Cover for foto-auge/oeil et photo/photo-eye

Photography and Media

1929

El Lissitzky
Russian, 1890–1941

Through double exposure, Lissitzky blended his likeness with images of drafting tools and graph paper—juxtaposing mechanical instruments with his own more “primitive” tool, the hand. In its day Constructor symbolized a fundamental redefinition of the artist as someone who does not create, but builds, and thereby spurs the transformation of society. Yet Lissitzky seemed to acknowledge that the artist-engineer deploys commercial or industrial technology (including the camera apparatus) over which he can at best have partial control.

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Department: Photography and Media

Artist: El Lissitzky
Title: Cover for foto-auge/oeil et photo/photo-eye
Place: Russia (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1929
Medium: Letterpress
Dimensions: 29.5 × 20.7 cm (11 5/8 × 8 3/16 in.)
Credit Line: Director's Fund
Reference Number: 2011.864

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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