Monochromes of Wladyslaw Strzeminski
The development and meaning of Unism
S.P. Kaniewski (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
Everhard Korthals Altes – Mentor (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the practice and theory of Unism, art theory developed by Polish avant- garde painter Władysław Strzemiński and his wife, sculptor and designer Katarzyna Kobro. Artists who initialy worked under the influence of Russian Constructivism and Suprematism of Kazmir Malevich, along with the creation of Unism gained intellectual and artistic independence and a place on the map of global modernism. Despite the connections and exchange of experiences with various environments, Unism appears as a separate, multithreaded phenomenon supported by a meticulously built background of theoretical texts.
The research has been divided into two main parts- “Description” and “Interpretation”, both providing innovative approaches in their categories. “Description” part contains the formal analysis of all known Unist paintings created by Strzemiński, related to the theoretical framework and distributed into subcategories. “Interpretation” part contains smaller chapters in which, based on the theoretical texts of Strzemiński and his close associates, perspectives for interpreting these paintings from various positions (historical, social, political) are formed. The last chapter, “Outcome”, puts results of the investigation in the context of current state of knowledge and research performed by scholars and curators, by critical juxtaposition and comparison.