Nancy Perloff on Russian Futurist Book Art

Leafing through Russian futurist artists’ books

Nancy Perloff on Russian Futurist Book Art

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Explodity book cover

By James Cuno

Apr 12, 2017 41:38 min

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Between 1910 and 1915, Russian painters and poets invented an experimental language called zaum, which emphasizes sound and is characterized by indeterminacy in meaning.

These artists used zaum to create handmade artists’ books that are meant to be read, seen, and heard. Nancy Perloff, author of Explodity: Sound, Image, and Word in Russian Futurist Book Art, takes us to the archives at the Getty Research Institute to examine two fascinating zaum futurist books and to discuss a number of the visual and literary artists of this period.

More to Explore

Explodity: Sound, Image, and Word in Russian Futurist Book Art book information
Explodity interactive companion
Concrete Poetry: Words and Sounds in Graphic Space exhibition information

Book cover with a green illustration and Russian lettering

Cover of Mirskontsa (Worldbackwards) by Natalia Goncharova, 1912. Getty Research Institute, 88-B27486

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