The Grid as a Checkpoint of Modernity

In Western art history the grid has been positioned as an emblem of modernism. In Russia, however, early constructivist artists saw the grid as both a formal and ideological device. After a period dominated by socialist realism, the grid was re-adopted in the 1960s and 1970s by some dissident modernist and conceptualist artists. This essay argues that the grid can still be an effective device in radical art practices as long as it is not perceived as an escapist structure that does not address the topics of today

Margins of Soviet Art : Socialist Realism to the Present

Moscow-born critic Tupitsyn presents a history of Soviet art. Apart from the historical aspect, the author chooses such diverse topics as the avant-garde and kitsch to alienation and postmodernism. Includes interviews with several artists, as well as artist's statements. 31 bibl. ref

Between Spring and Summer : Soviet Conceptual Art in the Era of Late Communism

This detailed, extensive catalogue is based on a touring exhibition of Soviet underground conceptual art by 31 artists. Eleven essays by American and Russian critics, curators, and artists cover many important aspects (e.g. particular histories, discussion of types of form, major figures). Biographical notes. 85 bibl. ref

Global Conceptualism : Points of Origin, 1950s-1980s

This exhibition catalogue, featuring work by over 135 artists, covers three decades of conceptual art and examines it from a global perspective, focusing on the important local differences that gave rise to distinct conceptual art practices in various regions around the world. The book, like the exhibition, is sectioned by region, and the curator responsible for each region provides an essay which situates the work. Chronology by region (17 p.) Biographical notes. Index (3 p.), list of works (5 p.) and bibliography (5 p.) Circa 230 bibl. ref

Um soldado na frente de batalha, um cientista no laboratório. A vanguarda de Aleksandr Rodchenko entre a cultura visual e a cultura política

Este artigo busca retomar o período anterior à adoção da fotografia como meio artístico privilegiado por Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891-1956), por entender que a fotografia significou não uma ruptura, mas, ao contrário, fez parte de uma experimentação visual mais abrangente que ele conduziu na década de 1920. Busca-se também recolocar esta produção artística dentro da cultura política com a qual travou um constante e íntimo diálogo. Ao refazer os caminhos que levaram Rodchenko da pintura à fotografia, buscamos assim melhor compreender e detalhar o compromisso político que animou a produção artística da época, e a de Rodchenko em particular, entendida então como uma práxis política e social mais ampla, da qual a fotografia foi uma das partes constitutivas