USSR in Construction : From Avant-garde to Socialist Realist Practice

We cite from the introduction:
"This dissertation explores the persistence, modification, and transformation of
Soviet avant-garde representational practice in light of the emergence of Socialist
Realism during the early 1930s through a study of the photographic magazine SSSR na
stroike (USSR in Construction; 1930-1941, 1949). With diverse contributions by both
avant-garde innovators and proponents of more traditional cultural practices, SSSR na
stroike provides a unique opportunity to clarify the nature and scope of the cultural
transition from the avant-garde ideals of the 1920s to Socialist Realism in the ensuing
decade. SSSR na stroike was published monthly to propagandize the progress of the
transformation of the Soviet economy, society and culture during the industrialization
drive that began in 1928. With editions in Russian, English, Gertnan, French, and
Spanish, the magazine's intended audience was both domestic and international.
Supervised by an editorial board that included many party figures central to the Five-
Year Plans, this magazine brought together the upper party apparatus with leading artists,
writers and photographers."
"This study establishes the position of SSSR na stroike within the context of Soviet
documentary expression and photojournalism, cultural conflict between the different
creative groupings, and the development of a new Soviet photographic genre, the
narrative photo-essay (fotoocherk). From its inception, SSSR na stroike emphasized
photography as the ideal method of illustrating the dramatic changes taking place in the
Soviet Union. While there is a growing literature on early Soviet photography, most
studies have been largely confined to examinations of several renowned avant-garde
photographers and photomontage artists and have failed to consider the broad array of
practices, institutions, and theories that developed in the first decades of the Soviet
Union. This one-sided approach is problematic, as much of the history of the avantgarde
has been treated in terms of conflict with other practitioners, about whom little is
known. "Opponents" of the avant-garde have been reduced to two-dimensional binary
opposites, collapsing subtle differences existing within the broad spectrum of Soviet
cultural production. As a result of this simplification, avant-garde practice has been
critically misinterpreted. "
"One example of this simplification is the frequent reduction of
the history of Soviet photography during this period to the work of Aleksandr
Rodchenko. Aspects of Rodchenko's work which do not fit into pre-conceived notions
misinterpreted. One example of this simplification is the frequent reduction of
the history of Soviet photography during this period to the work of Aleksandr
Rodchenko. Aspects of Rodchenko's work which do not fit into pre-conceived notions
about the Soviet avant-garde, such as the questionable identification of his work as photojournalism
before 1929, have been largely ignored, while the innovative nature of the
practice of photojournalists who questioned the validity of Rodchenko's work has been
overlooked. By articulating the wide array of factors and practices that shaped the
formation of the fotoocherk as an important genre of Socialist Realist visual culture, I
have sought to provide a more comprehensive approach to the study of Soviet
photography. The broader institutional contexts of Soviet photography and graphic
design have remained largely unexplored, in terms of both more traditional art
institutions and of the mass media. The failure to consider works published in the Soviet
illustrated press within this larger framework has resulted in significant critical
misinterpretations. Because of these methodological problems concerning individuals and
institutions, I have purposely avoided a monographic approach in this study, preferring to
examine the broader context of the SSSR na stroike and its diverse group of contributors."