The Techne of Decoding Alexei Chicherin’s Construemes

Abstract

This paper is the first attempt to interpret the visual ‘construemes’ by the constructivist poet Alexei N. Chicherin, published in the anthology Mena vsekh which appeared in Moscow in1924. ‘Construemes’ can be considered the most enigmatic artifacts of the Russian avant-garde. Although ‘construemes’ can be easily confused with meaningless visual zaum (‘the transrational’), Chicherin’s actions and the very nature of his personality prevent one from interpreting ‘construemes’ as actionist endeavors to scandalize or a ‘play on nonsense’. Analysis of the poet’s treatise Kan-Fun published in Moscow in 1926 required finding the key to deciphering the ‘construemes’, reveals the positivist nature of Chicherin’s visual–phonological exercises. In the treatise, the poet argues for the primacy of the eye and vision. He illustrates synthetic ‘signs’ or ‘pictograms’ with the quotidian example of propaganda posters, capable of influencing millions more effectively than words alone. The study emphasizes the enigmatic nature of the titles of Chicherin’s books, the Nietzschean subtexts of his self-presentation, encrypted allusions to the esoteric and magical tradition of the Tarot, and religious symbolism. Sixteen illustrations help the understanding of Chicherin’s logic behind the creation of his four ‘construemes’, including the most mysterious composition called ‘Raman’ (‘the shortest Kan-Fun Novel in the world’). The structure of this text synthesizes the verbal, visual–graphic, acoustic (phonological symbols) and musical (notes) levels. The article also examines Chicherin’s proven techniques: the appropriation of the sacred dimension and self-presentation as an actor possessing genuine knowledge and capable of competing alone with the entire literary environment.