Engineer, agitator, constructor : the artist reinvented, 1918-1939 : the Merrill C. Berman Collection / organized by Jodi Hauptman and Adrian Sudhalter.
New York : The Museum of Modern Art, [2020]
New York, NY : Artbook/D.A.P.
©2020
288 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), map ; 32 cm
"Published in conjunction with the exhibition 'Engineer, agitator, constructor : The artist reinvented, 1918-1939' at the Museum of Modern Art New York, May 10 - September 12, 2020"--Colophon
"How the modernist avant-gardes from Dada to constructivism reconceived their roles, working as propagandists, advertisers, publishers, graphic designers, curators and more, to create new visual languages for a radically changed world. "We regarded ourselves as engineers, we maintained that we were building things...we put our works together like fitters." So declared the artist Hannah Höch, describing a radically new approach to artmaking in the 1920s and '30s. Such wholesale reinvention of the role of the artist and the functions of art took place in lockstep with that era's shifts in industry, technology, and labor, and amid the profound impact of momentous events: World War I, the Russian Revolution, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the rise of fascism. Highlighting figures such as Aleksandr Rodchenko, Lyubov Popova, John Heartfield, Marianne Brandt, and Fré Cohen, Engineer, Agitator, Constructor : The Artist Reinvented demonstrates the ways in which artists reimagined their roles to create a dynamic art for a new world. These "engineers," "agitators," "constructors," "photomonteurs," "workers" - all designations adopted by the artists themselves - turned away from traditional forms of painting and sculpture and invented new visual languages. Central among them was photomontage, in which photographs and images from newspapers and magazines were cut, remixed, and pasted together. Working as propagandists, advertisers, publishers, editors, theater designers, and curators, these artists engaged with expanded audiences in novel ways, establishing distinctive infrastructures for presenting and distributing their work. Published in conjunction with a major exhibition, Engineer, Agitator, Constructor celebrates the recent transformative addition to MoMA's holdings from the Merrill C. Berman Collection, one of the great private collections of early-twentieth-century political art and design. Essays by eminent scholars, conservators, artists, and poets consider the era's revolutionary art forms, such as photomontage and the New Typography; the essential role of women in the avant-garde; and the networks linking these artists across geographic and ideological borders. The exhibition presents the social engagement, fearless experimentation, and utopian aspirations that defined the early 20th century, and how these strategies still reverberate today" --Taken from publisher description.
"'We regarded ourselves as engineers, we maintained that we were building things ... we put our works together like fitters.' So recalled the German artist Hannah Höch, describing a radically new apporach to art making in the interwar period. This wholesale reinvention of the role of the artist coincided with the era's momentous shifts in industry, technology, and labor; watershed events such as World War I and the Russian Revolution; and the rise of fascism. In such turbulent times, what does it mean to be an artist? Foregrounding the work of innovators such as Marianne Brandt, John Heartfield, Liubov Popova, and Aleksandr Rodchenko, Engineer, Agitator, Constructor: The Artist Reinvented, 1918-1939 presents answers to that urgent question and examines the ambition to create new and dynamic art for a new world. As propagandists, advertisers, publishers, editors, theater designers, and curators, these figures invented revolutionary visual languages and sought ways to engage with a mass audience, establishing vibrant arenas for presenting and distributing their work. Engineer, Agitator, Constructor celebrates the recent, transformative addition to the Museum of Modern Art's holdings from the Merril C. Berman Collection, one of the great collections of early twentieth-century art and design. In a wide-ranging selection of essays, thirty-four eminent scholars, conservators, artists, and poets consider the era's innovative art forms, such as photomontage and the New Typography; the essential role of women in the avant-garde; and the vital networks linking these artists across geographic and ideological borders. This lavishly illustrated volume illuminates the social engagement, fearless experimentation, and utopian aspirations that defined the art of the early twentieth century and continue to resonate today." --Publisher's description, page [4] of jacket.
9781633451087 (hardcover)
1633451089
Berman, Merrill C. Poster collections Exhibitions.
Berman, Merrill C. Poster collections.
Berman, Merrill C.
Berman, Merrill C. 1938-
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) Exhibitions 21st century.
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)
Posters Private collections Exhibitions.
Political posters, Russian Exhibitions.
Political posters 20th century Exhibitions.
Commercial art 20th century Exhibitions.
Graphic arts 20th century Exhibitions.
Posters, European 20th century Exhibitions.
Graphic arts History 20th century Exhibitions.
Modernism (Art) History 20th century Exhibitions.
Avant-garde (Aesthetics) History 20th century Exhibitions.
Affiches Collections privées Expositions.
Affiches politiques russes Expositions.
Affiches politiques 20e siècle Expositions.
Art publicitaire 20e siècle Expositions.
Arts graphiques 20e siècle Expositions.
Affiches européennes 20e siècle Expositions.
Arts graphiques Histoire 20e siècle Expositions.
Modernisme (Art) Histoire 20e siècle Expositions.
Political posters Exhibitions. 20th century.
Commercial art Exhibitions. 20th century.
Graphic arts Exhibitions. 20th century.
Posters, European Exhibitions. 20th century.
Modernism (Art) History Exhibitions. 20th century.
Avant-garde (Aesthetics) History Exhibitions. 20th century.
Avant-garde (Aesthetics)
Commercial art
Graphic arts
Modernism (Art)
Political posters
Political posters, Russian
Posters, European
Posters Private collections
Plakat
Politisches Plakat
Essay
Exhibition
Exhibition catalogs.
exhibition catalogs.
essays.
illustrated books.
Illustrated works
Essays
History
Catalogues d'exposition.
Essais.
Ouvrages illustrés.
Hauptman, Jodi, editor, curator, organizer, writer of introduction, author.
Sudhalter, Adrian, editor, curator, organizer, author.
Anger, Jenny, 1965- organizer, contributor.
Cherix, Christophe, writer of preface.
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.), publisher, issuing body, host institution.
United States New York (State) New York.
Location: Library main 307911
Call No.: BIB 253372
Status: Available
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