Aleksei Kruchyonykh | |
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| Born | Aleksei Yeliseyevich Kruchonykh (1886-02-09)9 February 1886 |
| Died | 17 June 1968(1968-06-17) (aged 82) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Known for | Poetry,collage,artist's book |
| Notable work | Universal War, 1916 |
| Movement | Russian Futurism,Zaum |
Aleksei Yeliseyevich Kruchyonykh (Russian:Алексе́й Елисе́евич Кручёных; 9 February 1886 – 17 June 1968), also romanizedKruchenykh due to confusion about⟨ё⟩, was a Russian poet, artist, and theorist, perhaps one of the most radicalpoets ofRussian Futurism, a movement that includedVladimir Mayakovsky,David Burliuk and others. Born in 1886, he lived in the time of theRussian Silver Age of literature, and together withVelimir Khlebnikov, another Russian Futurist, Kruchenykh is considered the inventor ofzaum, a poetry style utilising nonsense words. Kruchonykh wrote the libretto for the Futurist operaVictory Over the Sun, with sets provided byKazimir Malevich. In 1912, he wrote the poemDyr bul shchyl; four years later, in 1916, he created his most famous book,Universal War.
He is also known for hisDeclaration of the Word as Such (1913): "The worn-out, violated word "lily" is devoid of all expression. Therefore I call the lilyéuy – and original purity is restored."[1]
Kruchonykh was born on 21 February 1886, in the Kherson region of the Russian Empire;[2] his parents were peasants. With the intention of becoming an artist, he went to Odessa Art School and theMoscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, publishing caricatures and occasionally exhibiting to make a living, but changed his mind in 1912 to be a poet instead.
Soon after he met the Burliuk brothers, he became a major poet ofCubo-Futurism, a style he helped to launch with his friendsDavid Burliuk,Vladimir Mayakovsky,Mikhail Larionov, and others. He helped write the drafts for the most famous Cubo-Futurist manifesto,A Slap in the Face of Public Taste, published in 1912, notable for its statement to throw the writers of old "off the steamboat of modernity".[3] The first example ofzaum poetry was by him; calledDyr bul shchyl, it was published in a 1913 book calledPomada. Together withVelemir Khlebnikov, he is considered inventor of this poetry style. Kruchenykh was also the first Russian poet to try writing a poem only using vowels.[4] Soon he became one of the most prolific Cubo-Futurist writers, alongsideElena Guro, Khlebnikov, and others. The books were often lithographed by hand, illustrated by fellow Futurists, and titles includedA Little Duck's Nest of... Bad Words,Hermits: a Poem,Worldbackwards, andExplodity.[5] They were also sometimes in collaboration with each other; for example, withOlga Rozanova, he invented thesamopismo, a kind of Futurist book where text and images are literally connected.
He went to the house of the composerMikhail Matyushin withKazimir Malevich that summer (Khlebnikov was supposed to visit him too, but he lost the cheque to pay for his train ticket that Matyushin had sent him); they collaborated to write the Futurist operaVictory over the Sun, with music by Matyushin, prologue by Khlebnikov, libretto by Kruchenykh, and set designs by Malevich. This opera remains his most famous work; it is about a group of Futurists who capture the sun and defy gravity, much to the annoyance to everybody else. It premiered at the Luna Park Theatre at St. Petersburg, in a performance organised by theUnion of the Youth. This play was written in a sort of zaum, the costumes were of cardboard, and a real aeroplane and aviator made an appearance; the audience booed throughout the show, and overall it caused great outrage.[6] He, like his friends, also caused shock when he took to lecturing and poetry recitals, and on one occasion, he had to use his shoes to fight back the enraged audience from leaping up and attacking him.[7] Another time, he spilled tea over many of the audience, an event which was probably intentional.[7]Universal War was published in 1916; he illustrated it himself, with abstract collages. During the war he served as a technical draftsman.
Shortly after the October Revolution of 1917, he moved toTiflis, Georgia, as part of a railway construction team; with his friend the Georgian Cubo-FuturistIlia Zdanevich, who also happened to be in the country, they founded the avant-garde group 41° (the number refers to the temperature of a high fever). There, also, somebody founded an institute devoted to the study of his work and life so far, but this was probably just a joke.[8] After Zdanevich left Georgia (first toTurkey, then toFrance), Kruchenykh returned to Russia in 1921, publishing more books, writing essays, and lecturing with friends;[2] his views soon became so shocking the authorities decided to restrict his access to publishers, so he made his books himself. When the Soviets banned the avant-garde, he got a job as an archivist and gave up poetry. He also collected and sold rare books and manuscripts written by the people of his generation, eventually falling into obscurity with only occasional acknowledgment from the public. In 1932 he wrote his memoirs.[3] He died ofpneumonia in 1968.
The Russian punk bandGrazhdanskaya Oborona have areggae-styled song called "Posveshtenie A. Kruchyonykh" (Homage to A. Kruchyonykh) on their 1990 concept albumInstruktsiya po vyzhivaniyu.
