Velimir Chlebnikov and Pavel Filonov's “Formulae” and the Question of History in Russian Avant-Garde

Abstract

This article explores the philosophy of history of Russian avant-garde poet Velimir Khlebnikov and painter Pavel Filonov in the light of the concept of “formula”, a keyword that stands out in the work of both artists. The author argues that what characterizes the attitude of both artists towards history is not a warm embrace of the future, as their association with Russian futurism might suggest, but rather a “fear” of chronological time that inevitably leads us to death. In such a perspective, the “formula” appears as a way of taming the future by making it immediately present.