The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910-1934 Edited by Deborah Wye and
Margit Rowell. Essays by Jared Ash, Gerald Janecek, Nina
Gurianova, Margit Rowell and Deborah Wye. Russian avant-garde
books made between 1910 and 1934 reflect a vivid and tumultuous
period in that nation's history that had ramifications for art,
society and politics. The early books, with their variously
sized pages of coarse paper, illustrations entwined with
printed, handwritten and stamped texts, and provocative covers,
were intended to shock academic conventions and bourgeois
sensibilities. After the 1917 Revolution, books appeared with
optimistic designs and photomontage meant to reach the masses
and symbolize a rational, machine-led future. Later books
showcased modern Soviet architecture and industry in the service
of the government's agenda. Major artists adopted the book
format during these two decades. They include Natalia
Goncharova, El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Aleksandr Rodchenko,
Olga Rozanova, the Stenberg brothers, Varvara St