of the symbol «circle-A»)
This article analyzes the characteristics of discursive interactions
underlying the genesis of anarchist symbols, arguing that the origin of the symbol
“circle-A” is related to the process of active interaction between the avantgarde
and anarchist discourse, neither of which functions as a dominant. The
author identifies several important contexts of interaction, including the symbolism
of the triangle (A) and circle (O) that make up the anarchist symbol “circle-
A”. Following E. Kozlov’s viewpoint that a triangle-wedge crashing into a circle
symbolically expresses the idea of a revolutionary in the avant-garde, the
author shows that “circle-A” is also one of the central images of avant-garde art
in the 20th century. The triangle and the circle became widespread after they
were pictured artist El Lissitzky’s poster (“Beat the Whites with the Red
Wedge”, 1920). The author analyzes the pan-anarchist concept of a universal
language called AO, which was developed by the Gordin brothers in the early
1920s (“Grammar of the Language of the Mankind. Translated from AO”, 1920)
and shows that the image of the language AO was formed under the influence of
the avant-garde poetry of Velimir Khlebnikov. At the same time, the name
of the language is graphically reminiscent of the anarchist symbol “circle-A” –
AO looks like A outside the circle. The author also addresses the analysis of the
functioning of the letter A in lettrism, which is closely associated with the avantgarde
and anarchism. In addition, the author examines the creativity of Isidore
Isou in order to relate the idea of incompleteness in lettrism signs to the variability
of the anarchist symbol “circle-A”. The author rejects the widespread understanding
of the symbol “circle-A” as a monogram composed of the initial
letters of the word “anarchy” and “order” (“Anarchy is the mother of Order”) –
monogram principle is not true for all languages – and, instead, hypothesizes
that “circle-A” is primarily related to the concept of “chaos”. First, the word
“chaos” is held to be a necessary anarchist neighbor of the letters A and O in all
major European languages (CHAOS, ХАОС, CAOS, KAOS, etc.). Second, the
triangle-wedge (A) crashing into a circle (O) and splitting it expresses the idea
of the gap between the old world and the new; this corresponds to the etymology
of the Greek word “chaos”, which is associated with the words “chasm, gape,
etc.”
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