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Dlia Golosa (For the Voice). Berlin, Gosizdat RSFSR, 1923. 61 pp. Cover, title page photomontage, and book design by Lissitzky. Design elements such as an alphabetical thumb index make this one of the most significant experiments with typography and book design from the period. Dlia Golosa consists of 13 of Mayakovsky's most popular poems, including "Left March," "I Love," and "The Third International," published together in an edition intended specifically to be read aloud. From the time of his earlier book works in Vitebsk, Lissitzky remained guided by his belief that the most effective means of conveying a message was through the methods of modern typography, and persistently strove to unveil the ultimate synthesis of text and image. Lissitzky felt that "concepts should be expressed with the greatest economy - optically not phonetically," and that "the layout of the text on the page must reflect the rhythm of the content." Of his early book projects, For the Voice is generally acknowledged to be Lissitzky's masterpiece. In discussing his work on the project, Lissitzky explained: "My pages stand in much the same relation to the poems as an accompanying piano to a violin. Just as the poet in his poem unites concept and sound, I have tried to create an equivalent unity using the poem and the typography." (Compton 1993:92; Janecek 1984:203; Nisbet 26; Van Abbemuseum 19,73; Lissitzky-Küppers 384-385) |
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