Monuments Askew: An Elliptical History of the Factory of the Eccentric Actor

Monuments Askew: An Elliptical History of the Factory of the Eccentric Actor presents a cultural history of the Factory of the Eccentric Actor (FEKS), an avant-garde collective of Ukrainian artists whose unique approach to monumental history generated a new kind of cinema for a modernizing Soviet era. Often lost in the shuffle of this period, FEKS's vibrant and experimental cinematic output initiated a youthful and cheeky overhaul of Soviet revolutionary culture. Monuments Askew reveals the foundational role of this understudied group of artists--including Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg--and uses their own theoretical contributions to undo the "foundations" of our understanding of Soviet media and arts. As a counter to a solely cinema-focused conceptualization of this era, Corrigan develops a transnational media theory of eccentricity. Defining eccentric circles as warped, irregular orbits that force a realignment of centers, Monuments Askew shows how FEKS's body of work inspires an eccentric realignment of the pillars of Soviet visual culture, and indeed of monumentality itself.


Author: Maria Corrigan
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 08/12/2025
Series: Media Matters
Pages: 172
Weight: 0.55lbs
ISBN: 9781978843011