S S I IUTUR M S U I T
R N A M I U L IS U F
R A I U L A T T I U F
A T I M
O S A P EL SEUM MU ART OF 6 201
N ISM R
R
essimism p no !
O no s
“T h
e
n b a eN c e r
talgia!
O N S I E R E H T
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riven by the ideas of moving forward and breaking from academic aestheticism; the Futurist movement emerged in
the early twentieth century. The movement was officially established by the Italian
uS fut RI
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1909 when
he published the first Futurist Manifesto on the front page of the popular French
newspaper Le Figaro on February twentieth.
In this manifesto, Marinetti established the philosophical basis of the movement
and introduced revolutionary ideas that
would challenge the arts and literature, as well as other aspects of every-day life.
Futurism rejected the past, focused on moving forward, and was
enthusiastic for every-thing new—speed, war, and the machine age. Futurism took an extreme posture to fight against the “religion of
the past,” so much that its exponents mentioned burning down mu-
seums and li-braries, which according to them were its principal
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fuel. This movement was seeking to move on from the past; its proponents believed in constant progress, eternal dynamism, and that things were rapidly changing.
“There can be no nostalgia! No pessimism! There is no turning
back!” were Marinetti’s words in his Futurist Manifesto. Futurism was characterized by its revolution-ary ideas of beauty, and freedom from tradition, which influenced different areas of the arts in-cluding typography, painting, and sculpture.
O TU
909 arinetti, 1 M o s a m om - Filippo T
Endpapers: Luigi Russolo, The Revolt, 1911.
M
” ! K C A B G N I N R
Parole the art of typography and poetry
by
advocating
for
IN
F
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ilippo Marinetti challenged
parole in libertá, or “words in freedom.” In an article
published in the journal Lacerba in Florence, Marinetti questioned every
aspect of typography and called for a
revolution
against
tradition.
He
challenged harmony in typography and
sought to break free from the traditional
Á T R E B I rules of syntax and grammar, as well as to freely explore new “worlds of
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Zang Tumb Tumb: Adrianopoli Ottobre 1912: Parole in Libertà 1914
Á
Left: Fortunato Depero The Bolted Book 1927
Right: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, In the Evening, Lying on Her Bed, She Reread the Letter from Her Artilleryman at the Front, 1919
Futurists believed typography could be a concrete and expressive visual form. The
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free verse was used to visually express the poem like Apollinaire’s Il Pleut, where the letters resemble falling drops of water to evoke the feeling of rain. Futurists wanted to reflect the energy of the universe in ty-pography and to achieve this they used dynamic sensation, lines of force, and battle of planes. Diagonals and nonlinear composition influenced by the Cubist collages were common in Futurist typography. In Fortunato Depero’s cover of The Bolted Book, diagonal lines are used to display typographic dynamism along with contrasting bold colors and geometric shapes. In Marinetti’s Zang Tumb Tumb, the text breaks free from traditional horizontal and vertical structure. As in Marinetti’s In the Evening Laying on Her Bed, She Reread the Letter from Her Artilleryman and previously mentioned Zang Tumb Tumb, onomatopoeic words were used to transmit the noise and sounds from the city, machines, and the war.
Guillaume Apollinaire Il Pleut 1918
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PA I N F
uturism had a major impact on painting. In the beginning Futurism was not characterized
by a unique or distinctive style;
instead it borrowed certain aspects from other movements, but adapting them in such ways that its philosophy of vitality and speed could be reflected. Guided by the idea that the energy of the universe should be expressed through all forms of art, Futurist painting transformed Cubism into a more energetic and dynamic style.
Ti N Futuristic painting that create a vibrant
and energetic piece. Futurist paintings
G
also sought to transmit the excitement for
An example of this is Gino Severini’s
machines, technology, and urban life,
Yellow
the
which became common subject matters.
geometric features of Cubism, but uses
Fortunato Depero’s shows this excitement
them to express the motion of a woman
for the metropolis in Skyscrapers and
as she dances.
Tunnels, where he puts together a
Dancer,
which
retains
colorful composition of city buildings and urban structures.
Giaccomo Balla Mercury Passing Before the Sun 1914
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I
n
Dynamism
of
a
Footballer,
Umberto Boccioli captures what he captures the whole atmosphere that
Giaccomo Balla Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash 1912
is created by the movement and
energy of the athlete. The influence of chrono-photography, a technique used to depict movement through a series of photographs, is reflected in futurist paintings. An example of this is Giacomo Balla’s Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, were he visually captures the motion created by the dog’s walking and the girl’s running. Futurist painting also moves away from Cubism’s dull and washed
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out colors. Giacomo Balla’s Mercury Passing Before the Sun, is an example of the use of bright and contrasting colors in Futuristic painting that create a vibrant and energetic piece.
Gino Severini Yellow Dancer 1912
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Umberto Boccioni Dynamism of a Footballer 1914
Luigi Rossolo Dynamism of an Automobile 1911
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T
he
Futurist
principles
“communicating
the
of inner
vitality of physical material,” as said by Gualdoni, were also
present in sculpture. Futurist sculpture was based on the idea that “time, light and the relative movements between beings and things always convey as movement in space; not the form of bodies, but their life.” This is what Futurist sculpture tried to achieve through the style in which sculptures were produced. Unlike sculpture from previous art move-ments based in classical aesthetics and close representation, Futurist sculpture focused on the motion of the bodies.
Umberto Boccioni Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913
Umberto Boccioni Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913
One of the most famous Futurist sculptures and best examples of this whole idea was Boccioni’s Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. In this sculpture Boccioni created a continuity of forms before the
SCULP
spectator which would lead him to follow a new, abstract contour expressing the body in its material movements. Renato Bertelli’s Continuous Profile of Mussolini is also an example of the effort to
create continuity of forms, where the sculpture is Mussolini’s profile continuing around 360 degrees.
Left: Umberto Boccioni Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913
TU RE
Renato Bertelli Continuous Profile of Mussolini 1933
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LE A G
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Peter Jansen Runner 2007
F
uturism was a radical movement that sought to break free from the ideals of the past and transform not only the arts, but many aspects of
everyday life. The movement that began in the early twentieth century and lasted until about the late 1920s, also had an impact outside of Italy, particularly in Russia. Futurism influenced other art movements as
well,
including
Dadaism,
Russian
Constructivism, De Stijl, and Art Deco. It has inspired contemporary artwork. For example, the sculptures of artist Peter Jansen show motion of the bodies in a similar way to chrono-photography. Costas Varostos Dromeas 1994
Dromeas, or The Runner in English, by the Greek sculptor Costas Varostos, depicts the Frank Ghery Walt Dysney Concert House 2003
figure of a man running made of fragments of green glass each accommodated on top of each other, giving the illusion that the figure fades as it runs. In architecture, the Walt Disney Concert House is a an example of a Futurist-inspired work. The structure has qualities that resemble Futurist sculpture and painting, while giving the sensation of movement. Boccioni’s sculpture Unique Forms of Continuity in Space is featured on the back of the 20-cent Euro coin, showing the Futurist legacy today.
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Euro Coin 2002
Peter Jansen Heel Kick 2007
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