RUSN 340 The Russian Avant-Garde and Soviet Modernism

Two of the most explosively important geo-political events of modernity were World War I and the Russian Revolution(s) of 1917. This course investigates the theories and practice of the Russian Avant-Garde in the visual arts literature industrial design and architecture in relation to parallel international developments during the Revolutionary period through the rise of Stalin in the early 1930s. Topics include: fragmentation and shifts in artistic perception of time space and reality; responses to advances in science technology and industry; constructivist design architecture and theater; montage and cinema; consumerism and materiality; artist collectives manifesti and the relationship of theory and ideology; cultural imports from Europe and America. Same as ARTH 340