24 Works of Modern Art That Shook the World

The Monument to the Third International


Modern art is all about making something new and revolutionary that can challenge the way that people think. It is about art that can go beyond painting or sculpting what we see, by taking normal things and shifting their meaning, or even pushing the limits of art to see just what one could create and for it to still be seen as art. Vladamir Tatlin pushed this concept when he started the era of Constructivism in the art world. This was the artistic but also architectural philosophy that started in Russia largely because of his most famous work. He launched himself into the art world without paint brushes or even a canvas and changed the way of the future. Arguably the most impactful and largest piece of his work was The Monument to the Third International, more widely known as Tatlin’s tower. It was not only an important piece of work for his career, but for the Constructivism movement and a larger political movement, which was the start of Soviet Russia. Tatlin’s tower was intended to be a truly incredible piece of modern art that could inspire the people of the soviet union to rebuild their society after a time of distress, and further encourage a utopian future for the place that Vladamir Tatlin called home.

The tower was originally supposed to be in possession of the Universal Government as a symbol of modernity and moving forward. He intended to incorporate art into society’s everyday life to unite a nation in distress. But behind this goal was the not so simple construction of the tower. This large tower was made up of four different geometric structures, a cube, a cylinder, a pyramid and a hemisphere at the top. These different objects were engineered to rotate at certain rates and all had their own purpose. This tower was supposed to house different congress meeting, conferences, executive committee sessions, and lectures.[1] The hemisphere was meant to be an information session spreading news and manifestos in different ways such as radio, telegraph, loudspeakers, and a huge projector. This all relates to communism because at this time, the Soviet Union was starting to form. Their ideology was that everyone would be equal and they would create a perfect society of no religion, no philosophy, and no art. The tower was supposed to be a way to make messages clear to all people in the Soviet Union about the ideologies they were supposed to follow. It was supposed to be a symbol of hope and strength for the future. It is ironic that Tatlin’s Tower is now considered a great art piece, when that is what the Soviet Union claimed to want to get rid of.[2]

Tatlin’s tower was designed to be the first great project of the new Soviet state. It was projected to be built in the 1920s but it in fact never was.  Milner-Gulland in Tower and Dome: Two Revolutionary Buildings said that the tower was intended to be greater than the Eiffel Tower. Tatlin, who was a Russian railroad engineer took a trip to the United States to see how the railroads were created and engineered. He became inspired by the Brooklyn Bridge and some say that he combined the Eiffel Tower with the Brooklyn Bridge to help him with Tatlin’s Tower. Finally, the spiral was seen as the ideal symbol of liberation and the “Tower’s mast was tilted parallel to the earth’s axis” (Kurbanovsky 903).[3] This tower was all about symbolism over being the final victory over communism. Tatlin was commissioned by Anatolii Lunacharskii, a commissar for Enlightenment, to create “monumental propaganda: in Moscow. The tower was supposed to be something that would last forever and be seen for years to come, however instead, it ended up incomplete and unappreciated long before it made a strong statement.” It was supposed to be filled with information that would be spread throughout the land, and even have a projector that would write messages on the clouds. Finally, the location of Tatlin’s tower was very important. The “legs” were supposed to span the Neva River in Petrograd. It was supposed to be similar to the Effel tower so that it could look that much more powerful, because just as the Eiffel tower is next to the Seine River, Tatlin’s tower was supposed to be next to the Neva River to show that Russia is more grand than France.[4]

Upon simply looking at Tatlin’s Tower you see a somewhat crooked spiral. The engineering of this structure is amazing because it is slanted structure which is already a difficult thing to create, it is built up and centered around a rod as the structure spirals around it. The spiral components around this looks like the basic components of stairs, spiraling to new heights. In the picture to the left you can see how there is much that you can’t see due to the black and white two dimensional image considering that in reality Tatlin’s tower was a three dimensional architectural structure. This, however, gives the viewer a sense of wonder of how the rest of the structure looks like. There were flaws to this structure. At one point the tower had collapsed under itself because of the materials used. The materials Tatlin used were iron, steel, and glass and the tower was supposed to be very modern. It has been built to house so much intelligence but it never came to light. In pictures, you simply have to imagine the plans and such that Tatlin hoped to come out of his original design.The engineering of Tatlin's tower is remarkable, from the plans and how the actual construction has to go. Unlike most works of art, no one can see the original piece anymore. Instead there are only reconstructions and people trying to recreate it according to Tatlin’s plans. People have done so and recorded their experiences in doing so and shown that the structure itself is not only difficult but can be considered slightly flawed as Tatlin discovered. Tatlin was an artist and inventor, but he was not an architect or engineer so he did not know how to make sure that the building was structurally sound. Someone who did replicate Tatlin’s Tower was Jeremey Dixon. He studied the engineering behind Tatlin’s Tower very heavily. In the journal article Reconstructing Tatlin’s Tower, he included many images from various places that showed the intricate and brilliant engineering behind Tatlin’s work and the pictures of when he recreated it. This looked more into how impressive that Tatlin’s stills were engineering wise. The structure behind it was so unique and difficult to replicate which he reflected on but he also talks about how in going through this process, he learned a lot and it was one of the most satisfying experiences of his life. [5] Through going through that, he was able to see that although the actual structure would have never been what he hoped the message was still there behind the complex drawings of what it was meant to be. He was able to do this since throughout the modern art era, some people have become really interested in russian constructivism. He was able to dive deeper into the drawings since a gallery in London became interested in recreating it and he built it not only once, but twice. Diving into the geometry and engineering was difficult but he proved it could be done. Tatlin wasn’t able to create the piece with his own hands but he created a design that can be built and replicated for years to come, which is absolutely incredible. Because of his ability to design a piece of architecture, this structure can be made almost anywhere and the message that he wanted to deliver could live on.

Tatlin had the most amazing plans for Tatlin’s tower. Uncovering the depths and meaning behind Tatlin’s tower becomes very interesting and it unveils not just the meaning of art, but opens up the history of propaganda at this time. In Freud, Tatlin, and the Tower: How Soviet Psychoanalysts Might Have Interpreted the Monument to the Third International, Alexei Alexeyevich Kurbanovsky writes about how the writings of Freud inspired drawings that would end up being Talin’s tower, or often otherwise known as “Monument to the Third International. Modern art historians often describe Tatlin’s tower as the “manifesto of revolutionary romanticism”.

Overall, Tatlin’s Tower was a significant work of art that even though it was not completed it still made an impact on the Soviet society. It was a piece that showed potential in power and strength for years to come with its unique shape and engineering concepts. Tatlin’s tower was an interesting thing to see since most architecture and engineering wasn’t considered art. If Tatlin’s tower would have actually been completed, it would have been a force to be reckoned with in the Soviet nation and would have made a huge impact on their society. Instead, it has made an impact on the constructivism movement and on how we look at art all together. Tatlin’s tower was only the beginning of an incredible chapter in what is the modern art movement.
 
[1] Ralph Croizier: Tatlin's Tower: The Monument to the Future that Never Was. Accessed December 6, 2019. https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/11.1/forum_croizier.html.
[2] Kurbanovsky, A. (2008). Freud, Tatlin, and the Tower: How Soviet Psychoanalysts Might Have Interpreted the Monument to the Third International. Slavic Review, 67(4), 892-906. doi:10.2307/27653029
[3] Kurbanovsky, A. (2008). Freud, Tatlin, and the Tower: How Soviet Psychoanalysts Might Have Interpreted the Monument to the Third International. Slavic Review, 67(4), 892-906. doi:10.2307/27653029
[4] Milner-Gulland, R. (1988). Tower and Dome: Two Revolutionary Buildings. Slavic Review, 47(1), 39-50. doi:10.2307/2498837
[5] Jeremy Dixon. (2012). Reconstructing Tatlin’s Tower. AA Files, (64), 37. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.chapman.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.41762304&site=eds-live

Bibliography

Barcio, Phillip. “Vladimir Tatlin and The Monument to the Third International.” Ideelart, September 6, 2016. https://www.ideelart.com/magazine/vladimir-tAtlin-monume nt-to-the-third-international

Jeremy Dixon. (2012). Reconstructing Tatlin’s Tower. AA Files, (64), 37. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.chapman.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.41762304&site=eds-live

Kurbanovsky, A. (2008). Freud, Tatlin, and the Tower: How Soviet Psychoanalysts Might Have Interpreted the Monument to the Third International. Slavic Review, 67(4), 892-906. doi:10.2307/27653029

Milner-Gulland, R. (1988). Tower and Dome: Two Revolutionary Buildings. Slavic Review, 47(1), 39-50. doi:10.2307/2498837

Ralph Croizier: Tatlin's Tower: The Monument to the Future that Never Was. Accessed December 6, 2019. https://worldhistoryconnected.press.uillinois.edu/11.1/forum_croizier.html.

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