Boris Aronson was born on October 15th, 1898, in Kiev, while under the reign of the Russian Empire. 3 His father was a Rabbi, which allowed Aronson to be exposed to the Orthodox Jewish faith. His family enrolled him in art school at a young age after he showed signs of fondness towards the subject. After showing exquisite skill in drawing, he became an apprentice to Aleksandra Ekster. 4 Ekster introduced Aronson to the various aspects of design in theatre; from costume design to stage design. Aronson became entrenched in early 20th-century Russian theatre and began to hone his craft of scenic design. While under the apprenticeship of Ekster, Aronson was exposed to many different Russian directors. Two directors that influenced Aronson greatly were Vsevolod Meyerhold and Alexander Tairov. 5 Under Meyerhold and Tairov, Aronson was showed a variety of designing techniques that he would later use later in his life.
Posters from the Constructivist Movement in Russia during the 1920s
One of the massive social movements that Aronson, under the three Russian theatre icons, was exposed to was Constructivism. 6 The movement called for art to be conducted for social purposes. This heavily influenced Aronson’s approach to numerous productions throughout his life. During this movement many of the designers “incorporated trends and innovations in painterly and plastic mediums into set and costume design,” (Northwestern). Meyerhold, for example, constructed a three-dimensional set for the performance of Crommelynk’s The Magnanimous Cuckold in 1922. The set was made of bare-wood and stood on a flat stage.
Meyerhold’s Stage Design of 1922 Production of Crommelynk’s The Magnanimous Cuckold
Aronson quickly adapted to the Constructivist style instead of Stanislavski’s form of Realism in early 20th-century Russia. In 1922, Aronson, with two other Constructivists, El Lissitzky and Naum Gabo, moved to Berlin to display their work at the Van Diem Gallery’s “First Exhibition of Russian Art”. 7 The exhibition displayed various innovative aspects of Constructivism from Russia, including works from architecture, theatre, and music. While in Berlin, Aronson wrote two books on his idol Marc Chagall, who was an icon in Jewish graphic art in the early 20th–century. 8
Boris Aronson’s “A Concert Hall in the Skies of Hell” at the Van Diem Gallery in 1922
Notes:
3 Kiev is currently the capital and largest city of the Ukraine.
4 Ekster was a famous Russian painter in the early 20th century. She also specialized in painting, graphic arts, and stage design.
5 Meyerhold (1874 – 1940) is famous in international theatre for experimenting with the physical nature on stage, as well as, using different forms of symbolism. Tairov (1885 – 1950) is considered to be one of the leading innovators in theatrical art and was a famous director in Russia.
6 Constructivism was a movement in early 20th-century Russian that rejected the idea of autonomous art. The movement has a massive impact on Russian architecture, theatre, film, and fashion.
7 “First Exhibition of Russian Art” at the Van Diem Gallery was a way to bring Russian Art to the “West” during the Revolution and the war years.
8 Chagall (1887 – 1985) was a Russian-French artists who’s designs were considered to be modernistic at the time.
Boris Aronson 