Monday 3 November 2008

Constructavism


In direct contrast to Poetism, Constructivism stressed objectivity and machine production. Optimistic and sometimes even utopian, Constructivist design celebrated technology, progress, and the future. Bauhaus and de Stijl influences can be seen in Czech Constructivist book design, which was particularly dominant in the mid- to late 1920s. Photography, typography, and theater sets provided rich areas of activity for Constructivist designers, and architecture was also an important source of inspiration. Ladislav Sutnar's design for a 1932 translation of George Bernard Shaw's Captain Brassbound's Conversion [1932] utilizes many devices characteristic of Constructivism: photomontage; functional, sanserif typography; a strong grid structure with diagonal orientation; and the presence of a circle, an important iconic element for many Constructivist designers and a characteristic of all book designs for Devetsil by Odeon Press, their publisher from 1925. 

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