2 Stenberg 2 : Constructivists and Designers for the Revolutionary Mass Stagings at the Red Square

Abstract

Georgy and Vladimir Stenberg, central participants of the Russian avant-garde and the first to use the term "constructivist", were Swedish. Thanks to the first international 'two-person' museum exhibition on the Stenberg brothers, in the summer of 1997 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, interest in their work has been renewed. The focus of the MoMA exhibition was on the film posters. In addition to the Stenbergs' work as constructivists and theatre scenographers, this is the part of their work that has brought them most international fame. There is, however, one aspect which, if mentioned at all, is mentioned only in passing: the Stenbergs were chief designers for the Red Square in Moscow. In addition to a brief presentation of the Swedish heritage of Vladimir Augustovich (1899 - 1982) and Georgy Augustovich Stenberg (1900 - 1933), the aim of this article is to introduce the Stenbergs as designers for the celebrations in the Red Square. Other key places along the parade route in central Moscow were the Palace of the Soviets and Gorky Park. The Stenberg brothers participated in all three projects. In order to get an idea of what proportions these mass stagings had, I will discuss them in the context of the reconstruction of Moscow into a parade centre, the first five-year plan, and the cultural revolution, all of which took place at the same time as the Stenbergs established themselves as designers for street festivities. First of all, however, I shall give a short background of Georgy and Vladimir Stenberg and their aesthetical standpoints in art.