Through double exposure, Lissitzky blended his likeness with images of drafting tools and graph paper—juxtaposing mechanical instruments with his own more “primitive” tool, the hand. In its day Constructor symbolized a fundamental redefinition of the artist as someone who does not create, but builds, and thereby spurs the transformation of society. Yet Lissitzky seemed to acknowledge that the artist-engineer deploys commercial or industrial technology (including the camera apparatus) over which he can at best have partial control.

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