2. The Announcer
- Artist: El Lissitzky
- Date: 1923
- Medium: Lithograph on paper
- Dimensions: image: 510 x 428 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “2. The Announcer” by El Lissitzky. It’s a 1923 lithograph on paper, one of ten prints that make up a portfolio Lissitzky produced for the mechanical theatre of the futurist opera *Victory over the Sun*. The opera, written by Kruchenykh with designs by Malevich and music by Matyushin, broke all theatrical conventions: the stage is a rib‑structured platform that moves, and the characters—puppets made of metal, cardboard and paint—are driven by electric motors and controlled from a central console.
“The Announcer” is the puppet that shouts out the action, using a megaphone to command the mechanical performers. Lissitzky’s bold use of geometric shapes and bright colours echoes his *Proun* series, while the text on the print—“POBEDA NAD SOLNTSEM” and a playful mix of languages—captures the absurd, almost chaotic energy of the original performance. The piece is a snapshot of 1920s avant‑garde experimentation where art, technology, and performance collided.
See it in person
2. The Announcer is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
