Modular art

Since the 1950s , a number of contemporary artists have sought to incorporate kinetic methods into their work in an attempt to overcome the static nature of existing art. So the American sculptor Alexander Calder was one of the first to attempt to introduce physical dynamism in modern art, his work was constantly changing through constant movement, in some cases, these transformations did not require human effort ^[2] . Swiss Jean Tangley, who created self-destructing sculptures, continued his research in the field of transferring the dynamic variability of a work of art, creating a form of complete elimination. Hungarian sculptor Victor Vasarely published his JAUNE manifesto in 1955, in which he claimed that his works of art were multiplied and repeated in series as opposed to the static art of the past ^[3] .

Modularity enters the world of contemporary art mainly due to the disciplines of industrial design and architecture . The Belgian architect Louis Herman De Konink, working as a team, created the first Cubex modular kitchen in 1932. The series consisted of standard and industrially produced components, which could be combined and built in various combinations for placement in the kitchen of almost any size ^[4] . American designer Gilbert Rohde worked on the creation of modular furniture for Herman Miller Corporation in the 1930s and 1940s , just like De Konink, he developed standard module configurations that easily fit into any interior with interchangeability. The use of the module has a rich architectural history ^[5] . In ancient times, architects used a module, primarily, as a unit of measure for the direct proportion of the plan.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the direction of sculptural modular constructivism was formed in the United States; its origin is associated with American sculptors Erwin Hauer and Norman Karlberg ^[1] . Designs created within the framework of the designation turned out to be useful and attractive for use in architectural walls and screens, often demonstrating complex patterns of wave-like fabric-like straps and coils with holes that transmit and filter light, creating wave-like shadow patterns.

America

Robert Rauschenberg in 1951 painted “White Picture” which consists of four identical white squares , with the geometry of interconnected forms, this work is one of the earliest statements of modularity as an autonomous subject of art ^[6] . Rauschenberg explored this topic in the same year, creating works from three and seven identical rectangular panels, giving a hint of the infinity of replication. The cool abstraction of these paintings portends the emergence of modularity as a full-fledged theme of minimalism in the 1960s . Tony Smith , Saul Levitt , Dan Flavin and Donald Judd picked up the baton and became the most productive modular artists of those years.

Tony Smith began his artistic career as an architectural designer. In order to continue his education, he worked as an apprentice on some projects of Frank Lloyd Wright for several years, starting in 1938. From Wright, he learned to use modular systems in creating architectural projects. In Wright's case, interest in modular design was perhaps derived from his familiarity with modular practice in traditional Japanese architecture . The interaction of Tony Smith's architectural experiments with design and painting allowed the artist to develop a brightly individual method in dealing with color, form and plastic. Smith will use hexagon and other elementary geometric shapes in his architectural practice, and starting in the 1960s he will begin to make sculptures . Freed from the programmatic and extensive structural requirements of architecture, in Smith's sculpture, three-dimensional profiles of a modular form will be used already for aesthetic purposes. It is noteworthy that the sculptor did not create the work on his own, developing only a plan and a layout, the work was created by professional steelworkers and welders ^[7] .

Europe

In Europe , where the Minimalist School of Modular Art is often seen as a primarily American phenomenon, the discussion of modularity often focuses on its dynamic variability.

The Greek artist Leda Luss Luiken created modular paintings consisting of mobile panels bearing a specific pattern installed in a steel frame. He called his work “ModulArt” . In these works, the author allows the viewer to independently choose the image in the picture, offering alternative scenes in dynamics, thus the artist turns a static picture into a dynamic one. The art critic and theorist Denis Zakaropoulos called it "a new way of moving in painting." The concept of modular technology allows the user to compose and rearrange a work of art that is already prepared for the rearrangement of its parts, thereby providing numerous opportunities for more and more new paintings ^[8] .