Futurism

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  • Futurism
    • Intro Points
      • Marinetti's manifesto Feb 1909- new artistic movement rejecting the past
      • Based on velocita (speed) 'the world's beauty has been enriched with the beauty of speed'
      • Political programme of extreme nationalism- associated with Fascism and Mussolini
      • Italy catching up with developments eg. Fiat car and hydroelectricity
        • Milan becoming industrial centre
      • Severini: 'modern sensibility being qualified to grasp the idea of speed'
      • Influence of photography e.g. Muybridge and Marley 'the Horse in Motion' (1878
    • Boccioni 'The City Rises' (1910)
      • Description
        • Men and horses straining with a heavy object
        • Large scale 199cm x 301 cm creates monumental forcefulness
        • Horses exaggerated and dominate the canvas
        • Dissolving lines suggest combined effort
          • Divisionism- long, thin strokes, exaggeration of movement in tension of slanting figures, surge from left to right
        • Element of abstraction but recognisable subject
        • Blending of man, environment and animal
        • Background has building site with factories, chimneys trains
        • Light creates movement with repeated shapes and light
          • Light also used to dissolve forms- sense of shifting
            • "I have attempted to produce a great synthesis of work, light and movement"
      • Context
        • Originally intended to be called 'labour'
        • Depicition of horses linking to development of industry in Italy
          • Horses seen as symbols of violent force e.g. Munch 'Galloping Horse' (1912)
          • Martin suggests connection with 'Pegasus Captive' (1889) by Redon
          • Marinetti described cars as 'snorting beasts' and called his car Pegasus
        • Links to Futurist's 'Technical Manifesto'- creating movement through dissolving forms
        • Poet Juels Ronards spoke of unification of movement
          • Theory of unanimism- humanity coming together in modern city, creating feelings of joy
        • Links to Milan at the time- separating from Florence and becoming new cultural/ industrial centre of Italy
    • Severini 'The Boulevard' (1910)
      • Description
        • Subject matter of city of Paris- modern and dynamic
        • Lively urban scenes, humanity in joyous form
        • Decorative and non-academic
          • Expressive and non-representative use of colour- provides rythmn
            • Warm colours come forward in compositions with cooler blues and greens offering contrast and depth
        • Surface divided with geometric structure- diagonals prominent with pyramidal form
          • Geometrical forms painted with block colour- linear
            • Destroys perspective
        • Light interrupts and divides forms
      • Context
        • Theory of unanimism from Jules Romains- togetherness in modern city
          • Marinetti: 'we should draw inspiration from the tangible miracles of contemporary life
        • Optimistic treatment of speed and movemement
          • Futurist's view of the city as positive, joyous force
        • Influence from Cubists from living in Paris
        • Visual suggestion of speed through line and repetition of colour
        • Use of patterning show influence of Klimt and Matisse
    • Balla 'Dynamism of a Dog on a Lead' (1912)
      • Description
        • Ground level perspective of a dog and an unidentified human figure walking behind it
        • Suggestion we are getting dog's view of the world
        • Restrained colour and thick brushwork to convey rapid movement with overlapping shapes
        • Dog has 8 tails and 15 feet- repetition of lines to show where the will be
          • Sense of simultaneous views whilst the viewer's vision is stationary
        • Alludes to effect of camera on long exposure
        • Geometric interaction of diagonal lines from bottom left to right as an indicator of the direction they're going
        • Varying light intensity and colours- invites sensation of movement
          • Stark contrast of black and white draws attention to this
      • Context
        • Rapid and dynamic influence of photography - speed and technological developments
        • 'Synthesis of what one remembers and what one sees'
        • 1880s scientist Etienne-Jules Marey invented chronophotography gun- recording successive movements on single photographic plate
          • Balla studied motion of horses
        • Balla: 'iridescent interpretation'
    • Boccinoni 'Unique Forms of Continuous Motion in Space' (1913)
      • Description
        • Depicts nude male, defined muscles and accentuated by reflective bronze, exaggerated proportions
        • Multiple views made visible
        • No arms and featureless face- wears helmet with kind of visor
        • Original work made of plaster- more delicate and transient
        • Has vigour of Baroque sculpture but more about its position in space than the figure
          • Attempt to move away from 'finite line and closed sculpture'
        • Figure seems to dissolves, regenerate and transforms the surface into curved planes
        • Interior shell-like forms give energy and movement
      • War
        • Philosophy of Nietzsche's theory of the 'Superman'
        • Fast changing life of Italian society and surge of enthusiasm for war
          • Heroism and strength- idealisation of the future human
        • Influence of Gabrielle D'Annunzio- writer experimenting with superman role
        • Marinetti's poetry 'Destruction' (1914) focusing on positives of war
          • 'The only cure of the world, a superb blazing of enthusiasm and generosity, a noble bath of heroism'
        • Bronze- machine like
      • Influences
        • Series of sculptures as illustrated answer to Technical Manifesto 1912
        • Medardo Rosso, Post Impressionist sculptor in aerodynamic energy, thrust and abstraction
        • Muybridge and Marey's chronophotography- movement in several frames
        • 'Winged Victory of Samothrace' at Louvre- movement of fabric
        • Striding figure also seen in Rodin's 'St. John the Baptist Preaching' and 'Walking Man'

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