Constructivism

Together with Cubism and Futurism, in the early twentieth century, design in Europe was galvanised by two other radical art movements; Constructivism and De Stijl (de stijl will be discussed further on). Constructivism was founded in Russia in 1917 and shared ideas around central Europe and formal qualities that captivated architects, engineers and photographers in the first decades of the century. The Constructivists were concerned with creating art that met the needs of the State and the people.

The Russian Constructivists found themselves closer to Cubists in formal matters. In 1915 the painter Kazimir Malevich painted the painting image on the side named 'Eight Red Rectangles' after being influenced by the cubist abstraction. This work of art was called the first painting with no source in nature only consists of pure geometric forms.

                                             
                                                                                                           Eight Red Rectangles, 1915

Constructivism later influenced the Dada movement and De Stijl where they both used geometric shapes and the colours red, white and black (plus blue and yellow in De Stijl) to deliver a message to people.

Beat The Whites With The Red Wedge       

Constructivism                        

Poster of the National Gallery of Art

Dada                   

The White Stripes                        

De Stijl                                

The Cloud Iron was constructed in 1925 from a metal frame and consisted of a simple geometric tower cantilevered from a vertical core and illuminated with banded windows. All these elements soon began to be introduced in buildings actually implemented, such as Le Corbusier's 'Villa Savoye' and Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Falling Water'. This building also provided superior insulation and ventilation for the inhabitants which was quite new for that time.

  

 Cloud Iron

Villa Savoye

References:

Julian, 2012. The White Stripes/De Stijl. [image online] Available at: http://reallyimportantreviews.blogspot.com/2012/03/as-promised-heres-owen-and-my-list-of.html [Accessed 20th November 2013]

La Mollendustria, 2013. Notes on Tax Evadors. [image online] Available at: http://www.molleindustria.org/blog/notes-on-tax-evaders/ [Accessed 20th November 2013]

Anon, n.d. Villa Savoye. [image online] Available at: http://villa-savoye.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/ [Accessed 20th November 2013]

Typograffit, 2013. Dada Movement Typography. [image online] Available at: http://blog.typograffit.com/2011/06/dada-movement-typgraphy/ [Accessed 20th November 2013]

Lydia, 2010. Kazimir Malevich, Supermatist Painting. [image online] Available at: http://theartdaily.blogspot.com/2010/05/kazimir-malevich-suprematist-painting.html [Accessed 18th November 2013]

Lazar Markovich Lissitzky, 2013. Cloud Iron. [online] Available at: http://architectuul.com/architecture/cloud-iron [Accessed 23rd November 2013]

Brittany Jurica, 2011. Russian Constructivism. [online] Available at: http://prezi.com/em1wl66e-xzg/russian-constructivism-1917-1930-brittany-jurica/ [Accessed 18th November 2013]

Ferebee, A. and Byles, J. 2011. A History Of Design From The Victorian Era To The Present. New York; Litton Educational Publishing.