David Burliuk

(1882 - 1967)

5590

David Burliuk a.o.

Садок Судей II

A trap for judges II

St. Petersburg: Zuravl, 1913

200 x 175 mm. 125 pages 

Edition: 800

Sadok Sudei II is a sequel to the anthology of 1910. The name, an invention of the poet Khlebnikov was kept for both volumes. David Burliuk was again producer and one of the main contributors. The book was published in a bigger format with more illustrations than its predecessor. Sadok Sudei II had three lithographs by David and two by his brother Vladimir. Natalia Gontcharova and Michael Larionov had each two and Elena Guro six lithographs in the book. The first Sadok Sudei was really meant to be ‘a bombshell into the joyless, provincial streets of the generally joyless existence’ as Kamenskii, one of the founders of Russian futurism admitted. In the second volume there is more of the propagation of the new art. The opening of the book is formed by an untitled manifesto that for the first time provided a detailed constructive program for the renewal of art in Russia. Burliuk’s coarse woodcuts refer to the steppes in which he grew up in youth. They are the first of his ‘horses-cycles’ that are characterized by fragmentation of the forms and a use of thick lines. It is a style that will mark Burliuk for several years. Because of the importance of the illustrators and the quality of their contributions, both these volumes, despite their scarcity, are unique in the history of Russian art.