Nancy Perloff's 'Explodity' Analyzes Russian Futurist Book Art's Fusion of Sound, Image, and Word
In her 2016 publication, 'Explodity: Sound, Image, and Word in Russian Futurist Book Art,' Nancy Perloff explores the realm of Russian Futurist literature from 1910 to 1915, emphasizing the deconstruction of language through zaum, or transrational poetry. Building on her exhibition at the Getty Museum in 2008-2009, she analyzes 'Mirskontsa' (1912) created by Velimir Khlebnikov, Alexei Kruchenykh, Natalia Goncharova, and Mikhail Larionov, along with Olga Rozanova's 'Vzorval' (1913). Perloff introduces the term 'verbivocovisual' to describe the fusion of verbal, visual, and auditory components in these works. The study also juxtaposes these texts with paintings by Kazimir Malevich, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin, while tracing their influence on subsequent art. This 208-page volume, published by Getty Publications, features online audio recordings of poems by Vladimir Paperny.
Key facts
- Nancy Perloff authored 'Explodity: Sound, Image, and Word in Russian Futurist Book Art' in 2016.
- The book analyzes Russian Futurist books from 1910-1915, focusing on 'Mirskontsa' (1912) and 'Vzorval'' (1913).
- Key artists and poets include Velimir Khlebnikov, Alexei Kruchenykh, David Burliuk, Elena Guro, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, and Olga Rozanova.
- Perloff's thesis centers on the 'verbivocovisual' fusion of sound, image, and word in Futurist books.
- The study builds on Perloff's 2008-2009 exhibition 'Tango with Cows' at the Getty Museum.
- Russian Futurists used zaum (transrational language) to prioritize sound and deconstruct linear meaning.
- The book includes online audio recordings of poems by Vladimir Paperny to demonstrate sound's importance.
- Perloff traces the legacy of Russian Futurist book art to later figures like El Lissitzky and Augusto de Campos.
Entities
Artists
- Nancy Perloff
- David Burliuk
- Velimir Khlebnikov
- Vasily Kamensky
- Alexei Kruchenykh
- Elena Guro
- Kazimir Malevich
- Vincent van Gogh
- Paul Gauguin
- Pablo Picasso
- Fernand Léger
- Natalia Goncharova
- Mikhail Larionov
- Olga Rozanova
- El Lissitzky
- Augusto de Campos
- Ian Hamilton Finlay
- Henri Chopin
- Vladimir Paperny
- James Joyce
Institutions
- Getty Publications
- Getty Museum
- ARTMargins Online
- OBERIU
Locations
- Los Angeles, CA
- United States
- Russia
- Moscow
- Brazil
- Scotland
- France
- Tahiti