Synopsis
This catalogue accompanies an exhibition that celebrates a gift to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, of a comprehensive collection of Russian avant-garde books produced between 1910 and 1934. The exhibition includes over 300 books designed by such artists as Kazimir Malevich, El Lissitisky, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Natalia Goncharova. The catalogue includes over 600 colour illustrations of these remarkably diverse books, which were often collaborations between artists and poets; essays written by Deborah Wye, Margit Rowell, Jared Ash, Gerald Janacek and Nina Gurianova; a checklist of the more than 1,200 items in this historic gift; and a comprehensive bibliography and index. The literal English translations of some of the books are compelling enough: Drunken Cherries, Tango with Cows: Ferro-concrete Poems, Lacquered Tights, Melancholy in a Robe, As Simple as Mooing, Secret Vices of Academicians, A Head Alone is Prone to Moan and Moans Because It Is Alone, A Little Duck's Nest...of Bad Words. The subject matter is wide and varied, from Judaica to children's books. The original works were produced in limited print runs or from a few hundred to a thousand copies.
Many were hand made, hand printed and had the art hand stamped.
