The term proun (sounds like "noun") has its roots in the political, economic, and artistic revolution of eastern Europe in the early 1900’s. Architect, designer, painter, and theorist, El Lissitzky coined the term to describe a series of paintings, drawings, and prints that he created from approximately 1919 - 1925. These abstract compositions combine flat planes of color, linear elements, and three-dimensional geometric shapes in ways “that defy expectations of normal spatial relationships.”* These explorations became the basis for future works ranging from The Wolkenbugel, a dramatic horizontal skyscraper propped up on three legs, to Pressa, an exhibit on the Soviet press that featured vertical conveyor belts of moving graphics. El Lissitzky’s proun, though only a small portion of the product of a lifetime of artistic exploration, symbolize the bridging of two and three dimensional design. *Catalogue for an exhibition of selected works of El Lissitzky, HARVARD UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUMS, BUSCH-REISINGER ART MUSEUM