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Balconies

Artist Aleksandr Rodchenko (Russian, 1891-1956)

Date1925

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. (22.2 x 11.4 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineMuseum purchase, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Photography Endowment Fund

Object number95.14

Terms

Balconies
Buildings
Streets
architecture
City
Black
White
Constructivist
Moscow

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a photograph of the eight-story building where Rodchenko lived on Myasnicka Street in Moscow.

Label TextAleksandr Rodchenko Russian (1891-1956) Balconies, 1925 Gelatin silver print Purchase, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Photography Fund 95.14 Originally trained as a painter, Aleksandr Rodchenko became one of the giants of 20th-century photography, pioneering new photographic processes and ideas. He was active in Russia during the dynamic and intensely creative years following the 1917 Revolution and was able to continue working there even after the Communists came to power. Mainly self-taught, Rodchenko began experimenting with photomontage in 1923, working as a magazine photographer and photo-reporter. His abstract images eliminated unnecessary detail and emphasized dynamic compositions. To challenge the viewer's perception and delay recognition, he often photographed scenes from odd angles. He achieved this by pointing the camera up or down, constructing new realities within the picture plane. Balconies is a prime example of his constructivist approach to photography.