Invitation to a Futurist Happening (recto); Landscape (verso)

Vkhutemas (Vysshiye Khudozhestvenno–Tekhnicheskiye Masterskiye "Higher Art and Technical Studios")|Mikhail Tarkhanov

March 5, 1921 · Pen and ink on paper (recto); red ink or watercolor (verso) · Drawings and Prints

This dynamic double-sided drawing captures the spirit and energy of the Soviet avant-garde. It was created as part of the VKhUTEMAS (an acronym for Vysshie khudozhestvenno-tekhnicheskie masterskie) or "Higher Artistic-Technical Workshops," the state-sponsored fine and applied studios founded in Moscow in 1920 that ran until 1929. Attributed to the artist Mikhail Tarkhanov (also known as Mikhail Mikhailovich Tarkhanov), on the recto is a pen and ink drawing described as an invitation to a Futurist happening. The text, which reads "Hey, 20 year olds! Come, let's take up our buckets to paint Moscow over / Anarchy / Keep this ticket for the buffet," is intermingled with Futurist imagery. On the verso is a more traditional image, rendered in red, of a landscape comprising clouds, rolling grassy hills, and trees framed with a drawn decorative border.

Artist

Vkhutemas (Vysshiye Khudozhestvenno–Tekhnicheskiye Masterskiye "Higher Art and Technical Studios")|Mikhail Tarkhanov

Date

March 5, 1921

Medium

Pen and ink on paper (recto); red ink or watercolor (verso)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2020