Art Movement: Futurism – Celebration of Movement

Futurism definition: what is Futurism?

Futurism was an Italian art movement of the early 20th century, which aimed to capture the dynamism and energy of the modern world in art. Futurists were well versed in the latest developments in science and philosophy and particularly fascinated with aviation and cinematography. Futurist artists denounced the past, as they felt the weight of past cultures was extremely oppressive particularly in Italy and instead proposed an art celebrating modernity and its industry and technology.

Key period:1908 1944Key regions:ItalyKey words:movement, dynamism, modernity, industry, technology, speedKey artists:Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carr, Giacomo Balla, Gino Severini, Luigi Russolo, Benedetta Cappa, Antonio SantElia

In 1908, the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti swerved to miss a cyclist and crashed his car in a ditch. The experience of the old bicycle versus the modern car inspired him to write his manifesto of Futurism, a movement that would conquer nostalgia and tradition. By 1910, the young artists Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carr and Luigi Russolo had joined Marinettis movement. They suggested Futurism could reach beyond just literature and poetry, and the three artists wrote the Manifesto of Futurist Painters. They sent this to their colleagues Gino Severini and Giacomo Balla, who signed the manifesto. Together, these artists formed the core group of Futurist artists.

The Futurists sought to sweep away what they believed were outdated, traditional notions about art. Instead, they wanted to replace these with an energetic celebration of the machine age. The key focus was to represent a dynamic vision of the future. As such, they often portrayed urban landscapes and new technologies including trains, cars and aeroplanes. They glorified speed, violence and the working classes, believing they would advance change.

In order to achieve movement and dynamism in their art, the Futurists developed techniques in order to express speed and motion. These techniques included blurring and repetition. They also made use of lines of force a method which they had adopted from the Cubists. The Futurists worked across a wide range of art forms including painting, architecture, sculpture, literature, theatre and music.

Major players associated with Futurism in visual arts were Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carr, and Gino Severini.

Arguably the most iconic Futurist artwork ever made, Umberto BoccionisUnique Forms of Continuity in Spaceis a Cubo-Futurist figure striding in forward motion. The figures powerful legs seem to be marching ahead, carved by forces such as wind and speed. This modern-man machine can be read as an allegory for Italys quest to define itself as a modern nation.

Dynamism of a Dog on a Leashis Ballas best-known work, and shows a dachshund on a leash and the feet of the lady walking it in rapid motion. Balla achieved this motion by blurring and multiplication of their legs and feet.

The Funeral of the Anarchist Galliis one of Carrs most famous works. Angelo Galli was an anarchist and labour organiser in Milan who was killed by the police during a strike in 1904. Since they feared that Gallis funeral would turn into a political demonstration, the state sent police to obstruct anarchists from entering the cemetery. When they resisted, police responded with force and a fight broke out. Carr witnessed the event and captured the intensity and chaos of the scene, as well as the rapid movement, in this painting.

Gino Severinis dancer is depicted in the centre of the painting and is composed of dynamic intersecting lines and swirling fabric. Concentric circles lead outwards to the edges of the painting, and each circular layer contains fragmentary images of musicians, instruments and audience members. This is meant to capture the essence and dynamism of the performance.

Italian architect Antonio SantElia embraced the twin ideals of mechanisation and motion, proposing a vision of a modern city in the form of a gigantic machine; he named it Citt Nuova (New City), a name quite contextually appropriate. This utopian futurist city, designed between 1912 and 1914, was a vast, multi-level, interconnected urban conurbation where massive skyscrapers were integrated by elevators, bridges, and elevated walkways in a constantly evolving artificial landscape. Paradoxically, SantElia, like many other Futurists, saw warfare as the means to destroy the old world and build the much sought after future. However, it was the entropy of war itself that would shatter their illusions, destroying not only the socio-economic conditions necessary to facilitate such grandiose plans but also its main protagonists SantElia was himself killed in a battle at the age of twenty-eight with almost no completed works of architecture left behind.

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Art Movement: Futurism - Celebration of Movement