CIN201Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Tatlin'S Tower, Vladimir Tatlin, Russian Futurism
T.A.: Dan Laurin Nov. 4, 2016
CIN201 TUTORIAL 8
CONSTRUCTIVISM & MONTAGE
CONSTRUCTIVISM
• Constructivism was an outgrowth of FUTURISM, which became the official Soviet style
in 1918
• Originated from Russian Futurism one form was dedicated to social use, headed by
Vladimir TATLIN; from this emerged Constructivism
• The assembly process of montage had to rework raw material; the artwork should affect a
similar transformation of the beholder’s consciousness
• Constructivist artists saw themselves as workers or engineers, not gifted aesthetes
• Central to Constructivism was a dedication to a machine ethos, advancing the cause of
Soviet industrialization
• The machine basis of Constructivism translates into an emphasis on assemblage and the
transformation of raw materials
• Constructivism depended upon clarity and precision to produce measurable effects, with
an express social aim
• Constructivist artists believed in practical applications for art, even going so far as to
argue against the need for art (such as Aleksai GAN and Konstantin MEDUNETSKY)
• Constructivists worked to dissolve the distinction between “fine art” and practical art by
working in as many media as possible, thereby reinforcing the social use of art
• An emblematic Constructivist project was Tatlin’s MONUMENT TO THE THIRD
INTERNATIONAL
• Cinema was the ideal medium for Constructivist experimentation, both because of its
machine base and the technique of editing, which possessed the potential for capturing
the dynamism and transformative assemblage at the heart of montage
SHOT
• For Eisenstein, the potential for conflict exists within shots, not only in the arrangement
of shots; for this reason, he refers to the shot as a “cell” (whereas Pudovkin likens it to a
“brick”)
• The shot is a MONTAGE CELL “consequently, we must also examine it from the
point of view of conflict. Conflict within the shot is potential montage that, in its growing
intensity, breaks through its four-sided cage and pushes its conflict out into montage
impulses between montage fragments” (Eisenstein, “Beyond the Shot”)
DIALECTIC
• Eisenstein’s sense of montage is coloured by the MARXIST THEORY OF THE
DIALECTIC
- The notion of the dialectic dictates that opposing tendencies are sustained in
dynamic conflict (two things opposing each other)
• For Eisenstein, the potential for conflict exists within shots, not only in the arrangement
of shots; for this reason, he refers to the shot as a “cell” (whereas Pudovkin likens it to a
“brick”—structured and unmoving, has purpose in and of itself and doesn’t interact in
different ways; a + b = ab vs. Eisenstein’s complex multiplication)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Constructivism: constructivism was an outgrowth of futurism, which became the official soviet style in 1918, originated from russian futurism one form was dedicated to social use, headed by. International: cinema was the ideal medium for constructivist experimentation, both because of its machine base and the technique of editing, which possessed the potential for capturing the dynamism and transformative assemblage at the heart of montage. Shot: for eisenstein, the potential for conflict exists within shots, not only in the arrangement of shots; for this reason, he refers to the shot as a cell (whereas pudovkin likens it to a. Brick : the shot is a montage cell consequently, we must also examine it from the point of view of conflict. Conflict within the shot is potential montage that, in its growing intensity, breaks through its four-sided cage and pushes its conflict out into montage impulses between montage fragments (eisenstein, beyond the shot )
