El Lissitzky's figurine adorned the wall of a house in Vitebsk
A group of young artists recreated in Vitebsk on the wall of the building at Tolstoy Street, 7, which houses the "Art-Space" branch of the Center for Contemporary Art, one of Lazar Lissitzky's scenographic sketches for the futuristic opera "Victory Over the Sun".
The artist, who lived in Smolensk, visited the city on the Dvina River as a teenager and even studied at
Yehuda Pen's "School of Drawing and Painting". And in 1919, at the invitation of Marc Chagall, he headed the architectural workshop of the Vitebsk People's Art School. Then, together with Kazimir Malevich, he created the avant-garde art association UNOVIS. Together with other founders of new art, he decorated the city's buildings for holidays in the suprematist style, organized exhibitions, and philosophical debates. It was in Vitebsk that he first used the pseudonym El Lissitzky, which is known today to all lovers of fine art.In 1920-1921, Lazar Lissitzky developed a project for the production of the opera
"Victory Over the Sun" (which Kazimir Malevich and Vera Ermolaeva had worked on before him) as an electromechanical performance: huge marionettes replaced the actors. Unfortunately, this production was not realized; the only evidence of Lissitzky's grand innovative concept remained in sketch albums. The folder with lithographed figurines, as the artist called his sketches, was published in Berlin in 1923.The figurine
"The New One" was chosen for reproduction on one of the buildings of the Center for Contemporary Art. As explained by the Director of the CCA, Andrey Dukhovnikov, it symbolizes moving forward, towards new space, victory over old, familiar concepts. The center faces the same task.The sketch by El Lissitzky was transferred to the wall by artists-designers Kirill Demchev, Anton Levadny, Polina Balashovа, Stepan Drozdov, and Igor Sidorov. Last year, they also restored Kazimir Malevich's sketch
"Death to Wallpaper" on a house located at the intersection of Lenin Street and "Pravda" Street.The project at
"Art-Prostranstvo" at 7 Tolstoy Street is timed to coincide with the 95th anniversary of UNOVIS, which will be celebrated next year.El (Lazar) Lissitzky is a significant figure for Vitebsk, but the city itself played no less important a role in his fate. While living in Smolensk, Lissitzky visited Vitebsk, where he studied at Yehuda Pen's School of Drawing and Painting. In 1919, he arrived here to work. In Vitebsk, he closely associated with Marc Chagall and soon invited Kazimir Malevich there. The mere eighteen months spent in this city turned into an era that created the El Lissitzky known to the world. This happened under the influence of the revolution, his association with Malevich, and the activities of the "UNOVIS" they founded.
Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"