Aleksandr Deineka (1899-1969) : an avant-garde for the proletariat
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kontsa” (the Old Believers’ rendering of the Orthodox Symbol of Faith—as in the Nicene Creed, “whose kingdom shall have no end”). To sum up. In order to clear a place under the sun for themselves, the young rebels of the future world had to denounce the authority of the old sun—personified in Pushkin (who, as the poet Apollon Grigor’ev put it in the middle of the nineteenth century, is “our everything”). But shortly after the declaration of war, the re-appro- priation of the fallen idol began. In 1915 Khlebnikov wrote: “The Futurian [poet] is a Pushkin depicting the world war; [a Pushkin] in the cloak of the new century; the one who teaches that this century has the right to make fun of the Pushkin of the nineteenth century. It was Pushkin himself who was throwing Pushkin over- board from the steamboat of modernity, but disguised in the dramatic words of the new century. And the dead Pushkin was championed in 1913 by D’Antes—the one who killed Pushkin in 18**. The murderer who had painted the winter snow with the blood of the real live Pushkin, hypocritically put on the mask of a protector of his (the corpse’s—VKh) fame in order to repeat his shooting of the upcoming herd of new Pushkins of the new century.” 8
who played the part of the Certain Person with Bad Intentions recalled. See K. Tomashevskii, “Victory over the Sun,”
The Drama Review, vol. 15, no. 4 (1971), 98. 2. “. . . The character of Ivan . . . mystifies the mind, and we could have doubted the truthfulness of even the most reliable accounts about him had the chronicles of other people not revealed examples similarly surprising—if Caligula, the paragon of a ruler and a monster, if Nero, a disciple of wise Seneca and subject to love and repulsion, had not reigned in Rome.” Nikolai Karamzin, The History of the State of Russia, ch. VII: “The Continuation of the Reign of Ivan the Terrible, 1582–1584” (Moscow, 1964), 403. 3. It should be noted here that an additional source for Kruchenykh’s inspiration could be found in The Song of the Triumphant Pig, known in two versions: Anna P. Barykova (1839–1893) and the satirical poet Faleev (1873–after 1930) who published it under the pseudonym Chuzh-Chuzhenin in the leftish magazine Zritel’ in 1906. Here are the relevant words of his poem: “We begin the new progress! / We do not care about the stars and the skies, / We do not respect them . . .” Kruchenykh himself published the whole book under the title Piglets (Porosiata, 1913). His porky predilection was duly noticed by the critic Kornei Chukovskii shortly before the première of Victory over the Sun: “Pigs and manure—this is the brutal perfumery of this porkophile, Mr. Kruchenykh.” (“A Report on the Lecture about the Futurists,” published in the newspaper Den’, October 6, 1913). Cited by “Ob opere Pobeda nad solnt- sem” in Nina Gourianova, Pamiat’ teper’ mnogoe razvorachivaet: Iz literaturnogo naslediia Kruchenykh (Berkeley: Berkeley Slavic Specialties, 1999), 408 (note 20). Many years later Kruchenykh proudly wrote: “Piggery—this is my theme” (Ibid., 246) [Translations from the Russian by E. Steiner]. 4. It also makes a pun in English: one can hear “canon” instead of “cannon”—which suggests that a person of a high ecclesiastic rank has fallen. And Pushkin, for the Russian mainstream of that time, was more than just a canon- clergyman: he was a canon of Russian poetry. 5. It is relevant to mention that in the place where I am writing this (Manchester) the first railroad (Manchester - Liv- erpool) was opened around this time, in the early 1830s—and its first fatal accident was caused by the very first celebratory train. Possibly the news of this could reverberate with Baratynskii’s imagery. 6. The same Tomashevskii observed: “Kruchenykh, at that time an excessively restless and meddlesome young man, took Mayakovsky’s place at the table. I had the immediate feeling that he was being meddlesome in an eff ort to bring some color to his hopelessly grey appearance. He reminded one of a telegraph off ice clerk, or a salesman who secretly wrote love poems behind the counter.” In The Drama Review [1], 95. We added it here cum grano salis. 7. The falling airplane and the death caused by it was a recurring motif of Kruchenykh and Malevich. 8. An entry in the album of Levkii Zheverzheev. First published by N. Khardzhiev, “Novoe o Velimere Khlebnikove,” Russian Literature 9 (Amsterdam: Menton, 1975), 17. Victory over the Sun 1913
Libretto by Aleksei Kruchenykh Music by Mikhail Matiushin Scenography and Costume Design by Kazimir Malevich
Viktor Khlebnikov 1 B l a c k - c r a f t N e w s - d r o p s . People! Those who have been born, but are not yet dead. Hasten to go to the contemple 2 or contemplaville 3 Futurian. 4 The contemplaville will lead you, The contemplayer is forayer, 5
An array of morbid foremen From tormenties and horribles to amusicals and outlandish laughfies and merrilogues—all will pass before the eyes of attentive spectors
6 and contemplars 7 and oglers: pastades, occurades, ballades, actualades, callades, evocades, 8 fate-challengers and mal- lullabies. 9 Callades will call you as will the celestoid outthereers. Pastades will tell you who you once were. Actualades—who you are; occurades—who you could be. Mal-lullabies, mornagogues and mornades, 10 will tell you who you will be. Nevervilles will pass like a quiet dream. Short ushers will usher you pushily. Here there will be once-in-a-whilies and imaginables. And with them will be a snorer and a snoozer. 11 Whistlogues and singagogues 12 will wipe away tears. Warrior, merchant and ploughman. The dream-ruling song master has thought for you—and so did the dreamcraftsman. The conversators 13 and duo cantors 14 will captivate you. The vigorous will replace the weakling. The 1st contemplacts 15 —that’s when the contemple is a transfigurator. 16
Awe-inspiring, fast-prophesying troopers 17 will shake [you]. The look-switchers 18 of the deed will pass by in full drag-dress, 19
led by the magus-the-orderer 20 of plays, wearing wonderful drags, showing the morning and the evening in the acts according to the design of the imaginator, 21 this heaven dweller of acts and the doer of deeds. In the donjon 22 of the “Futureville” contemple 23 there is a promptor. He will take care that orations 24 and chants 25 would go smoothly and not drag in disarray, but upon gaining the reign over listen- workers,
26 [they] would deliver 27 the contemplars from the wrath of the sizzlers. 28 Fundación Juan March 316 VICTORY OVER THE SUN Opera in 2 doings, 6 scenes 1st D o i n g 1st scene: White with black—the walls are white the floor is black (Two futurian strongmen rend the curtain) First
All is well that begins well! Second
And ends? 1st
There will be no end! We are striking the universe We are arming the world against ourselves We are organizing a slaughter of scaremen Oh, how much blood How many sabers And cannon bodies! We are toppling mountains! (They sing) We have locked up The fat beauties in the house Let all those drunkards wander Around there stark naked We have no songs Nor sighs nor rewards Which used to please the mildew of Rotten naiads! . . (The 1st strongman slowly leaves) 2nd strongman Sun you kept giving birth to passions And burned with fiery rays We’ll wrap you in a dusty veil And encase you in a concrete house!
(Nero and Caligula in one person appears. He has only a left arm, raised and bent at a right angle.) N. and C. (Menacingly.) Kyuln sum der Traveled lightly Last Thursday Roast and rip up what I have not finished cooking.
(He stands motionless in a noble pose, then sings. While he is singing the 2nd strongman leaves.) — I eat dog And whitefeet Fried cutlets And dead potatoes Space is limited The seal to be silent Zh Sh Ch
(The Traveler through All Centuries enters in airplane wheels—he is wearing pieces of paper with the inscriptions Stone Age, Middle Ages, and so on . . . Nero into space.)
Nero and C. — It shouldn’t be allowed to treat old people like that . . . Not tolerating those flyathanes 1 . . . Traveler
— Uddenly 2 everything has stopped Suddenly cannons He sings. — The he-lake 3 sleeps There is much dust Flood . . . Look Everything has become masculine The he-lake is harder than iron Do not weigh upon the old measure (Nero furtively casts glances through a lorgnette at the wheels of iron.) The look-ats by an artagogue 29 will create the trans-dressing 30 of
nature. Take your seats in the cloudbanks and treetops, and the leviathanic sandbanks before the bell. Sounds reaching from the trumpetry 31 will fly to you. The profit-smart 32 will meet you. The daze warbling 33 of a song-foam stirrer 34 will fill the contemplayer. The sounders 35 will obey the play-willer. 36
The spores of “Futureville” will fly into life. The contemplayer is an estuary! 37
Be a hearer (big eared), you, contemplor! And be a watcher. 1 The layout of the text (italics, periods and commas, or absence thereof, indentation, interlineage, etc.) follows the typesetting of the original edition. 2 sozertsog: sozerts – contempla; -og – from chertog, archaic poetic style for palace or temple. Similarly construct- ed neologisms: sonog – bedroom; vysog – upper floor room. 3 -avel’ in sozertsavel’ is a long form for -avl’ (the common ending of towns in ancient Rus’: Yaroslavl’, Pereslavl’, Lihoslavl’, etc.). Although etymologically there is no connection, the last two Russian consonants -vl’ correspond acoustically with ville. Because of this it seems more poetically appropriate here than the Anglo-Saxon -ton, -town, or -land.
4 Budetlianin. According to its position in the originally printed text, the word would be the proper name of the theater. 5 Khlebnikov’s sozertseben and vozhdeben both have the ending -eben, from moleben – a collective prayer in a church.
6 ‘Spector’ is a cross between ‘spectator’ and ‘specter’ – which is a counterpart for vidukhi (vid – to look, image; dukhi – ghosts, spirits). 7 A contraction of contemplators and Knights Templar who are evoked here by the sound of s ozertsaliami – rytsariami. 8 All
-ades are taken from ballades, of course; they correspond to Khlebnikov’s -avy (minavy – of the past, byvavy – of those that occurred or happened, pevavy – of songs, bytavy – of the present, zovavy – of those that call you, velichavy – and those that evocate/glorify). 9 This is my attempt to follow Khlebnikov’s meaning and sounds – malyiuty – all in one: malen’kii, maliutka – baby, liutyi, Maliuta Skuratov. So I tried to give an aura of bad (mal) and cute at the same time. 10 Khlebnikov’s utrogi can be both morning song (mornalogue) and morning singer (mornagogue). Mornades (for utravy) is a halfway Anglo-Saxonized aubades (vs. serenades, evening songs). 11 It is impossible to render Khlebnikov’s predilection for the middle/neutral gender ( sno and zno), but it is still pos- sible to get the idea of certain abstract dreamers and mavens by the imitation of his sounds. If it were not for his nationalism, the best correspondence could probably be Hypnos and Gnosis. 12 Possibly Khlebnikov himself (who just a week before the opening of Victory over the Sun publicly called for Mandel’shtam to be sent back to his [Jewish] uncle in Riga) wouldn’t like this almost Judeo-Grecian construct. But, alas, this is very close to his pesnogi. 13 I think it’s not about an action (drama) but actor ( beseden’ – the one who conducts talks). 14
Dvoiry peviry – have the roots with the meaning ‘two’ and ‘sing’. The suff ix -ir (pl. -iry) Khlebnikov borrowed from “ komandir,” “povodyr,” etc. and many names ending with -mir. 15 “ Sozertsiny” – evidently should be plurale tantum which Khlebnikov formed using the model of “smotriny,” “no- viny,” etc. “Acts” in the plural adds that scriptural aura which is invoked by Khlebnikov’s archaistic style with numer- ous Old Slavonic forms. 16 “Transfigurator” is chosen because it continues the religious overtones (with which the Russian word is heavily soaked).
17 Iduty – a neologism for those who walk. It sounds close to soldaty (soldiers). As in some other cases, Khlebnikov talks here about actors, not plays/dramas. 18
Oblikmeny – neologism which literally means “those who change their looks/appearance.” 19
Riazhebno – an abstract noun that Khlebnikov made from “riazhenye” – carnival trans-dressers. Although it tra- ditionally involved gender cross-dressing, no connotations with contemporary transvestite gay subculture are implied. The reconstruction of this neologism as riazheben (“trans-dressed communal prayer”) off ered in Slovar’ neologismov Khlebnikova, I believe to be incorrect. 20 “Orderer” stands for ukazui – the one who makes “ukaz” (in old Russian the Czar’s order or law). 21 Khlebnikov’s “ mechtakhar” is one of his best neologisms: a contraction of “mechta” (dream), “znakhar” (magus, sorcerer) and “ pakhar” (ploughman). Can be also said “dream-loughman.” 22 Khlebnikov used
detinets – old Russian for inner tower of a castle, a core or embryo. For Khlebnikov such a “chil- dren’s tower” might be the little box of a prompter. The identification of “ detinets” as troupe by N. Pertsova is not convincing. 23 Budeslavl’ – town of the Future. Khlebnikov enjoyed this suff ix: Nikogdavl’, Uletavl’, etc. 24 Khlebnikov has here his neologism govorov’ia – something like “long serious talks.” 25 For his pevavy I could possibly have said “songies” but “chants,” though not a neologism, is closer euphonically and stylistically. Earlier I rendered it as ballades. 26 Could have been said simply “listeners” but he rendered this concept in such a convoluted way that . . . 27 “Deliver” directly corresponds to “ izbavi” in Church Slavonic, Matthew 6:13: “and deliver us from evil.” 28 Khlebnikov was prompted to call critics “ suzdali” by the false etymology suzdal’, suzhdal’, suzhdenie (judgment). Possibly he also thought that, since the town folks of Suzdal’ fought with the Novgorodians and even shot arrows into the icon of the Virgin, they were pretty nasty. To match the sound and those overtones I coined “sizzlers.” 29 For khudog.
30 For pereodeia – a neologism for “changing the clothes.” “Trans” here should evoke Transfiguration, not transvestism. 31 The suff ix
-ry stands for the Russian suff ix -nia (kuznia, psarnia, priadil’nia) which Khlebnikov used for his ‘trubarnia. 32 Khlebnikov’s “ pol’zumen” was welded from “pol’za” (profit) and “umen” (clever, smart) – looks awkward but the idea of the admission collector is discernible. 33 Can also be said as “dreams/fantasy whistling.” 34 Khlebnikov’s “ penistvor” includes “peni-“ (sing), “penist-“ (foamy) and “tvor” (of “tvoret”’ – creator). If I were to be- long to “Gender theory” (or how do they call themselves?), I could have made Khlebnikov a phallus-builder too ( pe- nis-tvor) – but even if he were interested, a zealous nationalist, he would rather use a home-grown expressive word. 35 This “sounders” literally follows Khlebnikov’s “ zvuchare.” Actually, the word with this suff ix boiare (nobles, aristoc- racy) can suggest another possible rendering: soundocracy. 36 For a conductor Khlebnikov has here guliar-voliar – someone who moves (strolls) at his leisure and because of his own will. 37 Khlebnikov used here usta – not a neologism but a Slavonic archaism for “lips.” “Estuary” has the same root and has a broad opening – to fan out the message of the theatre of the future.
—ES Fundación Juan March Traveler (Sings) — The he-storm has blown up The he-shroud billows More quickly a stormometer Do not believe old scales They will seat you on the calf If you don’t reach empty heels
Nero and C. It shouldn’t be allowed to treat old people like that! they like the young Ah, I was looking for a little singing bird 4 I was looking for a tiny sliver of glass—they have eaten everything and haven’t even left any bones . . . But what can I do I’ll have to go sideways into the 16th century in inverted commas here. (He exits half-turned towards the audience.)
They have smirched everything even the vomit of bones (He takes off his boots and leaves.) Traveler — I am going to travel across all centuries. I was in the 35th where there is power without abuse and the rebels battle with the sun and, although there is no happiness there, everybody looks happy and immortal . . . It is no wonder that I am all dusty and t r a n s v e r s e . . . Phantom kingdom . . . I am going to travel across all the centuries, until I find myself a place, even if I have lost two baskets. (A Certain Person with Bad Intentions crawls in and listens.) In afiba 5 there is not enough room for me and it’s dark underground . . . A he-sun . . . But I have traveled everywhere (to the audience): It smells of a rainy abyss.
6 The eyes of lunatics are overgrown with tea and they blink at skyscrapers and peddler women occupied the place on the spiral staircases . . . The camels of factories already threaten with fried fat, and I haven’t yet been through one side yet. Something is wailing at the station. (Sings.) — Not more not less How to slay the fearers 7
Shoot the pill Of the spinning top Oh I am bold, I will soot-screen my way and leave no trace . . . The New... (A Certain Person with Bad Intentions.) — Come on, you are not really going to fly are you?
Traveler — Why not? Or my wheels will not find their nails? (The Certain Person shoots, Traveler drives off and shouts.) — Garizon! Catch the snoyu The Spnees . . . Z. Z. Z! 8 —
— I might not have shot myself—out of shyness — But I have put up a monument to myself—I am also not stupid! I am the first to get a monument—wonderful! . . The black double-barrel is aiming straight at me. (A futurian machine gun appears and stops by the telegraph pole.) — Oh, lamentation! What does this sight mean, to have caught our enemy off -guard—pensive . . . I am without continuation and imitation (Bully enters, rambles around and sings.) — Cust
locust Pik pit’
Pit’ pik Don’t leave your arms for dinner at dinner Nor at buckwheat kasha You can’t cut it? Chase each other (The Certain Person attacks and silently shoots his rifle a few times.) — To battle! Ha ha ha! Enemies, are you tired or don’t you recognize me?
Enemies, advance from your crevices and crenellations and challenge me to a duel. I have broken my throat myself, I shall turn into gun powder, cotton wool, hooks and loops . . . Or do you think a hook is more dangerous than cotton? (runs away and comes back in a minute.) Noses in the cabbage! . . 9 Ah . . . behind the fence! Drag him away, this blue-nosed cadaver (The Enemy drags himself away by the hair and crawls off on his knees.)
Gee such a coward giving yourself up and ushering yourself away!
(The Bully laughs aside.) Bully — You despicable creature how much grave dust and chips there are in you, go and shake yourself off and get washed, otherwise . . . (The Enemy cries) Certain Person with Bad Intentions: Ah, the sinciput of the enemy! You con- sider me a fork and laugh at my meditations but I lingered and didn’t advance on you with my sword. I am the continuation of my ways. I was waiting . . . I buried my sword in the ground carefully. I took a new ball and threw it. (Shows a footballer’s technique.) 10 Into your herd . . . Now you are embarrassed . . . You are duped, you cannot distinguish your glabrous heads from the ball; you are confused and are clinging to the bench and the swords are crawling in fear themselves into the earth the ball frightens them: if you are an infidel run to strike your lord’s head and he will run after it in a flower sale . . . 2nd scene: Green walls and floor. (The enemy troops march in Turkish costumes—one in every hundred is lame
11 —with lowered flags. Some of them are very fat.) (One of the warriors steps forward and gives the Certain Person with Bad Intentions flowers—he tramples them.) Certain Person with Bad Intentions.—Coming out to meet myself with a pie- bald horse, rifle under my arm . . . Oh! I have looked for you for a long time you sweaty mushroom. Finally . . .
(Starts a fight with himself. Singers enter in sportsmen’s costumes and strongmen. One of the sportsmen sings): There is no more light of flowers Skies cover yourselves with the rot (I’m talking not for the enemies but to you friends) All off spring of autumnal days And the scabrous fruit of summer It’s not you that the newest bard Will extol 1st strongman — Go the millions of the streets — Or the jillions will be in Russian — The gnashing of cart runners And—should I say?—Narrow heads Fundación Juan March
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