While the perspectives of each of the artists on the revolutionary nature of art is interesting, it does little to convince us that art can play a central role in effecting social change. As idealists, both Lissitzky and Rodchenko fell under the sway of Stalin and would serve as propagandists for this ruthless leader in a period that was rather unfortunate in the careers of both artists. While Margolin does his best to read their works from this period in a fair light, what we know today about Stalin does overshadow such readings of this work. In this respect, one's knowledge of politics can indeed interfere with one's interpretation of a work of art - and have detrimental effects.

Of course, reading works of art in terms of a group of artists' political views and aspirations towards social...

Art history has always striven to show us the interconnections between artists and artworks and the society that produced them, so as to provide a version of the evolution of humanity, as Preziosi has shown us. But we must be careful to not let our political readings of works of art override all our other considerations of artworks, because by doing so we are ultimately doing a disservice not only to the object, but to its creator.
Bibliography

Margolin, Victor. 1997. The Struggle for Utopia: Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholy-Nagy 1917

1946. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Preziosi, Donald, ed. 1998. The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology. Oxford: Oxford