Gan's Constructivism: Aesthetic Theory for an Embedded Modernism

This compelling new account of Russian constructivism repositions the agitator Aleksei Gan as the movement’s chief protagonist and theorist. Primarily a political organizer during the revolution and early Soviet period, Gan brought to the constructivist project an intimate acquaintance with the nuts and bolts of “making revolution.” Writing slogans, organizing amateur performances, and producing mass—media objects define an alternative conception of “the work of art”—no longer an autonomous...