New Planet Analysis
[New Planet, Konstantin Yuon, 1921, Arts and Culture, Google]
In a symbolic portrayal of the cataclysmic Soviet uprising, Konstantin Yuon’s New Planet depicts Russia amidst a chaotic transition from the old world to a new one. Yuon applies a combination of suprematist and impressionist techniques to dramatize the events of the soviet revolution as a metaphor for the tumultuous birth of a new planet. Utilizing stark color and contrast in stylistic expression, New Planet depicts the transformative events of the Bolshevik Rebellion on Russian society.
One of the most apparent features of the composition are the stark contrasts in color and tone. The warm toned rays illuminate the planets while breaking up the cooler toned skies and foreground. However, each predominantly warm or cool block of color contains hints of contrasting hues. Blues and reds are incorporated into the beams of light and the blends seem to create a gentle shift between the colors. The placement of purely warm colors are distant from the humans who are largely surrounded by a cool plane and bathed in dull muted tones.
The straight, harsh lines that create the rays in Yuon’s piece explode outwards and seem to convey speed and movement, while the planets and foreground have a soft curvature to them that appears disjointed as the rays pass through. The direction of the lines also stems away from the figures arranged at the bottom of the piece, creating an upward lift drawing the eye first to the focal point where the blue land, people, and rays meet, then to different corners of the canvas. The body language and outstretched arms of the faceless shadows in the foreground also help carry the viewer's gaze up and across the painting, adding to the chaos and rapid movement of the work.
The new, red planet seems to be born from quick, bright bursts of light, referencing the violence and famine throughout the country that gave birth to the October Revolution. The stark contrast in colors, from the dark blue foreground to the bright, warm planets in the background, represents the transition from an old world to a new one. Some of the figures on the ground seem to be reaching for the planet in the sky, while some are shielding their eyes or running away from it. The difference in the reactions of the figures reflects the soviet population’s response to the Russian Revolution - some fight for the rebirth of a nation, while others resist it. The figures are shown naked or dressed in animal skins as if Yuon is calling those who live in the ‘Old World’ (or the pre-revolution imperial empire) primitive. The rays in front of the figures arguably could be representing the hope that stems from violence. The bright, warm colors of the rays imply there is a bright future for those still living on the dark, ‘primitive’ planet.
While bits and pieces of several major art movements of the 1920s can be found in A New Planet, suprematism and impressionism seem to be the biggest influences. Yuon combined the subtlety and organic forms common in impressionism with the geometric forms, jarring colors, and bold artistic statements common in suprematism. Both Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise and Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition bear interesting similarities and crucial differences to Yuon’s master work. The bright red, looming celestial bodies and tiny people can be found in both Monet’s piece and Yuon’s, but the overall impressions of each piece could not be more different. While the calm waters and gloomy skies of Sunrise create feelings of tranquility and sadness, the harsh lines and glowing skies of Planet feel violent and fearful. Monet’s people are admiring the distant heavens, Yuon’s people are grasping for them. The similarities between Yuon’s piece and Malevich’s are equally intriguing. Composition harbors the same harsh lines and bright colors as Planet, but it doesn’t summon much emotion at all. The lack of humans present in the piece makes it difficult to relate to. Ultimately, Yuon selectively combined elements from two art movements to create a uniquely compelling piece of pro-revolution media.
New Planet and similar pro-revolution, pro-socialist artwork eventually led to the creation of a government-mandated art movement– socialist realism. The similarities between Yuon’s piece and artworks from this movement are surface level at best. Socialist realism is a blunt artistic style devoid of any complex meaning. The communist government, represented by the red planet, can be seen in nearly every artwork from this movement, but only in literal ways: red banners, socialist leaders, government buildings. The people present in the foreground of New Planet can be spotted in the new pieces, too, though they have lost their depth. The citizens of Soviet Russia are always pictured with perfect bodies and unfaltering smiles. The differences between pieces from this movement and New Planet are significant, and revealing. While the feelings of the Russian people are varied and up to interpretation in Yuon’s piece, the people in socialist paintings are undeniably happy, heroic, and pro-Soviet. While the revolution was depicted as something both hopeful and dangerous in Yuon’s piece, the revolution is more or less viewed as the only option in socialist pieces. These differences point out the dramatic and complete change in the Russian art scene at this time: from gorgeous pieces with complexity, nuance, and real human emotion, painted by creatives to numb, unapologetic propaganda painted by lackeys of the state.
Konstantin Yuon set up a small field of contrasts between color and shape to express the complexity and chaos of the Russian Revolution. He drew inspiration from several different notable art movements to create a wonderfully captivating piece of political artwork.
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