Book of Poetry by Sergei Tretyakov – Moscow, 1924 – Cover Design by Alexander Rodchenko

Book of Poetry by Sergei Tretyakov – Moscow, 1924 – Cover Design by Alexander Rodchenko

Итого, Стихи [Altogether: Verse], by Sergei Tretyakov. Moscow: Государственное издательство, 1924. Russian.

Poems and short plays by Constructivist writer Sergei Tretyakov (Серге́й Миха́йлович Третьяко́в; 1892-1937). Cover designed by Alexander Rodchenko.

93, [3] pages. 23.5 cm. Overall good condition. Stains and minor wear to cover; cover and pages loose; inscriptions and stamps on back cover; open tears to spine.

MoMA 545.

Alexander Rodchenko (Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко; 1891-1956), Russian artist, designer, sculptor, and photographer, member of the Constructivist movement. Rodchenko studied art in Kazan, Tatarstan, and Moscow. He began his career in Cubist and Futurist styles, later gravitating towards Suprematism and geometric abstraction, influenced by Kandinsky and Malevich. Rodchenko served as Vladimir Tatlin's assistant, was his student, and participated in a 1916 exhibition curated by Tatlin. Under his influence, in 1919 Rodchenko began creating three-dimensional works made from various materials (wood, metal, etc.), characterized by interlocking geometric shapes forming airy and dynamic compositions.

During the 1920s, he worked regularly with the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, illustrating and photographing his books, issues of the "Left Front of the Arts" (LEF; ЛЕФ) journal, as well as books and publications by other Russian Futurist and avant-garde creators, and regularly published his photographs in the press.

Rodchenko is considered one of the most versatile artists of the Russian avant-garde: he was among the leaders of the Productivist faction, which advocated strengthening the connection between art and industrial production, and between it and the working and consumer population, thus turning to furniture design and applied arts; later he was drawn to photography and photomontage and engaged in them extensively (considered one of the pioneers of the genre), designed posters, illustrated books, worked in graphics and typography, and created sets for theater and cinema.