The World Backwards: Russian Futurist Books 1912–16 by Susan P. Compton, and: Liberated Color and Form: Russian Non-Objective Art 1915–22 (review)

Books 165 TheWorld Backwards: Russian Futurist Books 1912-16. Susan P. Compton. The British Library, London, 1978. 136 pp., illus.£7.50. Liberated Color and Form: Russian Non-Objective Art 1915-22. Introduction by Andrei B. Nakov. Exhibition catalogue , Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, 1978.35 pp., illus. Reviewed by John E. Bowlt* In October, 1978, The British Library, London, organized a fascinating exhibition of Russian illustrated books from the Cubo-Futurist era, displaying copies of legendary publications such as Mirskontsa (World Backwards) (1912), Vozropshchem (Let's Grumble) (1913) and Pomada (Pomade) (\913). To prepare an exhibition of this kind is not an easy task, since the Russian futurist booklets and brochures were published in minuscule editions, were not popular purchases at the time and, during the anti-formalist campaigns of the 1930s-1950s, were often destroyed. Furthermore, over recent years these publications have sometimes been broken up by unscrupulous dealers and their lithographic illustrations sold separately. Compton was responsible for the arrangement of this exhibition and her book is an extension of, and commentary on, that venture. Both the exhibition and the book are opportune, inasmuch as the illustrated book, Russian or otherwise, of the late 19th and the early 20th century, is now attracting unprecedented attention, academic and financial. The World Backwards is an exceptional book about an exceptional subject, and it makes a key contribution to the still limited knowledge of the Russian innovative artists of the period. In five chapters, Compton discusses the Russian futurists as poets, painters, book illustrators and stage designers. In particular , she discusses the composition and function ofthefuturist book in Russia in the climactic period of 1912-14, although she also makes reference to later, less familiar editions. After a solid introductory description of the general ideas and trends of nontraditional literary and artistic circles, Compton focuses attention on the combined efforts of the Burliuk brothers, Filonov, Goncharova, Guro, Khlebnikov, Kruchenykh, Larionov , Malevich, etc., analyzing specificexamples of the futurist book. Of great importance is Chapter 5 where the author relates the calligraphic and illustrative designs of these books to paintings of the time, comparing, for example, Larionov's graphic and painted Rayonism (or, to use Compton's more literal translation, Rayism), Malevich's cubo-futurist drawings to his paintings and other parallels of this kind. Her book is not so much a source of new information as an accurate. compendium of hitherto scattered data, systematized and cataloged for both scholarly and general consumption, and providing, so to say, a visual counterpart to Markov's pioneering book Russian Futurism of 1968.Indeed, The World Backwards is one of the few publications on the Russian innovators that sifts fact from fiction, corrects the traditional mistakes now circulating through numerous gallery and auction catalogs, usually supplies precise descriptions of each booklet mentioned and complements the text with excellent color and monochrome reproductions. One of my few grounds for complaint is the lack of a historical prelude and perspective and of reference to the Russian illustrated editions of the late 19th century (e.g. by Ropet and Maliutin) and to the traditional principles of book design upheld by the World of Art group and the Circle of Lovers of Russian Fine Editions (Benois, Dobuzhinsky, Somov, etc.). It is unwise to separate the futurist publications from their more refined, more conservative counterparts, however important the differences, for both were components of Russia's 'Silver Age'. Inevitably, I wish the book were larger, more comprehensive and that addenda had included a complete listing of Russian futurist books. Perhaps Compton will heed my desire and apply her expertise to a catalogue raisonne? The exhibition Liberated Color and Form was devoted to the Russian innovative visual artists such as Exter, Malevich, Popova and Rodchenko. The Introduction and compilation of the catalog are by Nakov and, as usual with his writings, the text is at once factographic and interpretative. Essentially, Nakov provides an overview of the formal development of these artists, examining the genesis and development of the Russian con- *Dept. of Slavic Languages, University of Texas, Box 7217, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A. ception of 'non-objective' (nonfigurative) painting, especially as reflected in the ideas and practice...