K.I. Constructivist International Creative Working Collective

De Stijl. Sgravenhage 5 (August 1922) · S. 113–115

Thesis

Thesis: The Constructivist International (1922) calls for a collectively organized and internationally connected practice of design, grounded not in subjective expression but in the real demands of modern life.

Design must be practical, logical, materially conscious, and socially transformative. Individualistic, emotionally driven art production is considered outdated.

Only organized collaboration can create a new form of life-shaping creativity.

Full Text · Public Domain

A new shaping of life according to the consciousness of our time, using universal means of expression applied in a logically comprehensible way — in opposition to subjective, predominantly emotional art production.

Constructive:
The realization of practical tasks (including all design problems) in the spirit of modern working methods — in contrast to individually limited improvisation.

International:
Shared conviction under different conditions in different countries.

Creative:
Design must always relate to life as a whole. Creative is that which fundamentally transforms real life in its consequences — including the invention and discovery of new materials. Every object constitutes a demand. It is opposed to the mere use of already existing results without creating new possibilities.

Working Community:
Economy of creative energy. The initiative of the individual is no longer sufficient for the tasks of modern life. Collective collaboration is practically necessary. Through the organization of creative activity, real tasks become possible for all and individual productivity is increased.

This International does not arise from humanitarian sentiment or “general love of mankind,” but from the same elemental, amoral premises as science and technology. It is based on the necessity to react collectively and creatively rather than individually and intuitively.

Weimar, September 1922

The Provisional Administrative Committee:
Theo van Doesburg (Holland)
El Lissitzky (Russia)
Hans Richter (Germany)
Karel Maes (Belgium)
Max Burchartz (Germany)

Authors

El Lissitzky 1890 — 1941 Architect, painter, typographer, graphic designer, book designer, and exhibition designer; co-founder of Constructivism

Theo van Doesburg 1883 — 1931 Painter, architect, art theorist, editor and co-founder of the De Stijl movement

Kurt Schwitters 1887 — 1948 Artist, painter, poet, spatial artist, graphic designer and typographer

Facts & Data

Published

1922 August

Source

De Stijl. Sgravenhage 5 (August 1922)

Pages

113–115

Position

Pro New Typography

Public Domain

● Public domain since 2011

Full text

Visible (PD)

Timeline