Rodchenko, Alexander Mikhailovich (1891–1956)

Russian avant-garde painter, designer, and photographer. The aim of his work, in all media, was to create a visual language that would reflect the new revolutionary times. His paintings were abstract works based on severe geometrical shapes; under the influence of Tatlin he made three-dimensional constructions of wood, cardboard, and metal. His photographs of everyday objects were presented in close-up, from strange angles or from high viewpoints, an approach similar to that of the Hungarian Laszlo Moholy-Nagy; they document the early years of the Soviet era.