Page 31 - Studio International - June 1974

THE ICONOCLASTIC FURY

ANDREI 3 \ACV

The following text forms the second chapter of the with three illustrations of geometric forms -
book Malevich - Writings, to be published in the yellow triangle, blue circle and red square. It is
autumn by Champ Libre Press, Paris. For this pointless to seek in it any directly formal
reason I wish to warn the reader against drawing influence on Russian cubo-futurist painting,
conclusions too rapidly, at the risk of distorting the which at that time remained completely free of
real significance of my commentary on the painting the influence of Kandinsky's forms : inspired by
and theoretical thought of the creator of Symbolism and hence a direct heir of the
Suprematism. In other chapters, I study literary sublimation of the Romantic, his
separately the evolution of Malevich's pictorial painting is descended from the tradition of
ideas and especially his concept of space. The main intuitive colouring, reinforced in the visual
part of the book is an anthology of Malevich's unconscious by the 'visual shock' at the basis of
writings. An extensive biographical account Impressionism. The famous example of
retraces Malevich's development, placed in the Monet's Haystacks clearly illustrates
artistic context of the period and that of his cubo- Kandinsky's aesthetic mechanism.
futurist and non-objective companions in The young Russian painters of the cubo-
particular. ABN. futurist school sought their inspiration far from
`retinal' fascination (Gleizes 1912), in the new
`To react violently against instantaneous dynamic order of the modern world (Futurism),
notation, the insidious anecdote and all the but especially so in the analytical unities in
trappings of Impressionism. To achieve this; opposition to the 'grandiloquent' principles of
not to be satisfied with skilfully adapting the German Expressionism, as defined by
appearances of fashion, but to revise the arsenal Wohringer in his book 'Abstraction und
of painting to exclude from it the bric-à-brac of Kazimir Malevich c. 1913 Einfuhlung'. To see Kandinsky as an influence
false literature and pseudo-classicism.' (Roger Salon of the Independents in Paris). An on Malevich, as some people have ventured to
Allard, June 1911) analysis of modern Russian painting in general do, seems to show an analytical puerility that the
also contradicts such a hypothesis.5 Knowing hastiest formal examination of Russian painting
According to Malevich the beginnings of the logical framework of Malevichian in 1912 would contradict.
Suprematism date from 1913. In his text for the development, we can only suppose that by The beginning of 1913 saw the publication of
catalogue of the loth State Exhibition: Non- indicating 1913, the painter did not mean that the rayonnist manifesto by Larionov, where the
Objective and Suprematist Creation', Moscow suprematist paintings were created and still `autonomous' existence of painting, conceived
1919, he declares : 'Suprematism was born in less exhibited (which could easily be checked on as luminous writing, a sort of futurist projection
Moscow in 1913.' Later, in the twenties, at the time) but that the idea of a pure of light, was asserted. Marcel Duchamp's
Malevich often insisted on this date, repeating painting of the suprematist type was first definition of Italian Futurism as 'a strict
that the famous Black Square was painted in conceived at the time .The idea of a pure continuation of the impressionist movement'
that year. However at that time his painting still painting was certainly one of the chief applies particularly aptly to Larionov's
remained at the analytical stage, showing the preoccupations of the Russian avant garde and Rayonism, one of the rare Russian movements
influence of Cubism and Futurism. No had been since the end of 1911, when from the of this period faithfully following the formal
suprematist picture was exhibited before platform of the Pan-Russian Congress of Symbolism of Marinetti's aesthetic. Rayonism
December 1915, when during the 'Last Painters at Petersburg, Nikolai Koulbine read remained confined to a stylistic convention,
Futurist Exhibition: o.io', organized by his Kandinsky's original text, 'On the spiritual in always subordinate to the mimetic ideology of
friend Ivan Puni (Pougny), Malevich art' where his ideas on pure painting are clearly `reflection' and illustration (of light). Its
exhibited 39 suprematist works, among which formulated. It would nevertheless be symbolic and simultaneous bias contrasted with
his Black Square' was prominent, nor do we unjustifiable to attribute a leading role in the the analytical researches of the cubo-futurists.
find works which could be called suprematist if development of Russian painting of this century The two directions, analysis and synthesis, define
we look carefully at any exhibition catalogue to this text. The spiritualist style of its argument the two extreme poles of plastic creation at this
from the end of 1913.2 Even though there are and the philosophical-sublimatory direction of time with an undeniable clarity. The first
several paintings whose sketches are dated well its ideas were at that time common in the covers Cezanne and the cubist movement up to
before the painting itself,3 what Malevich symbolist circles of St Petersburg (V. Ivanov). the end of the hermetic period (1912),6 and then
wanted to convey by the short phrase in 1919 It is precisely against this type of literary and the Russian cubo-futurists. The researches of
remains a mystery. It is difficult to imagine, in philosophical culture, calling for the simple Delaunay and Leger up to the summer of 1913,
the feverish search to present the latest illustration of ideas and not their genuinely those of Picabia and Marcel Duchamp until
artistic innovation which characterized the pictorial transformation, that the action of the 1914, the English Vorticists and Balla's
development of the plastic arts between 1910 young cubo-futurist avant-garde was directed. analytical period (the 'compenetrazione' of
and 1915 (when the periods were counted in Hence the ideas of Kandinsky find a real echo in 1912-1913) should be added to this group. From
terms not years), that Malevich could have Germany, and to a far smaller degree in Russia, 1912 onwards, analytical attempts throughout
waited two years before exhibiting a work as where his artistic action became confused with Europe tend towards the establishment of
radically new as his Black Square, while the great symbolist machine, which was painting as an autonomous language (pure) and
continuing to send cubo-futurist and a-logical showing obvious signs of running down at that the creation of an 'autofigurative' space
works to exhibitions,4 especially as between time (the art of Ciurlionis, supported by (Delevoy on Leger 1962). This analytical fever,
the end of 1913 and December 1915, there were Viateneslav Ivanov and the journal Apollon, was which in the eyes of Duchamp, was 'the great
plenty of opportunities to exhibit in Russia and one of its final 'discoveries'). Kandinsky's text advantage of the period when art was a
the West (In 1914 Malevich exhibited at the was published in the account of the Congress laboratory study', was expressed by
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