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

By Maria Corrigan

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 197884302X
• ISBN13: 9781978843028
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher