Runner in the City
In 1926 Lissitzky joined colleagues from the Association of New Architects (ASNOVA) in designing a new sports club, and he created this frenzied representation of an urban athlete as a model for a large frieze. He combined images of at least three separate elements-the runner, the track and hurdle, and a double exposure of Times Square-into a single print and then sliced that print into strips, creating an object that is both constructed and deconstructed. The visual result is a suspenseful moment-shattered, separated, and stretched-that weaves the mechanics of man into a dynamic tapestry of industrial optimism. The heroic pose of the runner, transposed to the center of New York City, becomes an emblem of triumphant human achievement: man and metal engage in an ambitious leap across several voids in the service of industrial progress.
Artwork Details
- Title: Runner in the City
- Artist: El Lissitzky (Russian, Pochinok 1890–1941 Moscow)
- Date: ca. 1926
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 13.1 × 12.8 cm (5 3/16 × 5 1/16 in.)
Mount: 18.5 × 20.5 cm (7 5/16 × 8 1/16 in.)
Frame: 17 1/2 × 17 1/2 in. (44.5 × 44.5 cm) - Classifications: Photographs, Collages
- Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.1100.47
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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