Comparing constructivist works

'Hit the Whites with the Red Wedge!' - El Lissitzky - 1920
'Books (Please)! In All Branches of Knowledge' - Alexander Rodchenko - 1924

What is Constructivism?
Constructivism is an art movement which emphasizes building and science rather than any artistic ability and expression. Constructivists sought to influence society from architecture, fashion, design and anything mass-produced. They detracted all traditional features of art, like composition and focused entirely on building art. From paintings and posters, even to textiles, constructivists used such instruments as rulers and compasses to create sparse, geometric forms.

El Lissitzky was a pioneer of architecture, typography and installation art in Soviet Russia in the early 20th century, Lissitzky experimented with new, previously unseen media and materials which went of to influence and define such things as 20th century propaganda and modern graphic design. Lissitzky was heavily influenced by the work of Kazimir Malevich and his work on suprematism which prompted him to dedicate his form of art to the advancement of Soviet Russia. Lissitzky's political poster 'Hit the Whites with the Red Wedge' is a prime example of Constructivism. It combines symbolic geometric shapes and blocky text to portray the Bolshevik ideology of progress standardizing the rejection of traditional artistic connotations. This poster in particular is very random in nature and composition and features no obvious forms other than the shapes and text. The text in this illustration follows no rules or traditions and is seemingly placed at random, however an interesting thing to note is how they all seem to follow the same diagonal axis. from top left, to bottom right. The font is very basic in nature, but fitting with the rest of the bold shapes and sharp edges in the image, the text also has a similar sharpness as well as what appears to be an entirely capitalised style, again contributing the the overall boldness and rigidity of the style as a whole.

​Alexander Rodchenko was a very central figure in Russian Constructivism who strived to reject traditional artistic conventions. Rodchenko, along with similar constructivists of the time, produced very abstract unconventional paintings, all of which concerned composition and the placement of objects in space. Rodchenko was particularly concerned with introducing and emphasizing dynamic diagonal compositions. As well as being a constructivist, he also joined the productivists in 1921 who advocated to integrate art in to everyday life. Rodchenko focused solely on graphic design, producing a range of propaganda posters and adverts. Much like the LIssitzky piece, Rodchenko has worked using the same sort of colour scheme here, being monochrome with a splash of vibrant red, however in this we also see a photograph included among the shapes and text too. There is a lot more organisation and symmetry here, with a bit more focus on composition rather than the random placement of shapes and lines that are featured in Lissitzky's poster. The text in ​'Books (Please)! In All Branches of Knowledge' is in the same sort of font as the 'Hit the Whites with the Red Wedge!' poster, being very blocky and square, with some parts being distorted to fit the shapes that they're in, which is particularly noticeable in this one, giving the image the illusion that he is projecting his voice outwards, as if it were an exclamation.