Homework #8

Kasimir Malevich and Vilmos Huszar

            During the early 1920’s, Russia was facing a civil war. After the Red Army had overthrown Czar Nicholas II, the political trauma had left Russians in an exposed state. Yet rather than allowing the events to hinder their creativity, they used it as a propelling force to create new ideas. This is what sparked the Russian suprematism and constructivism movement. With strong cubism and futurism influence, the movement experimented in typography and designs that went against past art and design. Many of these artists used straightforward pictorial designs that portrayed the Red Army’s version of the political strife. 

            Artist Kasimir Malevich was born February 23, 1879 in the Kiev Governorate of Russian Empire, now known as Ukraine. He grew up among sugar-beet plantations and was the first of fourteen children, though only nine survived to adulthood.  At a young age his interest was art. He would embroider and paint anything he could get his hands on. As he grew up he studied art at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture from 1904 to 1910. His style was closely tied to Russian folk art in early years, yet began to work in “Cubo-Futuristic” styles in 1912.  He soon founded a painting style where basic structures and color dominated his works, which he called suprematism. Malevich created concrete elements in his art with color and shape. Most of his work focused around one visual form and allowed color to fall around it.  When asked to create propaganda art for the revolutionaries, Malevich declined. He believed that art was purely a spiritual activity and should not be apart of the societies needs.  I found myself most drawn to Malevich’s work because of his simplistic and bold designs. Though his paintings were created over a century ago, they still look fresh and modern. I found it amazing that he was able to rise from poverty to prosperity through his art. He truly was an amazing artist that has shaped the way we look at design today. 

Oil on Linen 1915

Oil on Canvas 1915

Oil on Canvas 1916

Oil on Canvas 1915

            The De Stijl movement was launched in 1917 in the Netherlands.  The artists, who worked in the style, used abstract geometric forms in their paintings. The movement itself used the universal laws of balance and harmony in art, in hopes of creating a model for a new social order. Many of the artists during this movement concentrated on purely abstract paintings composed of vertical and horizontal lines. 

         De Stijl artist Vilmos Huszar was born January 5, 1884 in Budapest. He immigrated to The Netherlands in 1905. Interestingly enough, not much is known about his life and even the whereabouts of many of his works are unknown. Many of his paintings and sculptures are only known through the photographs that appeared in De Stijl, or where taken by himself. Vilmos was a co-founder of the De Stijl magazine along with Theo Van Doesburg. He and Van Doesburg played a central figure in establishing the movement. Vilmos focused mainly on painting with an open grid of squares and rectangles. Yet he was more than just a painter, he designed interior color schemes and worked on furniture designs as well. In 1923 he left the De Stijl movement to focus more on his interior designs. Though later in life he concentrated on graphic design and painting.  I find Huszar’s work intriguing because of his basic structures and dynamic designs. Though each have a similar foundation, the designs vary greatly. He truly was an artist that knew how to grab the viewer’s attention, and he helped spark a movement that left its mark in art history. 

Oil on Canvas 1917 

Oil on Canvas 1925

 Oil on Canvas 1926

 Oil on Canvas 1922