Monuments Askew: An Elliptical History of the Factory of the Eccentric Actor presents a cultural history of the Factory of the Eccentric Actor (FEKS), an avant-garde collective of Ukrainian artists whose unique approach to monumental history generated a new kind of cinema for a modernizing Soviet era. Often lost in the shuffle of this period, FEKS’s vibrant and experimental cinematic output initiated a youthful and cheeky overhaul of Soviet revolutionary culture. Monuments Askew reveals the foundational role of this understudied group of artists—including Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg—and uses their own theoretical contributions to undo the “foundations” of our understanding of Soviet media and arts. As a counter to a solely cinema-focused conceptualization of this era, I develop a transnational media theory of eccentricity. Defining eccentric circles as warped, irregular orbits that force a realignment of centers, Monuments Askew shows how FEKS’s body of work inspires an eccentric realignment of the pillars of Soviet visual culture, and indeed of monumentality itself.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Filmography
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Eccentric Interlude: Kozintsev’s Inner Movement
1. “The Technique—Circus. The Psychology—Head over Heels”: FEKS’s First Somersault in Cinema
Eccentric Interlude: Trauberg Inside Out
2. The Devil’s Wheel: The Flight from Center
Eccentric Interlude: Actors
3. FEKS’s Overcoat and Eccentrism’s Protagonist
Eccentric Interlude: Split
4. The Trickster: S.V.D. and Eccentrism’s Counter-rebel
Conclusion: Eccentric Archives
Notes
Bibliography
Index