The works of Malevich, Lissitsky, Kandinsky, Tatlin,Pevsner, Rodchenko differ a great deal from one another in spirit.
At one extreme, Tatlin denied the difference between art and any other productive activity; at the opposite extreme Kandinsky believed that art was valid only if it followed a mysterious and idealistic ‘inner necessity’. Yet despite their differences, all had one attitude in common.
All believed in the profound influence that art could have on individual and social development: all believed in the social role of art.
Yet their social consciousness was affirmative rather than critical. They saw themselves as already representing the liberated future.
This liberation meant the breaking down of all divisions between classes, professions, disciplines and previous bureaucratic categories. Their work was like hinged doors, connecting activity with activity. Art with engineering; music with painting; poetry with design; fine art with propaganda; photographs with typography; diagrams with action; the studio with the street, etc.