Designs of Bashkir National Newspapers, Books, Posters and Other Printed Matter, 1920s – Early 1930s: The Impact of Constructivism Revisited

• Main Authors: Mars L. Akhmadullin, Elza E. Purik, Marina G. Shakirova, Vilur R. Shakirov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Российской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центр 2021-07-01
• Series: Oriental Studies
• Subjects: arabic-script book; constructivism; ornamental composition; plasticity of thinking; style; graphic design; typography; unwan; book decoration; font composition
• Online Access: https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/2994/2514

Introduction. The article discusses the features of Bashkiria’s printed matter as of the 1920s–1930s through the lens of typographics and artistic design. Goals. The work analyzes design patterns, features of font compositions, and identifies the influence of Constructivism on the shaping of their stylistic essentials through specific examples of book covers, magazines, and posters published in the 1920s–1930s in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The authors show how the synthesis of European trends and national traditions of Arabic writing determined the originality of the then Bashkortostan’s graphic designs. Results. The article shows how the ornamental character of Arabic script was transformed into dynamic compositions of covers and title pages characteristic of Constructivism. Conclusions. Nowadays, the public are again trying to outline ways to develop the national book art. Therefore, the experience and traditions from the printing art of early 20th-century Arabic and Cyrillic editions are again in demand. Nobody doubts the significance and greatness of the national cultural heritage, the need to develop it, the need to understand what happened through the prism of national consciousness. The appeals to artistic and aesthetic ideas, creative experiments of the Russian hinterland, traditions that existed in other republics and peoples at the beginning of the 20th century do enrich the history of domestic graphic design. All these together serve sources of inspiration for contemporary art experts, book artists and design practitioners.