Vasilisk Gnedov
Vasily Ivanovich Gnedov (Russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Гне́дов, IPA: [vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡnʲedəf] ⓘ), better known by the pen name Vasilisk Gnedov (Russian: Васили́ск Гне́дов, IPA: [vəsʲɪˈlʲizɡ ˈɡnʲedəf] ⓘ; 3 March 1890 — November 20, 1978), was one of the most radically experimental poets of Russian Futurism, though not as prolific as his peers.
Gnedov is chiefly known for his Poem of the End, which consisted of its title alone on a blank page, and which the poet performed on stage using a silent gesture. The collection from which it came, Death to Art (1913), contained fifteen very short poems that gradually reduced in size from one line, to one word, one letter, and ultimately to Poem of the End. The poem has been compared to Kazimir Malevich's painting Black Square (1915), John Cage’s silent composition 4'33" (1952), and to Minimalism in general.
Although part of the Ego-Futurist group, Gnedov’s poetry was much closer in style to the better-known Hylaea or Cubo-Futurist group, which included Velimir Khlebnikov, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Aleksei Kruchenykh. His other works were characterised by experimental language (including zaum-like neologisms), the use of colloquial, dialect, and Ukrainian words, and a defiant and strident lyric subject. Numerous incidents reported in the Russian press in 1913–14 earned Gnedov the reputation of being a scandal-monger. However, his stated intent at the time was “to invert and renew literature, to show new paths”.
Illness, military service in World War I, shellshock from fighting in the Revolution, and political repression in the 1930s, virtually silenced him. After his release from Soviet camps in 1956, Gnedov continued to write but was not published again before his death in 1978. Contemporary avant-garde poets such as Serge Segay (who has written about Gnedov and published his work) and Rea Nikonova regard him as an important forerunner of and contributor to Russian Modernism.
External links
- An article on the Egofuturist collection Zasakhare kry, including analysis of Gnedov (Russian)
- Vasilisk Gnedov, Death to Art. Fifteen (15) Poems (Russian)
- Selected poems (Russian)
- Poem "A LA tyr'" (Russian)
- English translations of his seminal "Poem of the Beginning (white)" and "Death to Art" (15 minimalist poems including the last, blank "Poem of the End")
- English translation of poem
- Includes English translations of two poems, 123-124
- v
- t
- e
- Giacomo Balla (list of works)
- "Barbara"
- Umberto Boccioni
- Anton Bragaglia
- Benedetta Cappa
- Carlo Carrà
- Franco Casavola
- Nikolay Diulgheroff
- Luigi De Giudici
- F. T. Marinetti
- Marisa Mori
- Bruno Munari
- Aldo Palazzeschi
- Ugo Piatti
- Francesco Balilla Pratella
- Antonio Russolo
- Luigi Russolo
- Antonio Sant'Elia
- Gino Severini
- Ardengo Soffici
Cubo-Futurists
- Alexander Archipenko
- Nikolai Aseev
- Vladimir Baranoff-Rossine
- Lilya Brik
- Osip Brik
- Alexander Bogomazov
- Kseniya Boguslavskaya
- David Burliuk
- Vladimir Burliuk
- Joseph Chaikov
- Aleksandra Ekster
- Nina Genke-Meller
- Natalia Goncharova
- Elena Guro
- Vasily Kamensky
- Velimir Khlebnikov
- Ivan Kliun
- Aleksei Kruchyonykh
- Nikolai Kulbin
- Mikhail Larionov
- Aristarkh Lentulov
- El Lissitzky
- Benedikt Livshits
- Kazimir Malevich
- Mikhail Matyushin
- Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Boris Pasternak
- Victor Palmov
- Lyubov Popova
- Ivan Puni
- Olga Rozanova
- Vadim Shershenevich
- Nadezhda Udaltsova
- Ilia Zdanevich (Iliazd)
and inventions
- Anti-neutral suit
- Intonarumori
- Italian futurism in cinema
- Futurist architecture
- Futurist cooking
- Futurist literature
- Futurist music
- Noise music
- Zaum
- Abstract Speed + Sound
- Antigrazioso
- The Art of Noises
- BÏF§ZF+18
- The City Rises
- Cyclist
- Development of a Bottle in Space
- Drama in the Futurists' Cabaret No. 13
- Dyr bul shchyl
- Dynamism of a Car
- Dynamism of a Cyclist
- Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash
- Dynamism of a Human Body: Boxer
- Dynamism of a Soccer Player
- Dynamism of a Speeding Horse + Houses
- Futurist Painting: Technical Manifesto
- The Knifegrinder
- Girl Running on a Balcony
- The Hand of the Violinist
- Lacerba
- Manifesto of Futurism
- Manifesto of Futurist Musicians
- Mercury Passing Before the Sun
- The Poem of the End
- Poesia
- The Street Enters the House
- The Street Light
- Thaïs
- Tango with Cows
- Unique Forms of Continuity in Space
- Universal War
- Victory over the Sun
- Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Zangezi
- Zang Tumb Tumb
- Agitprop
- Agit-train
- Constructivism
- Dadaism
- Donkey's Tail
- Grosvenor School
- Jack of Diamonds
- Neo-Primitivism
- Oberiu
- Panfuturism
- Precisionism
- Rayonism
- Soyuz Molodyozhi
- Suprematism
- Supremus
- Vorticism