Utopia 1900-1940: Visions of a New World

At the beginning of the twentieth century, two avant-garde movements emerged that sought to change the world: Expressionism and Constructivism. Utopia 1900–1940 documents the two schools and the work they produced. The leaders of these movements—Franz Marc, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, El Lissitzky, Vladimir Tatlin, Theo van Doesburg and others—believed they were standing at the threshold of a new era, and they sought to shape its reality in a radical way. Together they forged the utopian ideal of "A New Man in a New Society"—a total concept that encompassed art, design and architecture, from paintings to skyscrapers. And yet, philosophically and aesthetically, the two movements were diametrically opposed. For the Expressionists, individual freedom was paramount; for the Constructivists, the individual was part of a larger whole. This amply illustrated volume explores the philosophical, aesthetical and political currents that informed these movements, and the tensions between them.