new edition contains additional material and features a different design and images, but the content remains essentially unchanged.