Dziga Vertov

About the Artist

Unknown photographer. Portrait of Dziga Vertov. Courtesy The Vertov Collection at the Austrian Film Museum

The name Dziga Vertov—a play on the Ukrainian words for “spinning top”—was the pseudonym of David Abelevich Kaufman, born in Białystok, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire). Vertov was also known as Denis Arkadievich Kaufman, a Russified version of his name. He came from a family of cinematographers; his brothers, Boris and Mikhail Kaufman, were both known for their work in photography and film. In 1914 Vertov moved to Moscow, where he joined the Film Committee of the People’s Commissariat of Public Education in 1918 and became the editor of the first Soviet newsreel program, Kinonedelya (Film week). Vertov served as a war correspondent during the Russian Civil War, the result of the 1917 October Revolution and the slow disintegration of the Russian Empire. Vertov was very active in the 1920s, producing Kinopravda (Cine-truth) films for the Soviet newspaper Pravda, writing articles for Lef and Kinofot, publishing his first film manifesto, “We: Variant of a Manifesto,” in 1922, and establishing the “Council of Three” with Elizaveta Svilova and his brother Mikhail. Together, they aimed to collaborate on films and critical writings about film and developed a following in the form of the artist’s group Kinoki.

Vertov received his first 35mm camera in 1925, from the Russian artist Aleksandr Rodchenko. Although Vertov is primarily known as a filmmaker, his photographs (as well as his films) were included in the exhibition Film und Foto, mounted in Stuttgart in 1929. With the added perspective of still photography, Vertov embarked on the making of the films The Eleventh Year (1928), The Man with a Movie Camera (1929), and Enthusiasm (1931), through which he developed his theory of montage, editing disparate shots into sequences that condense space and time. It was during this time that Vertov lived and worked briefly in Kiev, where he had a successful career with VUFKU, the pan-Ukrainian film production unit. After almost two decades of focusing primarily on the editing of newsreels, Vertov died on February 12, 1954, in Moscow.

—Ksenia Nouril
Alternate Name(s) Denis Arkadyevich Kaufman (Alternate Name)
David Abelevich Kaufman (Birth Name)
Дзига Вертов (Alternate Name)

Meeting Points

Cultural Hubs Moscow
Exhibitions Film und Foto, 1929
Publications Novyi lef, 1927–28
Foto-Auge, 1929
Es kommt der neue Fotograf!, 1929

Artist Chronology

January 2, 1896	Born At location: Dziga Vertov	Bialystok
1914–18	Lives in Moscow. Adopts the pseudonym Dziga Vertov, a play on the Ukrainian words for "spinning top" At location: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
1918	Joins the Film Committee of the People's Commissariat of Public Education as editor of the first Soviet newsreel program, Kino-Nedelya (Film-week) At location: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
1919	Works as a war correspondent on the front At location: Dziga Vertov	Tsaritsyn
1919	Writes his first film manifesto, WE: Variant of a Manifesto (published in 1922) At location: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
1920	Tours battlefronts with President Kalinin aboard a propaganda train, producing several documentary films during the journey At location: Dziga Vertov	Russia
1920	Begins producing Kinopravda films for the Soviet newspaper Pravda Contributor: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
1921	Contributes articles to LEF and Kino-fot Contributor: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
1922	Vertov, Elizaveta Svilova, and Mikhail Kaufman write the constitution of the Council of Three The Council of Three would collaborate on films and critical writings about film throughout the 1920s; they and their followers are referred to as "Kinoks." At location: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
Summer 1925	Aleksandr Rodchenko buys a 4 x 6.5 cm Ica plate camera and two 35mm Sept cameras, one of which is for Dziga Vertov At location: Aleksandr Rodchenko Affiliated: Dziga Vertov	Paris
1928–30	Works with VUFKU, a pan-Ukrainian film production unit At location: Dziga Vertov	Kiev
1928	Makes The Eleventh Year, his first film in Kiev At location: Dziga Vertov	Kiev
1929	Finishes Man with a Movie Camera At location: Dziga Vertov	Kiev
1929	Franz Roh publishes Foto-Auge: 76 Fotos der Zeit Contributor: Herbert Bayer, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Maurice Tabard, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Edward Weston, Franz Roh, Semyon Fridlyand, Robert Petschow, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Hans Finsler, Paul Edmund Hahn, J. Jay Hirz	Stuttgart
1929	Werner Graeff publishes Es kommt der neue Fotograf! Contributor: Herbert Bayer, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Oskar Nerlinger, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone	Berlin
May 18–July 7, 1929	Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds Film und Foto (FiFo) at Städtische Ausstellungshallen Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich August 28–September 22, 1929 Im Lichthof des Ehemaligen Kunstgewerbemuseums, Prinz-Albrechs-Strasse 7, Berlin October 19–November 17, 1929 Stadtmuseum, Danzig (dates unknown) Österreichisches Museum, Vienna February 20–March 31, 1930 Agram, Zagreb April 5–14, 1930 Münchner Bund/Verein Ausstellungspark München E.V. (as part of Internationale Ausstellung. Das Lichtbild), Munich June 5–September 7, 1930 Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo April 1931 Asahi Shimbun, Osaka July 1–7, 1931 Participant: Berenice Abbott, Herbert Bayer, Aenne Biermann, Anton Bruehl, Francis Bruguière, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, André Kertész, Germaine Krull, Helmar Lerski, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Charles Sheeler, Edward Steichen, Maurice Tabard, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Edward Weston, Lucia Moholy, Werner Rohde, George Hoyningen-Huene, Gustav Klutsis, Karl Blossfeldt, Heinz Loew, Erich Comeriner, Semyon Fridlyand, Roman Karmen, Eli Lotar, Oskar Nerlinger, Robert Petschow, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Yva (Else Simon), Willy Zielke, Irene Bayer-Hecht, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone Organizer: El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Dziga Vertov Visitor: Alexander Hackenschmied	Stuttgart
July 1931	Travels to Germany, Amsterdam, and Paris At location: Dziga Vertov	Paris Germany Amsterdam
Summer 1931	Screens Enthusiasm; meets Charlie Chaplin, who praises the film At location: Dziga Vertov	London
1934 through the early 1950s	Works primarily as an editor of newsreels At location: Dziga Vertov	Moscow
February 12, 1954	Dies At location: Dziga Vertov	Moscow