Channeling the past: the mobilization of tradition and politics in Ivan Leonidov's 'Utopian Constructivism'

The work of Ivan Leonidov, a talented graduate of the Vkhutemas School, was met with much enthusiasm both from fellow practitioners and the wider public in espousing the possibilities and dynamism of the new Soviet state. Although it hasn't been explored widely in an academic context, the work of Leonidov is deeply rooted in traditional Russian art and architecture and thereby carrying with it, the weight of subconscious and abstract recognition in the people of the traditional past. When presented against the sober political realities of the emerging Soviet economy however, Leonidov's iconic canon of work under the stylistic label of Constructivism began to be labeled and derided by its detractors as "Formalist," "Utopianism" and ultimately, "Leonidovism." The analysis and critique that has been overlooked however, due both to the early zeal of the Constructivist endeavor and the collapse of the utopian ideal later, is the underlying role that tradition played in informing and shaping the Constructivist project in general, and the work of Leonidov specifically. This paper will advance the current scholarly interpretations of the work of Ivan Leonidov's iconic brand of Constructivism, by repositioning it within the context of traditional Russian art and architecture. The role of tradition in avant-garde strategies of the 1920's demonstrates a broader, and politically complex paradigm that underpinned architectural production in the period. The work of Leonidov was central to this, marrying tradition and utopia, and reflecting the contemporary politicization of the role of tradition in the architectural language of Constructivism.