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Author Bio
Alexander Bogdanov (1873-1928) was born Alexander Aleksandrovich Malinowski at Sokolka, in what is today Poland. He was a polymath who was trained as a physician. He was also an economist, politician, revolutionary, philosopher, science fiction author, poet, and scientist. His work on organizational science foreshadowed present developments in the field and cybernetics. In Moscow, in 1926, he founded the world’s first institute devoted entirely to blood transfusion. Two years later, ironically, he died as a result of a transfusion experiment gone wrong.
Translator Bio
Taylor R. Genovese is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at SUNY – Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, New York. His multimodal and transdisciplinary research focuses on Marxism, historical memory, and borderlands. He is also an Editor and Board member at Iskra Books. Information on his scholarship, films, and photography can be found at taylorgenovese.com.
Media Appearances
10 March 2025. “The Communist Arts, Exploring Alexander Bogdanov’s Art and the Working Class w/ Taylor Genovese.” Within Our Gates.
20 January 2022. “Art and the Working Class w/ Taylor Genovese.” Guerrilla History.
Reviews
Watch a review of Art and the Working Class by Jonas Čeika for the CCK Philosophy YouTube channel.
Read a review of Art and the Working Class by Stephan Hammel in the journal Marx & Philosophy Review of Books.
Blurbs
"After a long century—thanks to the careful translation by Taylor Genovese—we finally have Alexander Bogdanov's classic work available in English. A provocative and combative tract written during the Russian Revolution, Art and the Working Class anticipates later debates on the centrality of culture in revolutionary struggles. This is all about cultural revolution! And we have Genovese to thank for this brilliant translation and his expert introduction."
-Alexander Aviña, Associate Professor of History, Arizona State University
"This work, gorgeously translated into English for the first time, provides a crucial resource for those on the anti-capitalist left hoping for a theory of art informed by and for the toiling masses. Using critical methodologies, Bogdanov illustrates the importance of fostering and analyzing proletarian art. Introduced with a sharp and eminently useful piece by the translator, Taylor Genovese, Art and the Working Class develops a working class analytical framework of the arts, and provides inspiration for those who set out not only to dream of a more just and beautiful world, but also for those who fight for it."
-Henry Hakamäki, Guerrilla History Podcast
Translations
Indonesian: Seni Dan Kelas Pekerja by publisher Penerbit Semut Api.
Turkish: Sanat ve İşçi Sınıfı by publisher Kaldıraç Yayınevi.