The Georgian Avant-garde: Futurism and More
-
Mzia Chikhradze
Abstract
During a brief three-year period (1918-1921) of national independence, Georgia went through an animated cultural development. By the end of the 1910s, Tbilisi’s artistic and literary life was in full swing. A large number of artistic circles and literary cenacles, newspapers, journals and publishing houses opened up. Many artistic cafés were founded and decorated with marvellous murals. Georgian Modernist artists, together with some European and Russian colleagues, were creating a very specific artistic environment that made the city ‘The Paris of the Caucasus’. Tbilisi was the largest cultural centre of the region, and the brothers Ilya and Kirill Zdanevich were leading the avant-garde there. They also served as a bridge between Georgian and Russian Futurism. Together with other artists and poets, they founded the organization 41°, a group whose Futurist artists’ books became a typical feature of Tbilisi’s cultural life. Ilya Zdanevich commenced his courageous experimentations in avant-garde book typography while in Tbilisi, and continued his aesthetic activities after his emigration to Paris in 1921. In February 1921, an invasion of the Bolshevik army brought the upheavals of the Russian revolution to Georgia and led to the country’s annexation by Russia. In the 1930s, art became an ideological instrument in the hands of the Soviet government. The Stalinist battle against ‘formalist’ and ideologically suspect art movements rang in the end of the avant-garde in Georgia.
Abstract
During a brief three-year period (1918-1921) of national independence, Georgia went through an animated cultural development. By the end of the 1910s, Tbilisi’s artistic and literary life was in full swing. A large number of artistic circles and literary cenacles, newspapers, journals and publishing houses opened up. Many artistic cafés were founded and decorated with marvellous murals. Georgian Modernist artists, together with some European and Russian colleagues, were creating a very specific artistic environment that made the city ‘The Paris of the Caucasus’. Tbilisi was the largest cultural centre of the region, and the brothers Ilya and Kirill Zdanevich were leading the avant-garde there. They also served as a bridge between Georgian and Russian Futurism. Together with other artists and poets, they founded the organization 41°, a group whose Futurist artists’ books became a typical feature of Tbilisi’s cultural life. Ilya Zdanevich commenced his courageous experimentations in avant-garde book typography while in Tbilisi, and continued his aesthetic activities after his emigration to Paris in 1921. In February 1921, an invasion of the Bolshevik army brought the upheavals of the Russian revolution to Georgia and led to the country’s annexation by Russia. In the 1930s, art became an ideological instrument in the hands of the Soviet government. The Stalinist battle against ‘formalist’ and ideologically suspect art movements rang in the end of the avant-garde in Georgia.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- The Futurist Manifestos of 1909: Dates and Editions Reconsidered 3
- Margherita Sarfatti, Novecento and Futurism 35
- Network Diagrams in Futurist and other Avant-garde Magazines: The Creation and Self-Positioning of an Imaginary Community 68
- The Reception of Italian Futurism in Vienna during the 1920s and 1930s 95
- Carlos Porfírio and Futurism in the Algarve: An Early Chapter in the History of Portuguese Modernism 120
- Tullio d’Albisola between Futurism and Fascism 149
- The Georgian Avant-garde: Futurism and More 172
- Futurism and the Birth of Modern Typography 200
- Tato and Exhibitions of Futurist Photography in the 1930s 216
- In Search of Lost Scents: The Olfactory Dimension of Italian Futurism 247
- Satirizing Futurism in France: Roland Dorgelès, André Warnod and their Circle 276
-
Section 2: Caricatures and Satires of Futurism in the Contemporary Press
- At a Sándor Bortnyik Exhibition in Budapest (June 1919): A Hungarian Critic’s Interpretation of ‘Futurism’ 309
- Ragnvald Blix’s Caricature of Futurist Painting in the Midst of WWI 315
- French Humour and Futurist Music: Luigi Russolo’s intonarumori in a Cartoon by Jean-Jacques Roussau 319
- Caricatures of Futurism in Il travaso delle idee 324
- Macaronetti, Marie Netti, and the Like: Parodies of Futurism at the Great Zwans Exhibition in Brussels (1914) 328
- Returning to the Futurist Fold: A Caricature in Bloodless Murder Magazine (1916) 332
- Marinetti Viewed by Antonio Teixeira Cabral, a Portuguese “Caricature-on-the-scene reporter” 336
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Section 3: Archive Report
- Archive Report: The Archiv der Avantgarden (AdA) in Dresden 341
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Section 4: Reviews
- A New Study on Italian Futurism and the Machine 359
- New Research into Marinetti’s Notebooks 368
- Evola’s Path from Futurism to Dada and Beyond 379
- Valentine de Saint-Point: Between Carnality and Ideism, Between East and West 383
- Contours and Borders of International Futurism 392
- Růžena Zátková’s Life and Works Elucidated in a New Study 397
- Ukrainian Modernism between Futurism and Constructivism, between Russia and the West 404
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Section 5: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2017–2020 411
-
Section 6: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 431
- Notes on Contributors 439
- Name Index 449
- Subject Index 481
- Geographical Index 511
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- The Futurist Manifestos of 1909: Dates and Editions Reconsidered 3
- Margherita Sarfatti, Novecento and Futurism 35
- Network Diagrams in Futurist and other Avant-garde Magazines: The Creation and Self-Positioning of an Imaginary Community 68
- The Reception of Italian Futurism in Vienna during the 1920s and 1930s 95
- Carlos Porfírio and Futurism in the Algarve: An Early Chapter in the History of Portuguese Modernism 120
- Tullio d’Albisola between Futurism and Fascism 149
- The Georgian Avant-garde: Futurism and More 172
- Futurism and the Birth of Modern Typography 200
- Tato and Exhibitions of Futurist Photography in the 1930s 216
- In Search of Lost Scents: The Olfactory Dimension of Italian Futurism 247
- Satirizing Futurism in France: Roland Dorgelès, André Warnod and their Circle 276
-
Section 2: Caricatures and Satires of Futurism in the Contemporary Press
- At a Sándor Bortnyik Exhibition in Budapest (June 1919): A Hungarian Critic’s Interpretation of ‘Futurism’ 309
- Ragnvald Blix’s Caricature of Futurist Painting in the Midst of WWI 315
- French Humour and Futurist Music: Luigi Russolo’s intonarumori in a Cartoon by Jean-Jacques Roussau 319
- Caricatures of Futurism in Il travaso delle idee 324
- Macaronetti, Marie Netti, and the Like: Parodies of Futurism at the Great Zwans Exhibition in Brussels (1914) 328
- Returning to the Futurist Fold: A Caricature in Bloodless Murder Magazine (1916) 332
- Marinetti Viewed by Antonio Teixeira Cabral, a Portuguese “Caricature-on-the-scene reporter” 336
-
Section 3: Archive Report
- Archive Report: The Archiv der Avantgarden (AdA) in Dresden 341
-
Section 4: Reviews
- A New Study on Italian Futurism and the Machine 359
- New Research into Marinetti’s Notebooks 368
- Evola’s Path from Futurism to Dada and Beyond 379
- Valentine de Saint-Point: Between Carnality and Ideism, Between East and West 383
- Contours and Borders of International Futurism 392
- Růžena Zátková’s Life and Works Elucidated in a New Study 397
- Ukrainian Modernism between Futurism and Constructivism, between Russia and the West 404
-
Section 5: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2017–2020 411
-
Section 6: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 431
- Notes on Contributors 439
- Name Index 449
- Subject Index 481
- Geographical Index 511
