The play Earth in Turmoil, written by playwright Sergei Mikhailovich Tretyakov, was produced by Vsevolod Meyerhold in 1923. The style of the play is characterized by the technique of biomechanics, which bears striking similarities to the Dada qualities of biomorphic and mechanomorphic imagery. The subject matter of the play was strongly politically based and centered around a revolutionary theme, conceivably inspired by the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Lyubov Popova, who had decided against painting in favor of artwork for the theater , worked on the set design for the play Earth in Turmoil. The subject matter resembles components feasibly inspired by Synthetic Cubism as well as Futurism. The Set Design: Earth in Turmoil of 1923 by Lyubov Popova presents multiple functions, predominantly acting as a criticism on the Russian society as a result of the preceding decades.
Meyerhold’s production of Earth in Turmoil featured the style of biomechanics which, as its name suggests, combines living organic forms with machine elements. The dancers’ movements flowed organically into a strikingly mechanical position of sharp lines and defined angles. In Popova’s Set Design: Earth in Turmoil, the biomechanics of the play are reflected through the living organic forms of human figures and ovaloid contours juxtaposed with the mechanical structures of the building-like framework and gear-exposed tractor. Two components emerging at the same time as biomechanics were those of biomorphic imagery and mechanomorphic imagery. Biomorphic and mechanomorphic imagery were fundamental methods portrayed in Dada Art, a movement that was created to reject any and all systems based on reason and logic. The Dada artists rejected these systems, because these systems were, in their minds, the cause for the harsh and traumatic violence of World War I. The biomorphic imagery of Dada art was more organic in its use of abstracted living forms reminiscent of fluidic elements and curving contours found in nature. The mechanomorphic imagery featured the more formal qualities of machines in the modernization occurring in individual humans as well as in the institution of society. Though these two components contrasted in the German Dada art, they are two elements which are richly weighed in combination throughout the biomechanics style of Meyerhold’s production represented through Popova’s Set Design: Earth in Turmoil. In the similar fashion of the formation of Dada Art, the biomechanics of Tretyakov’s play appears to be in response to the strong emotions felt by Russians after the Russian Revolutions of 1917. In comparison to the manner in which the Dada art criticized heartless exploitation as well as loss of reason and purpose in German society, so too did the Set Design: Earth in Turmoil provide clarification of judgement on Russian society. The Russian Revolution of 1905 was the result of the government causing social unrest from the feelings of exploitation, negligence, and the blatant disregard for societal values. Though this revolution was unsuccessful, it provided a foundation of military mutinies and nationwide protests during the years preceding 1917. Many factors contributed to the two revolutions of 1917, including the animosity remaining from the Russian Revolution of 1905, the continued defeat and wretched living conditions during World War I, and the distrust in the Tsar created by the rumors regarding a collusion between Russia’s German born Tsarina and the Germans. The Set Design: Earth in Turmoil features subject matter which was strongly influenced by the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and major societal issues from World War I. An illustration of this subject matter is seen in the medial base of the image, where Popova has pasted the name of a brewing company overlain by a depiction of a soldier , which potentially symbolizes the occurring issue of alcoholism resulting from a desire to forget the grief and anguishes of warfare, if money may permit it. The play, Earth in Turmoil, utilized military machinery donated by the Bolshevik’s Red Army’s leader, Leon Trotsky, to enhance the celebration of the strength and power in the military which was composed of the working class and peasants. Tretyakov hoped to convey his Marxist approach within the idea that development of modern technology would ultimately lead to equality of class. Popova, in turn, expresses Tretyakov’s inclination towards modern technology in the visual depictions which criticize the imperialist Tsar regime. The elements of collage and language from Synthetic Cubism appear in Popova’s Set Design: Earth in Turmoil of 1923. Synthetic Cubism, insinuates the bringing together, or synthesis, of various visual elements, known as signifiers, which work in combination to evoke either singular or multiple meanings, also referred to as the signified. The medium of her set design is created with photomontage, gouache, newspaper clippings, and photographic paper collage on plywood. Her synthesis of a diverse variety of physical components work together to conceivably convey the purpose of “production art,” which was a movement of many Russian Constructivism artists away from the traditional media of art to an amalgamation of art and technology for a wide array of subjects including political rallies and propaganda posters. Through the visual interpretation of propaganda by means of production art, the All-Union Communist Party was able to promote their ideological beliefs to the Russian public, many of whom were experiencing a decline in comprehension and literacy. Synthetic Cubist art inserted the latter element, language, as text, or “touchables,” as a means of displaying their idea that in the same way the viewer learned to read and understand the language of the touchables, so too must the viewer learn to read and understand the artwork. On the top left of Popova’s image is the name Чичерин which translates to Chicherin, the surname of an old Russian noble family. It is plausible that Popova utilizes Chicherin to make reference to the Bolsheviks’ Soviet Government’s People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin. The name Chicherin is written in a bold crimson font which matches the sturdy, crimson manufactured frame structure displayed throughout the entirety of the composition. In this concept, Popova displays her support, and subsequently the support from the play, for the revolution set in place by the Bolsheviks, also known as the All-Union Communist Party. It is also reasonable to suppose that the name, Chicherin, refers to the Chicherin House, given that the words are located within an outline of a black rectangle which possibly symbolizes a building. Though the Chicherin House has a history of government and military connections, it was later established as the Dom Iskustv, which was condensed to DISK and translates to House of Arts. During the post-World War I desolation and devastation as well as for the duration of the Russian Civil War of 1917 to 1922, living spaces at the House of Arts were provided to composers, writers, poets, and artists. This concept of reference to the House of Arts possibly signifies Popova’s appreciation of fortification and shelter provided by the new government for people within her field of creativity. The subject matter of Popova’s Set Design: Earth in Turmoil evokes a Cubo-Futurist style through the combination of Synthetic Cubist and Futurist components. The circling axis system which carries the deposed imperialists as well as the angling lines of the construction throughout the composition work simultaneously to create the Futuristic style of a dynamic and restless motion from urban machinery. The Tsar imperialists, who are represented by the upside down Tsarist generals and European royalty loyal to the Tsar pallidly crossed out, are displayed in the center of the mechanical structure in the midpoint of the composition. This focal point directs the viewer’s attention to the relationship of the imperialist regime to an urban machine. Encompassing the Tsarist generals are the Russian workers, the tractor, and the clippings of sentences. The second presentation of language from Synthetic Cubism appears on the bottom left of Popova’s image where she has pasted two fragmented sentences. These sentences roughly translate to “The machine conquered water and air. The agricultural mechanism will conquer the land.” The past verses the future tense indicates the perseverance of the Bolsheviks against the imperialist Tsar regime within the recent Soviet history. The play, Earth in Turmoil, used an ambiguous interpretation of a mutiny within a fictional realm to symbolize the Bolsheviks’ rebellion. The encompassing workers in combination with the tractor make pictorial reference to the touchable, “agricultural mechanism,” in order to display through illustration Popova’s support for the Bolshevik’s revolution against the Tsar regime. These depictions conceivably suggest that even though the machine of the Tsar conquered the symbolically pure elements of water and air, the All-Union Communist Party’s revolution will, most importantly, end the struggle by having control over the land of Russia. This modern and forward looking perspective of the Bolsheviks reflects the Futurist style through criticism of the imperialist Tsar regime. Lyubov Popova utilizes her 1923 Set Design: Earth in Turmoil to exhibit her support for the Bolsheviks who rebelled against the Tsar regime for the government’s actions within the preceding decades. The biomechanical style of Earth in Turmoil shared many similarities to the emerging characteristics of biomorphic and mechanomorphic imagery of Dada Art. Given that the Dada style emerged as a rebellion against reason and logic because this way of thinking led to the horrors of World War I, prospectively, the dancers’ movements of the biomechanical style portrayed in Earth in Turmoil, in combination with the biomechanical features of Set Design: Earth in Turmoil provided a means of expressing the sentiments of manipulation by and distrust in the Tsar regime. The depiction of machinery in Set Design: Earth in Turmoil was also used in support of Tretyakov’s Marxist-influenced thoughts of modern technology inevitably leading to egalitarianism within society. Inspired by Synthetic Cubism, two aspects of collage and language are exhibited in Popova’s Set Design: Earth in Turmoil. Collage displayed Popova’s Constructivist move away from traditional art media and the traditional Tsar regime, and towards the propaganda in support of the All-Union Communist Party. Popova’s touchables symbolized her support for the Bolsheviks revolutions as well as her appreciation for the creative community of artists. The Futurist characteristic of the dynamic motion of urban mechanisms combines with the touchables of Synthetic Cubism to make a Cubo-Futurist reference to the triumphs of the Bolsheviks over the Tsar regime which was responsible for the sentiments of exploitation and trauma of the Russian people. Comments are closed.
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About this PageThis page consists of analyses, interpretations, and translations for various artists, artworks, and art movements from my perspective. Explore the Archives for more. AuthorTessa Barretto Archives
September 2020
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