Architecture is one of the most visible forms of human expression, encompassing the entire history of mankind as such. Most ancient civilizations are even identified by their surviving architectural relics.
The role of architecture in our daily lives is simply astronomical. Architecture surrounds us every day: from classrooms, which we admire in the pages of magazines, to historical and iconic buildings, which we immediately recognize. The architects behind these buildings and houses paved the way for ingenious design, cutting-edge innovation and pioneered our artificial environment.
There are many artists who have changed the perception of architecture. Over the centuries, people have built monuments, temples, churches, palaces and many other wonders of architecture.
In the modern era, architecture has developed perfectly with the improvement of modern technology.
An article on architectural fantasies of Jacob Chernikhov should start with the statement of Arthur Skijali-Weiss, who, reflecting on the history of the genre of “architectural fiction”, names only two names of Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Jacob Georgievich Chernikhov.
Too many famous architects and modern architects consider Jacob Chernikhov their teacher, which is not surprising. After all, it is to him that we owe the ideas of organizing the space of cities, both of residential buildings and industrial sites. Along with such masters as Ledoux, Piranesi and others, Yakov Georgievich Chernikhov is one of the best and most honored representatives of the graphic arts genre of architectural fantasy. Let us dwell on this in more detail.
What is an "architectural fantasy"
At the junction of the 1920s and 1930s, the Soviet architect and graphic artist Yakov Georgievich Chernikhov (1889-1951) published a number of books that brought him worldwide fame in the then Leningrad. These are “Foundations of modern architecture”, published in 1930, “Designs of architectural and machine forms” - in 1931. But the book “Architectural fantasies by Yakov Chernikhov was especially interesting. 101 composition ”, published in 1933. It is considered to be an architectural masterpiece.
An architectural fantasy or a composition of buildings and structures in a three-dimensional drawing (axonometric) of an architectural complex that does not exist and will not exist soon due to the lack of a sufficiently developed material and technical base.
But if the essence of architecture is to excite spatial sensations in a person, as many knowledgeable people say, then Chernikhov’s graphics can do this very well!
The master himself in one of his books says that the basis for his work on architectural fantasies was the desire to present everything that might appear in the architect’s head: dreams, thoughts, visions, dreams.
According to him, it was his desire to convey his ideas, ideas and fantasies, regardless of the existing orders, rules and approaches, and the possibility of fulfilling them in reality, to present to others ideas that speak in full force of their need, even if it would not be possible to translate them to life now.
It is difficult to give a more precise definition than the definition given by the author himself.
Other works of Yakov Chernikhov
The symbol of the subtle, like a dream, and not reality, not constrained by the conventions of fantasy, can be considered the "Cycle of pictorial architecture." It includes, firstly, “Architectural Tales”, which the master created at night, and, of course, “Architectural Landscapes”. Chernikhov consciously and clearly chooses the theme of fairy tales of unusual cities, considering it necessary to fulfill in reality the result of "unbridled fantasies" and admire the result. The effect of the resulting images of the "unlimited fantasy" of the master is simply stunning. You can study the executed drawings, architectural fantasies with a visual effect with a magnifying glass and for a very long time, constantly finding something new. As if the author was trying to leave clues to posterity. Perhaps it was ... The work is small in size, but the enormous energy of the drawings and the precision of their execution are fascinating.
First exhibited and immediately great interest
The unsurpassed graphics of Yakov Chernikhov, striving for the future and filled with the pathos of the turbulent century of technological progress, was first presented to the public at the exhibition “2222 architectural fantasies”. It took place in 1932 in Leningrad and made a splash.
The interest in Chernikhov was also connected with the fact that the publication of such books by this particular author was not prepared by anyone or anything. Prior to this, Chernikhov did not take part in architectural competitions, did not participate in any associations and, in general, was not very famous. The appearance of architectural fantasies in graphics, masterpieces, not like other works, immediately caused the effect of a bomb, which suddenly exploded in the architectural world: where did such a phenomenon suddenly come from in our rather narrow circles, all asked?
It was after the exhibition that Yakov Georgievich Chernikhov, a Soviet architect, artist and graphic artist, suddenly became widely known: they talked about Chernikhov, wrote about him, admirers of talent appeared - he forever entered the history of world architecture.
The result of "rampant fantasies"
Beautifully and tastefully published in Leningrad “Architectural fantasies. 101 composition ”(1933) give us a new world, a world of free creativity, as Chernikhov saw and understood it.
In these works, scientific in form, he uses the word “fantasy” no less than the word “construction”. Inventing new for Yakov Chernikhov means the greatest freedom of thinking of the architect as a professional. He wrote that fantasy works best if a person develops graphic skills, the ability to lay out an image on paper. It was the ability to fantasize and the ability to capture the mentally seen with the help of graphics should have become the basis for the further development of architecture. This is how the famous architect saw our future.
What is so unusual about the master’s work?
Chernikhov experimenting with form and color: he even uses the gothic architecture of architectural fantasy, his multiple Suprematist elements move and rotate, creating images that pulsate at different speeds and at different rhythms, the color gets a full-fledged sound and expands the boundaries of our fantasy. The master is sure that the colors, shapes and structures themselves create unique musical forms of graphic harmony. Many contemporary authors called Jacob Chernikhov the composer of modern architecture, the Soviet Piranesi. And they did not exaggerate at all.
In addition to the unlimited freedom and musicality of Chernikhov’s works, contemporaries noted their surprisingly original, unique character and filigree workmanship. He created something unique.
What style did Jacob Chernikhov work in?
It is quite difficult for a master of this scale to determine his style, although most of his contemporaries call him constructivism, and Chernikhov himself call it Piranesi constructivism. The use of those very Suprematist figures, elements, forms and methods of their use in the works of the architect is difficult to deny. But a number of authors believe that the drawings in his work “Architectural fantasies. Compositions ”combine the flexible rhythm of modernity with the futurology of constructivism, adding poetry and expressionism effects to conventional buildings. Many reviews of his work speak of symbolic formalism. Even gothic is in demand! We understand that architectural fantasy has no boundaries; it can be seen in the author's skyscrapers directed upwards and other structures.
Expressionism - yes, of course, because this is, among other things, a prophecy, a vision of pictures of the future. And all contemporaries noted not only the amazing performance of Yakov Georgievich, but also his strange and amazing intuitive insight –– foresight of future events. And we ourselves, looking at his architectural fantasies, imagine a certain world of the future.
Chernikhov himself is not embarrassed by the stylistic differences in the architecture of various latest trends and trends. He takes a figurative-stylistic module from any of them and applies to it his principles for varying graphic schemes, receiving a wide variety of compositions with a varied visual effect, many of which are original and innovative.
Ornament and rhythm
The originality of the variations and compositions of Chernikhov’s architectural and graphic manner has largely gathered a deep fascination with the problems of ornament and rhythm (“rhythms are older than images”) and the amazing mastery of many types of graphic techniques. The architect was sure that in modern times, graphics will become an additional language of communication for civilization, and therefore it is necessary not only to know this language, but be sure to learn to master it perfectly.
Chernikhov became a mature architect during the departure of the architectural avant-garde from the forefront of Soviet art. Architecture has remained architecture on paper, a bunch of unclaimed design fantasies and pure theory.
But it’s hard to imagine that Yakov Chernikhov, working on construction sites, having gone from the foreman of the installation team to the architect and developing projects mainly for industrial buildings and industrial complexes, will be a “pure theorist”. Although specific design problems that Ya.G. Chernikhov never lost sight of (clearly distinguishing between the types and functionality of his images), yet his work forced him to remain only projects. Full of visual aesthetic originality, the masters paved their way into the future, preserving the best opportunities of avant-garde architecture, when all official criticism smashed the work of Yakov Chernikhov in all directions - there were such moments in the life of the famous architect.
Today in demand
The genre of architectural fantasies became especially popular at the beginning of the twentieth century, when Europe and America were changing, picked up by the whirlwind of rapid scientific and technological progress. Architects tried to create a new image of a rapidly developing civilization, the level of culture of which would be determined by the level of its technical achievements. It was here that caught the eye of contemporary creators of the work of Yakov Georgievich. Moreover, it was not only the projects of buildings and large structures that aroused interest, many ideas were taken for the architectural imagination of the interior.
Of course, when trying to analyze the genre, it is necessary to take into account the time aspect, the importance of the architectural project for its era. Whether we were able to take into account all aspects or not, the issue is debatable. We already live half, or even more, in the world of embodied architectural fantasies of the beginning of the last century. Projects from the beginning of the 20th century can no longer be a "hot novelty" for our time.
Pedagogy Chernikhova
Few of the leading figures in contemporary art were teachers, but as a passionate teacher, Chernikhov considered his books primarily textbooks, and his excellent graphics - just illustrations. He used his exceptional talents in the service of education and, unlike many other gifted and well-known artists and architects, did not prescribe specific styles or methods, instead focusing on such practical subjects as the use of materials or methods of depicting forms. The importance of imagination for Chernikhov is evident in the title of the first chapter: "Fantasy and the Object." The art of graphic depiction is primarily a way of depicting imaginary spaces, in which he succeeded, and his desire for systematization forced him to share this knowledge with others. In his opinion, the ability to draw and draw was necessary, but the most important was the imagination. The work of Chernikhov, which even his most severe critics even freely recognized, was unique, convincingly testifies to the domination of the imaginary over the factual and representative.
The first publication by Chernikhov was revolutionary by the educational standards of the time, but remained almost unnoticed by commentators. In his philosophy of education, realism was simply not a problem; ideally, the image should accurately represent what is happening in the imagination of the artist, and graphic expression is much more important than creating the illusion of reality. He said that if we can somehow convey our thoughts and ideas in a visual form, without pretense of correctness, and if this image reflects our imagination, then we will have a clear conscience.
He divided his curriculum into three sections: Lines, Surfaces, and Solids. Each of them was further divided into architectural, spatial and dynamic factors. The main thread is the rhythm of construction, which logically consists of two components: composition and color. The book has seventy-two chapters, each of which is devoted to a specific problem that needs to be solved and together demonstrating the sophistication of Chernikhov's concept. These tasks would undoubtedly arouse the enthusiasm of any student with sufficient imagination, each of them accompanied by several dozens of outstanding illustrations, of which a total of 1163. Unfortunately, this book contains only thirty-eight high-quality, but very pale black and white graphic images, therefore, probably, she went largely unnoticed.
Exhibition of works by Jacob Chernikhov
On November 9, 2017, the exhibition “Jacob Chernikhov. Images of architecture ”, which was visited by many eminent architects of our time.
Presented graphic works of the master, combined in cycles, including the cycle "Architectural fantasies. 101 composition ”aroused great interest, as did the architectural models and layouts made by the Fund. Yakov Chernikhov (created by Andrei Chernikhov) based on the compositions of the architect.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to recall some of Yakov Chernikhov’s thoughts about fantasizing in architecture, but there were a great many of them and all of them are worthy of attention and discussion.
1. Architectural fantasies are necessary when working on any projects. They will allow real development not only for the architects themselves and the architecture itself, but will provide direction for the creation of ever new materials, etc.
2. The images of his fantasies applied to ongoing projects improve this practice.
3. His fantasies should be used as one of the techniques in the training of future urban planners.
4. The positive side of architects' fantasies is always multifaceted and enormous.