The Phonological Department of the Institute of Artistic Culture under the Direction of I.G. Terentiev

Abstract

In the early 20th century, the avant-garde formation in Russia had one significant feature that helped science and art to interact productively throughout the 1920s. The feature was the creation of educational institutions and research institutes, which provided working space for avant-garde artists, theorists, philosophers and practitioners. These people were expected to create a new science of experimental art. Igor Terentiev, a member of the radical futuristic group “41°”, headed the Phonological Department of the Institute of Artistic Culture (INHUK, from 1925 — the State Institute of Artistic Culture (GINHUK)) for less than a year (from October 1923 to March 1924), but his theoretical work was reflected in theatrical practice. This research aims at presenting all the spectrum of searches and the specifics of the GINHUK Phonological Department on the basis of archival documents. The object of the research is the programs of the Department and the lectures of its members. The article focuses on the diversity of the Department’s research program, which was not limited to sound studies alone. The flexibleness of sound substance was equated to the concept of cogitative activity. Sound was considered as a “physical phenomenon” in musical and artistic contexts, and not only as a musical phenomenon, but also as an artistic device and a propaganda tool. The Department presented and discussed lectures on Zaum, noise music, theatrical material, compared the characteristics of the poetry of A.V. Tufanov, K.D. Balmont, V.V. Khlebnikov, discussed the opportunities for artistic work in the sphere of speech and sound. For Igor Terentiev, the most important subject of study was Zaum. On the basis of it, he wanted to develop a universal and international language. The article attempts to reconstruct the general directions of the Department’s work, to formulate a characteristic of its activities, as well as to analyze, for the first time, previously unpublished program theses of its employees.