It’s about time that we paid homage to Russian artist Alexander Rodchenko. He’s been dead for over fifty years and his legacy as a key figure of the Russian avant-garde and a pioneer of modern photography lives on today – even if it is with a little help from Franz Ferdinand.
This is the first solo exhibition of Rodchenko in this country, and what a homage it is. The Hayward Gallery has brought together some of Rodchenko’s finest and most famous works in an exhibition that reflects well the breadth of his creativity.
Rodchenko was still a student in Moscow, when in 1915, he met two people who were to change his life: the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, who brought him into contact with the Russian Futurists; and his muse and future wife Varvara Stepanova.
At first an avid painter, Rodchenko worked alongside the likes of Vladimir Tatlin and Kazimir Malevich. The former’s Constructivist techniques and the latter’s Suprematist style proved to be of great influence upon him, and he soon abandoned fine art altogether. In the early 1920s Rodchenko thrived on creating photomontages and graphic design advertising posters for the Soviet Union, on which he often collaborated with Mayakovsky. The first room of the exhibition at the Hayward is dedicated to these and presents a plethora of very fine examples.
Yet it was in photography in its purest form that Rodchenko found his true talent. He is noted to have said, “only the camera is capable of reflecting contemporary life”. Indeed, whether it be in the intimate portrait of a friend or a stylistic shot of a Soviet sports event, Rodchenko certainly captured something of his time.
Early photographs were mostly snapshots of his circle of friends – fellow artists and avant-garde poets and writers. Although these lack the compositional strengths of his later works, they serve as close-up insights into his bohemian life. In the vibrant ‘famous portrait’ of a smiling Varvara Stepanova we are almost privileged a glimpse of her love for him; and an intriguing double exposure of painter Alexander Shevchenko gives a hint of what Rodchenko would go on to achieve.
During the late 20s and early 30s he developed a unique photographic style, concentrating on extreme angles – one example, his famous Fire Escape series is enough to give one vertigo. However, Stalin’s rise to power heralded a new era: in the 1930s Rodchenko was forbidden to photograph independently on the streets of Moscow and was instead restricted to documenting military marches and public sporting events. This was not enough to impede his artistic innovation and he went on to produce some of his finest pieces, including Dive and The Rhine Wheel. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the Soviet Union, which had once so embraced him, Rodchenko had become too clever for his own good. His state-commissioned Young Pioneers series was subject to very unusual perspectival framing and a public outcry ensued, after which he proceeded to live a much more reclusive life.
Alexander Rodchenko: Revolution in Photography presents a collection of pieces spanning two decades of the artist’s work, and to see it, one bears witness not just to a remarkable man and a remarkable talent, but also to a complex and important period of Russian history that has not often been revealed so consistently by someone on the inside.
Alexander Rodchenko: Revolution in Photography runs until 27 April 2008 at The Hayward, London.
Enter The Hayward’s Rodchenko photo competition
Get inspired by visiting Alexander Rodchenko Revolution in Photography at The Hayward and then find your own clever use of perspective to show bird’s eye or worm’s eye views of people, places or things. The most recent posts will be displayed on the mini site website each day and on the 1 April Ralph Rugoff, Director of The Hayward, will select 10 winning photographs to be exhibited in the foyer of The Hayward from 14 – 27 April, in the final weeks of the Alexander Rodchenko exhibition. The competition is organised by The Hayward. Find out more at southbankcentre.co.uk/rodchenko.
