Anti, there is so much hopeless anguish, so much pain in your last letters. And I feel that life is like some long, long, narrow dark corridor that we have to feel our way along, past thousands of locked doors, searching, searching for some open door, where we might rest together from all the horrors. See more
Пришел однажды В. Е. (Татлин) вечером ко мне и с таинственным видом стал рассказывать, что приезжали в Москву И. Пуни, Альтман и Штеренберг, который является комиссаром искусств. Его (Татлина) назначили московским комиссаром Отдела искусств, и я должен пойти к нему.
Вскоре и я был в Отделе ИЗО пом. зава подотделом художественной промышленности, а заведующим была О. Е. Розанова.
В это же время мы организовали Профсоюз художников города Москвы с тремя федерациями: правая, центр и левая. В левой председатель был Татлин, а я секретарь.
Клуб левой федерации был организован на частной квартире некоего Тумерина, кажется, знакомого Поповой.
Он предоставил нам две комнаты со всей мебелью, видимо, опасаясь, что их все равно отберут. Сделали первую выставку общую, вторая была моя...
We rented an empty store on Petrovka for a month and began to hang works. The store consisted of two rooms: one big, and another, smaller one, in the back. In the first room we hung counter reliefs by Tatlin, plus Popova, Exter, Udaltsova, Bruni, Klyun, and Malevich.
I exhibited an abstract composition 150x100, "Two Figures," a few small ones, and abstract graphic works. And Bruni exhibited a broken cement casket and a glass, with a bullet hole, which caused particular indignation in the public. There were very few visitors during the workday. Visitors were all different. Mostly accidental, who laughed and also expressed indignation.
I explained things, myself not fully understanding cubism, which I didn't really understand myself. Some came and saw such works for the first time, but didn't laugh and tried to understand and returned several times, listening to my explanations, and upon understanding were terribly thankful and became fans.
It was only hard to explain those works and those artists who were not talented and were only imitating the futurists.
Art's value is determined by its capacity to stride unceasingly ahead. Its most treasured principles must be
novelty,
inventiveness,
inquisitiveness,
analysis,
rebellion
and daring.