Editing Varvara Stepanova (section)

==Biography==
[[File:Rodchenko-Stepanova.jpg|thumb|234x234px|Stepanova and Rodchenko in their studio, 1920s|left]]
Varvara Stepanova who was born in [[Kaunas]] (in modern-day [[Lithuania]]) came from peasant origins but was able to get an education at [[Kazan Art School]], [[Kazan]]. There she met her later husband and collaborator [[Alexander Rodchenko]]. In the years before the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]] they leased an apartment in Moscow, owned by [[Wassily Kandinsky]]. These artists became some of the main figures in the [[Russian avant-garde]]. The new [[abstract art]] in Russia which began around 1915<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/collection/|title=The Collection &#124; MoMA|website=The Museum of Modern Art}}</ref> was a culmination of influences from [[Cubism]], Italian [[futurism (art)|Futurism]] and traditional peasant art. She designed [[Cubo-futurism|Cubo-Futurist]] work for several artists' books, and studied under [[Jean Metzinger]] at [[Académie de La Palette]], an art academy where the painters [[André Dunoyer de Segonzac]] and [[Henri Le Fauconnier]] also taught.<ref>Examiner, ''Constructivism & early avant-garde Russian fashion design'', November 3, 2009</ref>

In the years following the revolution, Stepanova involved herself in [[poetry]], [[philosophy]], [[painting]], [[Graphic arts|graphic art]], [[Theatrical scenery|stage scenery]] construction, and textile and [[Fashion design|clothing designs]]. She contributed work to the Fifth State Exhibition and the Tenth State Exhibition, both in 1919.

In 1920 it came to a division between painters like [[Kasimir Malevich]] who continued to paint with the idea that art was a spiritual activity, and those who believed that they must work directly for the revolutionary development of the society. In 1921, together with [[Aleksei Gan]], Rodchenko and Stepanova formed the first ''Working Group of Constructivists'', which rejected fine art in favor of graphic design, photography, posters, and political propaganda.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rodchenko, Alexander|first=Yvonne |last=Jones |work=The Oxford Companion to Western Art - Oxford Art Online|access-date= 10 May 2013|url= http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t118/e2252}}</ref> Also in 1921, Stepanova declared in her text for the exhibition ''[[5x5=25]]'', held in Moscow:

<blockquote>Composition is the contemplative approach of the artist. Technique and Industry have confronted art with the problem of construction as an active process and not reflective. The 'sanctity' of a work as a single entity is destroyed. The museum which was the treasury of art is now transformed into an archive.</blockquote>
The term '[[Constructivism (art)|Constructivist]]' was by then being used by the artists themselves to describe the direction their work was taking. The theatre was another area where artists were able to communicate new artistic and social ideas. Stepanova designed the sets for ''The Death of Tarelkin'' in 1922.

Alexander Rodchenko died on December 3, 1956, and Varvara Stepanova died on May 20, 1958, both in Moscow.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jeong |first=Da Hyung |title=Varvara Stepanova, Russian, 1894–1958 |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/5643 |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Museum of Modern Art}}</ref>