WHAT IS FUTURISM?
Imagine you are in 20th century Italy, and while all the major power are making advancements technologically and culturally, Italy is there representing the past. Italy is a reminder of the Renaissance and other ancient arts, and stands to remind everyone of the past. How would this make you feel? What would you want to do? Well, as for many open-minded people that actually lived at the time, they wanted to change that. Such people, later known as futurists, wanted to think about the future, and completely erase their past from history. This advancement was represented by all the energy and movement depicted in the paintings, sculptures, and the like in futurism art.
In 1909, an Italian poet by the name of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published The Futurist Manifesto on the front page of one of the largest newspapers at the time. It was in this manifesto that Marinetti coined the term "futurism." This article caught the attention of many people who believed in the same ideals as Marinetti. The manifesto strongly encouraged the idea of moving forward and forgetting the past. This led to the movement we now call the Futurism movement. By 1912, futurism had spread to other countries, especially Russia.
Though I really like the ideas behind futurism, there are a couple negative thing that came out of this. Many people, such as dictators and fascist groups, used futurism as an excuse to fight and cause violence. Such people believed that war was a great way to destroy the past and replace it with the future. Futurism also supported ideas such as destruction museums and contempt for women and feminism. Though the forward-moving ideas of futurism is really great, the ideas such as the glorification of war and contempt toward women added horrible opinions against futurism.
SOME EXAMPLES OF FUTURISM
Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912. Oil on canvas
90 cm x 110 cm Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The picture to the left, Dynamics of a Dog on a Leash, was painted by Italian painter, Giacomo Balla. Unlike many other futurist works, I see this painting as much more of a realistic than abstract due to the fact that the dog and its owner are easily perceived. The painting captures the many movements of a dog on a leash next to its owner. You can see the dog, its leash, and its owner's feet moving, and is basically the different frames of the action stacked upon each other. This is a great example of a futurism art because movement is clearly expressed through use of a unique technique where darker, bolder shades are used to present something happening currently and lighter, blurrier shades are used to present something happening moments ago. Because of this illusion, looking at this painting for the first time made me think of movement right away.
90 cm x 110 cm Albright-Knox Art Gallery
The picture to the left, Dynamics of a Dog on a Leash, was painted by Italian painter, Giacomo Balla. Unlike many other futurist works, I see this painting as much more of a realistic than abstract due to the fact that the dog and its owner are easily perceived. The painting captures the many movements of a dog on a leash next to its owner. You can see the dog, its leash, and its owner's feet moving, and is basically the different frames of the action stacked upon each other. This is a great example of a futurism art because movement is clearly expressed through use of a unique technique where darker, bolder shades are used to present something happening currently and lighter, blurrier shades are used to present something happening moments ago. Because of this illusion, looking at this painting for the first time made me think of movement right away.
Umberto Boccioni, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913
The sculpture to the left was meant to represent an object in motion though time and space. The abstract, wavy shapes are supposed to represent the different shapes that the statue would form into during the motion. The smooth texture, color, and luster is supposed to represent the machinery and the future. Merely looking at this sculpture for the first time made me think of something very futuristic like The Matrix, robots, and future inventions.
Gino Severini, Armored Train, 1915
The painting to the left depicts an armored train filled with artillery. The fact that it is a train shows that it is a futurist piece of art because that relates to locomotion. This piece of futurist painting, unlike many others, captures another side of futurism, which is the glorification of war. The cannons and the guns represents war and violence that futurism supports. By having cooler colors such as blue, dark green, and black being surrounded by warmer colors such as red, yellow, and white really helps focus the attention of the shooters and canon. When I first looked at the painting, I saw a tower, but upon further investigation, I was able to tell that the picture was of a few men, equipped with guns, in a steel vehicle that contained a cannon.
MUJ CRITIQUES
Futurism is definitely one of the most interesting artistic movements. Italian futurists, unlike many other people in their society, stood up for what they believed was not right. They did not want to be remembered as just another country who had their time, but a country that is still important and that will continue to make an impact in the future. I really love and appreciate this avant-garde type of attitude and mindset. This is the sort of mindset that made Italy and futurism such a great hit. I think that if futurists had not been emotionally connected to this, and had not fought with all their hearts, futurism would not have been as big as it did. Although these ideas are amazing and thought-provoking, I very much disliked some of the other ideas. For one, futurists "glorified war." The fact that they believed war, of all things, was a good was a good way to forget the past sickens me. Also, they were anti-feminists, which sickens me just as much. Not only does this look bad, but this belief most likely made futurism lose many females that might have been supportive of the bright side of futurism. These Though futurism might have encouraged some negative effects, it is clear to see why the idea of futurism was so successful in the 20th century.
Futurism is definitely one of the most interesting artistic movements. Italian futurists, unlike many other people in their society, stood up for what they believed was not right. They did not want to be remembered as just another country who had their time, but a country that is still important and that will continue to make an impact in the future. I really love and appreciate this avant-garde type of attitude and mindset. This is the sort of mindset that made Italy and futurism such a great hit. I think that if futurists had not been emotionally connected to this, and had not fought with all their hearts, futurism would not have been as big as it did. Although these ideas are amazing and thought-provoking, I very much disliked some of the other ideas. For one, futurists "glorified war." The fact that they believed war, of all things, was a good was a good way to forget the past sickens me. Also, they were anti-feminists, which sickens me just as much. Not only does this look bad, but this belief most likely made futurism lose many females that might have been supportive of the bright side of futurism. These Though futurism might have encouraged some negative effects, it is clear to see why the idea of futurism was so successful in the 20th century.
WORK CITED
• "The Art Story.org - Your Guide to Modern Art." Futurism Movement, Artists and Major Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theartstory.org/movement-futurism.htm>.
•"Italian Futurism: An Introduction." Italian Futurism. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/futurism.html>.
• "Umberto Boccioni. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. 1913 (cast 1931)." MoMA.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=81179>.
• Marinetti, Filippo T. "The Futurist Manifesto." The Futurist Manifesto. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html>.
• Yontz, Aaron. "Futurism, Futurist Practices." Futurism and Futurist Practices. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.unc.edu/~jimlee/AaronYontzFuturism.htm>.
• Kleiner, Fred S. "Chapter 35: Europe and America, 1900 to 1945." Art Through the Ages: A Global History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 926-28. Print.
• "The Art Story.org - Your Guide to Modern Art." Futurism Movement, Artists and Major Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theartstory.org/movement-futurism.htm>.
•"Italian Futurism: An Introduction." Italian Futurism. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/futurism.html>.
• "Umberto Boccioni. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. 1913 (cast 1931)." MoMA.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=81179>.
• Marinetti, Filippo T. "The Futurist Manifesto." The Futurist Manifesto. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html>.
• Yontz, Aaron. "Futurism, Futurist Practices." Futurism and Futurist Practices. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.unc.edu/~jimlee/AaronYontzFuturism.htm>.
• Kleiner, Fred S. "Chapter 35: Europe and America, 1900 to 1945." Art Through the Ages: A Global History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 926-28. Print.