Avant-garde art, which emerged in the early 20th century, has always aimed to push the boundaries of creativity, opposing traditional forms. Among the various avant-garde movements, performance holds a unique significance, as it not only conveys an idea but also embodies it in a living process where the artist, space, and audience become equal participants. Assemblage as a genre grew out of the desire to materialize the performative experience, translating it into a physical realm that combines objects, materials, textures, and meanings into a cohesive composition.
3 The French artist Jean Dubuffet is considered the pioneer of assemblage. In the 1950s, he was the first to use this term, defining it as a new mode of creative expression that involved the combination of random, sometimes even mundane materials into cohesive images. His art rejected academicism, seeking immediacy and an untainted expression of the creative spirit.
4 5 However, the technique of assemblage began to take shape much earlier; its elements can be observed in Picasso's cubist collages, Duchamp's Dadaist experiments, and the early avant-garde explorations of artists from various countries.
In Ukraine, assemblage became an essential component of 20th-century art. Its logic seamlessly integrated into the context of the avant-garde, which embodied utopian ideas, the struggle for creative freedom, and constant experimentation. Yermilov, Tatlin, and Vysheslavsky represent three generations of Ukrainian avant-gardists who realized the idea of assemblage in their works. From the constructivist experiments of the 1920s to postmodern reflections on contemporary issues, this movement remained a living matter, evolving alongside society.
From the aesthetics of early avant-garde to the protest forms of contemporary art, assemblage remains a vital aspect of Ukrainian avant-garde, continually expanding its boundaries and encoding the spirit of the era within itself.
Vasyl Yermilov – the Constructivist Roots of Assemblage
Vasyl Yermilov is one of the most innovative figures in Ukrainian avant-garde, merging the aesthetics of constructivism, futurism, and a quest for material specificity in form.
6 Yermilov actively employed the technique of assemblage, creating relief compositions from wood, metal, fabric, and other materials. His works are distinguished by geometric clarity, dynamic forms, and a vibrant color palette. The use of diverse textures and materials added a unique depth and expressiveness to his creations. He skillfully combined wood, metal, plastic, and other materials, crafting not just paintings but objects that compel the viewer to interact with them both physically and emotionally.
7 The "Avant-Garde" Magazine – A Manifesto of Ukrainian Modernism
In the 1920s, the magazine "Avant-Garde" was published in Ukraine. At that time, there was a struggle within the cultural space between academic traditions and new artistic approaches. "Avant-Garde" was not merely an art magazine but a platform for ideological debates. The publication brought together artists, designers, poets, and theorists who viewed art not just as an aesthetic act but as a mechanism for social influence. Its authors aimed to reflect a new era in which art was to become functional, rational, and integrated into life. The magazine featured articles analyzing the development of modernist trends and showcased the works of key Ukrainian avant-gardists, including Vasyl Yermilov, Oleksandr Bohomazov, Kazimir Malevich, Volodymyr Tatlin, and others.
Yermilov worked on the design of printed materials with the same approach he applied in his constructivist compositions and assemblages. He relied on clear geometry, contrasting colors, modularity, and dynamic composition.
8 It was Yermilov who developed the cover design for the magazine, which became a true example of constructivist design. It was a concise, geometric composition where text and images harmoniously integrated, creating a dynamic yet structured form. For "Avant-Garde," he chose succinct but powerful forms that conveyed the idea of movement, renewal, and a breakthrough into the future. His cover was not overloaded with details or decorative elements – every stroke, line, and angle had its meaning. He created a unique visual code of avant-gardism, where structural logic, order, and dynamism were paramount.
9 One of the central elements was the font – Yermilov was known for his mastery in creating original typographic solutions. He utilized a constructivist font where the letters did not merely complement the composition but became part of it, acquiring architectural significance.
Unfortunately, with the advent of Stalinist censorship, avant-garde art gradually began to face repression. Its representatives were either forced to turn to the permitted socialist realism or fell victim to repression. Thus, the magazine "Avant-Garde" ceased to exist.
0 1 "Guitar" (1919)
This work sees Yermilov reinterpreting the very essence of a musical instrument, translating it into the realm of abstraction and mechanistic harmony.
Here, he employs volumetric elements that imitate strings, the body of the instrument, and even some of its functional parts. But most importantly, it conveys musical rhythm in a visual form. As in cubo-futurism, where movement was expressed through breaking the form into separate segments, in "Guitar," Yermilov achieves the effect of vibration using dynamic lines, tilts of planes, and color contrasts.
"Guitar" is not just an art object; it is another bridge between visual and auditory sensations. It demonstrates how music can be translated into a visual language, making it perceptible not only through sound but also through composition.
2 In addition to his work in assemblage, Vasyl Yermilov became one of the key figures in the development of Ukrainian design. His influence is evident in typography, poster art, architectural design, and industrial design.
His logo, poster, and book cover designs exhibited the same constructive logic as his assemblages. They were based on principles of modularity, clear geometry, and economy of means. This made his style recognizable and remarkably modern even in the 21st century.
Today, his works are primarily preserved in various museums and private collections. Some of his pieces can be found in the Kharkiv Art Museum and the National Art Museum of Ukraine. Individual works are also represented in museums in the USA, Germany, and France.
Volodymyr Tatlin – Assemblage as a Revolutionary Gesture
3 One of the most renowned global avant-gardists whose art laid the foundations for assemblage is Volodymyr Tatlin, a native of Kharkiv who made a significant contribution to world constructivism. Tatlin sought to create art that existed not only in museums but also in everyday life.
Counter-reliefs – A New Dimension in Art
As early as 1914, Tatlin presented a series of counter-reliefs – volumetric compositions in which he rejected traditional two-dimensional painting in favor of material constructions. His works were assembled from wood, metal, wire, cardboard, and glass – elements that resembled parts of industrial production more than conventional artistic materials.
4 The principle of counter-relief was that each object became part of the space. Thus, the perception of the artistic environment was altered only by light and shadows, and the form itself extended beyond the plane. From then on, painting was no longer confined to the canvas, but became a structure that existed in the real world.
5 One of Tatlin's most famous works in this genre is "May Moon," where metal gears create an illusion of movement, and the texture of the materials adds tension to the composition. This assemblage acquired an engineering logic – art ceased to be merely a decorative element and transformed into an exploration of form and function.
6 7 The most famous project of the artist was the "Tower of the Third International" – an architectural manifesto of the revolution that embodied ideas of a dynamic future.
This was an overly ambitious project for its time, unfeasible given the engineering capabilities of the period. Tatlin, inspired by technological advancements, ship structures, aviation engines, and engineering principles he observed during his trip to Paris in 1913, dared to create a grand concept that would reflect the revolution and a new era.
He studied the works of Picasso and Braque, who were the first to experiment with the technique of assemblage. However, Tatlin went further – he sought to animate form, to make it move and interact with space.
8 The tower was to rise 400 meters high, surpassing the Eiffel Tower, symbolizing a technological breakthrough. At the base of the structure were two steel spirals that rose around the internal framework, housing four rotating geometric structures, with each element intended to rotate at a specific rhythm: the cube (the lower part) was to rotate once a year and serve as the legislative center;