LEF [and] Noviy LEF. Zhurnal levogo fronta iskusstv.

£27,500 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

complete set of lef and novyi lef The iconic Soviet art journal that defined an era. Complete set of 7 issues of LEF and 24 (bound in 22) issues of Noviy LEF. Brik, Tretyakov, Pasternak, Stepanova, Popova, Rodchenko all contributed. Sergey Eisenstein published his article 'Montage of Attractions' in the pages of this influential and pioneering publication. The final issue of LEF includes the elegy of Lenin which brought Mayakovsky national fame. In July 1928, however, he was replaced as editor by Tretiakov as he did not agree with the group's move towards factual literature. By 1929 Mayakovsky had moved away from LEF and created a new group, the short-lived REF (Revolutionary Front of Art). 'The 1927-28 covers of the magazine New LEF are more orthodox illustrations of Constructivist goals, their effectively organised formal language projecting a synthesis of aesthetic clarity and political/cultural meaning. The layout of the covers is characterised by a rigorous grid, flat bright colors, and distinctly lettered titles. The photographic elements are straightforward details of Soviet life, isolated, silhouetted, and enlarged for maximum visual and psychological impact. These dynamic black-and-white images, often details or fragments and sometimes diagonally tipped, set up a subtle tension in relation to the overall design' (M. Rowell in MoMA, 56). Complete set of 31 issues in 29 vols (7 issues of LEF and 24 for Novyi LEF), 8vo (21.8 x 13.9 to 24 x 6 cm); many letterpress illust

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.