Russian Formalism and Modernist Formalesque: Radical Linguistic Aesthetics of Kazimir Malevich and Velimir Khlebnikov

Abstract The semiotic, particularly linguistic, essence of Futurism arguably laid the foundation for the early theories of Russian Formalism. Viktor Shklovsky, drawing inspiration from Futurist works, introduced the intriguing concept of the resurrection of the word to establish the theory of creative estrangement. Within Russian Modernism and Avant-Garde, exemplified by Symbolism and Futurism, a noteworthy development was establishing a dynamic interaction between verbal and visual elements. Avant-gardist visionaries, not only artists but also literary innovators, seamlessly integrated advancements from visual art, giving rise to a novel form of symbiotic semiosis. Consequently, the conventional boundaries between diverse art forms blurred, marking a distinctive Formalist feature that aligns with international Modernist aesthetics. This essay discusses this aesthetic through the prism of linguistic innovation and pragmatically oriented semiotics.