Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko ( 5 December [O.S. 23 November] 1891 – December 3, 1956) was a Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. Rodchenko is considered to be one of the most versatile Constructivist and Productivist artists to emerge after the Russian Revolution. He worked as a painter and graphic designer before turning to photomontage and photography. I googled "Contructivist Art" and came up with the following Wikipedia explanation. "Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th century, influencing major trends such as Bauhaus and the De Stijl movement. Its influence was pervasive, with major impacts upon architecture, graphic and industrial design, theatre, film, dance, fashion and to some extent music."
Constructivists rejected the idea of 'art for art's sake,' and insisted it should serve a useful purpose in society.
It was for this reason that Rodchenko moved away from fine art and applied it to more useful activities such as design, architecture and photography.
For Rodchenko, design was not a matter of aesthetics. It was a catalyst for social change. Concerned with the need for analytical-documentary photo series, he often shot his subjects from odd angles—usually high above or below—to shock the viewer and to postpone recognition. He wrote: "One has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again."
Clearly Rodchenko has had a major influence on photography. I am sure everyone is aware of the basic rules of composition in photography, in particular, "fill the frame" and "change your viewpoint".
I personally liked a number of his images. I have attached some of my favorites at the end of the post.
But while I do agree with the idea of art being functional, I also think that there is no reason not to have art on a standalone basis as well. Otherwise, we would miss out on the opportunity to see wonderful work. After all, art also serves to feed the soul.
