Aktiva maksla (Active Art) [Essay]

Near fine condition; damaged spine, minor creases across corners of the front cover, chipped corners of the back cover, small trace of moisture along upper edge of the back cover; internally almost fine. Dust jacket covering made from brown paper is glued to the cover along the spine, its flaps are cut off, chipped edges repaired with paper strips, back wrapper shows some foxing, upper right corner of the front wrapper shows traces of water. 

Andrejs Kurcijs's radical left art and literary circle "Active Art" was one of the few elaborated modernism manifestoes in the Latvian intellectual milieu. It is a kind of theoretical treatise of activism which deals with problems of both European and Latvian art, including visual art. The conception of Activism is is closely related to formalism - artistic form is that enduring element that excites the viewer with aesthetic means and depends on intellectual effort, contrary to stagnant and conservative academic traditions of representational art and passivity of Naturalism and Impressionism. Kurcijs' conception, titled after the German literary trend, was basically similar to ideas of the Russian Constructivists as well as French Cubists and Purists (Fernand Leger, Amedee Ozenfant). Speaking about activism and cubism, Kurcijs also stress the widely circulating cubist idea that they depict things 'as they really are', apart from their irrelevant, accidental features. More critical is Kurcijs' approach to suprematism. Although it may be the most consequent in rendering 'things in themselves', at the same time it loses its emotional, spiritual qualities, its 'artistic mathematics'. Although Kurcijs' later writings are mostly Marxist-inspired, he retained the quest for active, innovative form to express the active content. 

Book is richly illustrated with 24 full-paged artworks reproductions of of the greatest world famous avant-garde artists: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger, Ivan Puni, Georges Braque, Carlo Carra, Albert Gleizes, Niklavs Strunke, Voldemars Matvejs etc.

Andrejs Kurcijs (1884-1959) Latvian leftist poet, writer, art critic, politician, member of Independent Socialist Party; was one of the most erudite cultural thinkers of the time, proclaimed ideas of European modernism.