Russia
Moscow
2019
66
Russian
English
In a nutshell
The exhibition GASTEV. How to Work examines the profound influence of Alexey Gastev, a key figure in Soviet thought and the founder of the Central Institute of Labor (CIT). Gastev’s work in the 1920s and 1930s revolutionized labor practices through his development of scientific labor organization (NOT), blending Marxist ideology with avant-garde approaches to efficiency, biomechanics, and human-machine interaction. His theories sought to transform workers into precise, efficient elements of industrial production, reflecting the broader Soviet utopian vision of reshaping society through labor. The exhibition contextualizes Gastev’s role not just as an organizer but as a visionary whose ideas on human potential and mechanization resonate with contemporary discussions on automation and the future of work. Despite his execution during the Stalin’s Great Purge/Terror, Gastev’s legacy continues to provoke thought on the relationship between labor, politics, and the shaping of the modern human.
More at http://avantgarde.center/gastev (in Russian only)
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Curators(s)
Alexandra Selivanova
BioAlexandra Selivanova is a curator and art historian specializing in early Soviet culture, with a focus on architecture and art from the 1920s and 1930s. Since January 2023, she has been a research fellow at Bauhaus University Weimar, affiliated with the project Madness, Media, Milieus. She curated numerous interdisciplinary exhibitions in Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and Perm, addressing themes such as Soviet art and aviation, psychotechnics, and electrification. Selivanova authored books including Avant-garde and Aviation (2014) and VHUTEMAS. School of the Avant-garde (2020). She founded the Avant-garde Centre in Moscow in 2014, promoting research and exhibitions on Soviet avant-garde.
