Proun 2 (Construction)

Gallery 280, Modern and Contemporary Art, second floor

Main Building

Proun 2 (Construction)

1920

El Lissitzky (Eleazar Lissitzky) (Russian, 1890–1941)

Produced between 1919 and 1923, Lissitzky’s series of works called Prouns were counterparts to the universal space theorized by his friend Theo van Doesburg. A Russian acronym that stands for “Project for the Establishment of the New,” a Proun expresses the idea that society could be revolutionized through the transformation of perception. The abstract composition of floating shapes evokes a futuristic city seen in aerial perspective, but here, the laws of gravity, orientation, and relative size that govern our understanding of space have been suspended.

Gallery 280, Modern and Contemporary Art, second floor

Object Details

Title:

Proun 2 (Construction)

Date:

1920

Artist:

El Lissitzky (Eleazar Lissitzky) (Russian, 1890–1941)

Medium:

Oil, paper, and metal on panel

Dimensions:

23 7/16 x 15 11/16 inches (59.5 x 39.8 cm) Framed: 24 1/4 × 16 3/8 × 1 3/4 inches (61.6 × 41.6 × 4.4 cm)

Classification:

Performance Art

Credit Line:

A. E. Gallatin Collection, 1952

Accession Number:

1952-61-72

Geography:

Made in Russia, Asia

Provenance

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Gallery 280, Modern and Contemporary Art, second floor

Main Building

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