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The Lost Vanguard documents the work of modernist architects in the Soviet Union during the years following the 1917 revolution and civil war. In little more than a decade, some of the most radical buildings of the twentieth century were completed by a small group of architects who developed a new architectural language in support of new social goals of communal life. Rarely published and virtually inaccessible until the collapse of the Soviet regime, these important buildings have remained unknown and unappreciated.
Richard Pare's photographs reveal the powerful forms of these structures, some still in use but many now abandoned and decayed. Massive industrial complexes like the Dnieper River Dam and MoGES, which supplies electricity to the city of Moscow; vast communal houses for workers, including Ginzburg's Narkomfin; commercial buildings and government offices; and smaller clubs and theaters were all built in this brief period.In an incisive essay, architectural historian Jean-Louis Cohen surveys the history of the period, providing a context for the emergence of this startling new architecture in parallel to contemporary experiments in Europe.
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Architectural photographer Richard Pare has spent more than a decade documenting Soviet modernist architecture. He is the former curator of photographs at the Canadian Centre for Architecture and the author of Tadao Ando: The Colors of Light, Egypt: Reflections on Continuity, and Court House: A Photographic Document.
Jean-Louis Cohen, Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture at New York University, has published widely on European modernism.
Phyllis Lambert, who wrote the book's foreword, is the founding director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
In the West, we often forget the Modernist agenda was rapidly adopted throughout the World. Young architects in the Soviet Union were especially eager to embrace this radical break with tradition. From 1922-32, Soviet architects were on the leading edge of the Modern Movement. This experiment with Modernism came to end with the rise of Josef Stalin. The Iron Curtain soon cut off the Soviet Union from the rise and eventual decline of architectural Modernism in the West.
The collapse of the Soviet Union opened new opportunities for Westerners to explore countries that had been cut off for nearly seven decades. In 1993, architectural photographer and curator Richard Pare first entered the former Soviet Union. Pare's goal was to find these "lost" early Modernist buildings and photograph them. "The Lost Vanguard" is a compilation of photographs of seventry three structures. Richard Pare is a first rate photographer and his images are impressive.
A wonderful companion work to "The Lost Vanguard" is "Havana Deco." While the Soviets were adopting the latest Modernist designs, Cuban architects were embracing Modernism's more sensual sibling, Art Deco. In both Cuba and the Soviet Union, these cutting edge buildings were allowed to fall into the worst kind of disrepair. Yet in Cuba, no matter how greatly neglected the bulding is, there are always sensual bones beneath the decaying exterior. In contrast, there is something nightmarish about the Soviet buildings. In looking at Pare's depressing photographs, I am reminded of the slum photos of the great Chilean American photographer, Camilo Jose Vergara. These early Modernist buildings are not long for this world and we are fortunate the Richard Pare got there in time to document them. Highly recommended.
Richard Pare is one of the best architectural photographers in the world today. In more than ten years he has documented Soviet architecture from after the 1917 revolution (1922-32) and this book is a catalog of that work, some of which is on display at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (July-October 2007). It is a large (12" x 10.75") and heavy (most plates are in color) volume. An excellent source for those interested in this facet of modernism!
When I see Pare's photographs of these buildings, some of which I've tried photographing myself in the past, I marvel at his ability to get such articulate shots that beautifully describe the subjects. The pictures show warts and all--many of these buildings have lapsed into serious disrepair--but they nonetheless manage to communicate the high-minded artistic idealism of the architects while showing the buildings in their real-life current state. Added to this, in many instances he gets access to the building interiors, something I never had luck with. Russian constructivist architecture is one of my great interests and I find wandering through this book, viewing these buildings as though almost there in person, to be a real treat.
