04. Wendingen vol. 4 no. 11, 1921, Frank Lloyd Wright, cover designed by El Lissitzky.
The seven-issue special was not the first time Wendingen had devoted its attention to Wright. It had previously published a single issue featuring his buildings, including shops, residences, and the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, and sporting a cover designed by the Russian Constructivist El Lissitzky. This cover would become one of the most iconic of the magazine’s run. Lissitzky’s work may seem more in keeping with the De Stijl school of thought and, indeed, he contributed much more frequently to their publications than to the Amsterdam School’s. However, this only serves to demonstrate the widespread appeal of Wright’s work. The Russian Constructivists were proponents of “The Machine” and of using industrial design and technology to mold society into the communistic dream proposed by the recent Bolshevik revolution. Though their machine age aesthetic might seem at odds with Wright’s and Wendingen’s organic sensibilities, Wright himself spoke of the virtues of the Machine and industrial technology, though he saw them as the means to creating a democratic, individualistic society.