Bookvica

Oktiabrevichi [i.e. The Young Octobersits]

Tretiakov, Sergei

Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya, 1924. Item #1494

32, [1] p. 23x15 cm. Original illustrated wrappers. Rear wrapper is supplied, the front wrapper has some restoration on the edges, otherwise in very good condition.
No physical copies are recorded in Worldcat.

A classic example of the Molodaya Gvardiya publication created by one of the pioneers of Soviet photomontage, Sergei Sen’kin (1894–1963), Malevich’s student and Klutsis’ work partner. Sen’kin was been an important link between suprematism and constructivism: he worked with Malevich and Lissitsky in Vitebsk and was a member of UNOVIS in 1921, but by 1923 he had become one of the most active members of the Left Front of Arts in Moscow, in which he collaborated with Rodchenko, Mayakovsky and Stepanova. Throughout, he had worked with Gustav Klutsis, creating posters and book designs together. Although traditionally the early development of photomontage in the USSR is credited to Klutsis, Sen’kin’s role should not be underestimated. After 1921 he dedicated himself fully to industrial and applied design. Apart from books he also createdposters, stamps, and together with El Lissitskiy he designed the Soviet pavilion at the Cologne Exhibition of 1928.
Sergei Tretiakov (1892–1937) was one of the founders of the LEF alongside Mayakovsky, Osip Brik and Alexei Gan. His transformation from the futuristic poet to the proletarian revolutionary poet was typical in the left poetry of the 1920s. In this particular book, on revolutionary youth, he collaborated with a fellow member of LEF, Sen’kin.
For Sen’kin this book marks a very important stage in his book design career, a time when he was pivoting from suprematism to constructivism, but was also expending a lot of effort in his experimentation with typefaces. He has later concentrated solely on photomontage (especially in his poster designs). In this book we can see the combination of contrasting colors and the letterpress design, alongside photomontage techniques, which make “Oktiabrevichi” such a pure example of the constructivist book.

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