Futurists

Group members: Dave Cowden, Charly Joung, Silver Ogbogu, Matthew Rivard, Robert Stone

A. The futurists of the early 20th century - centrally focused in Italy and led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti - were members of what was, specifically at the start, a movement of ideology rather than of a specific style or technique of art. They were enraptured chiefly with originality and anything that was created by humans in defiance of nature, and had a contempt for all things of the past. What would arise, in terms of a distinctive style of painting (though the futurist movement was not limited to painting - it was also prevalent in music, film, literature, and architecture), was the use of dynamism and, as a primary manner of expressing that dynamism, cubism. The analytic nature of cubist painting allowed futurists to break down and convey the intricacies of experience connected to various subjects, often including, but not limited to urban landscapes.

Futurism was not only prevalent in visual art, but also in music. Musical futurism has had a lasting impact on contemporary music, particularly in the past 20 years. Experimentation in the early 20th century with the use of machinery to create sounds was groundbreaking for the time, and is a technique that has seen a rise in prominence in the electronic and noise music genres. Some of the well-known artists influenced by the ideas of the futurist movement include Sonic Youth and Boards of Canada, who serve as examples of just how important the futurist movement has been for music as well as how far reaching the style of music is in terms of audience-gathering.

B. When futurism was first coming about, the technology of that time played a big influence on the emergence of this new art form. Futurist artists arose in many mediums of art forms such as painting, industrial design, theatre, film, music, literature, and architecture. Technology of that time was producing an unnerving feeling into the known futurist artists such as F.T. Marinetti and Luigi Russolo. Marinetti, among others, loathed artistic tradition during his time, disregarded previous art, and was a strong believer of originality. The contemporary mainstream art practices of his time made possible this new art form of futurism to Marinetti and others of the like.

Futurist architecture example:

Futurist architects were at odds with the classic roman aesthetic patterns that were prevalent during their time.

Classical roman example:

Futurist Antonio Sant'Elia’s drawing of “the new city” between 1912 and 1914 – never built:

His ideas inspired future architects and their buildings such as the Capitol Records building (1956):

C. Futurists have always favored the technological triumph of humanity over nature, emphasizing the importance of youth, speed, power, and technology. Although many argue the movement died out by the 1940’s with the death of Marinetti, one could easily argue that the futurist idealology has long survived, and, in fact, has been permanately ingrained into our society. We seem to value youth, speed, power, and technology more than ever.

With today’s technological advancements, namely computers and the internet, many argue that the futurists have been making a comeback. Deeply rooted in discontent with politics and society, many people are contributing to what is called modern “futurism”. The internet allows any and every one to share all mediums of art whether it be a picture, an essay, a song, a video, a blog, etc. Its allowing a new futurist movement to come together, world wide, to interact and grow, all the time, everywhere. Denouncing traditional conventionalism and demanding social changes. In many ways, futurism became more than just an art form, as Patrick Dixon discusses in the following video clip. He explores the importance of “futurists” in the modern world, particularly in the businesses setting.

Patrick Dixon discusses the important role of “the futurist” in today’s world…

Modern “futurist” Ray Kurzweil delivers a video manifesto of his own…

Futurist Dance, 100 Years of Futurism; Amersham Arms, London, UK…

D. As a new art form and like many others that came before it, Futurism strived to stray away from the traditional aesthetics of the time. Though Futurism was different than many of the art forms that preceded it, there were some elements from previous art forms that Futurism reflected on and remixed. By examining Futurism and other preceding art forms/ movements such as Art Nouveau and Impressionism, we can see how Futurism reflected on these art forms.

The new art form, Futurism originated in 1905 by writer and poet Fillippo Marinetti. Marinetti did not want to conform to the traditional writing style, so he sought to liberate his artistic writing through the formation of his manifesto of Futurism. So Marinetti along with other artists like Carlo Barra and Luigi Russolo went on to create their own modern aesthetics that focused on subject matter like machinery, aggressive lifestyles, speed, and excitement. Throughout this movement, no longer were the artists bond by traditional aesthetics, but they created their own aesthetic which deemed machines and modernity as significant.

The Impressionism art movement occurred during the late 19^th century in France. Most of the artwork was of paintings depicting unstructured subjects that were not classified as beautiful. The artist would capture the subject “in the moment” without worrying about if the subject was aesthetically pleasing or posed in a certain position. Moreover, most of the artwork was not about making the subject appear realistic, but it was the artists’ interpretation of what they thought the subject would look like if they were painted in small brushstrokes.

The Art Nouveau movement took place 1890-1914, which overlapped with the Futurism movement. Art Nouveau was more of a social art form, which emerged in response to the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, most of the artwork during this movement involved architecture and decoration as a form of beauty. In relation to Futurism, Art Nouveau was also artwork that concentrated on modernization and focusing on the changes that were occurring during that time period.

Futurism creates artwork through machinery, which is complex and radical. This is quite similar to Impressionist art, because impressionist art was also complex and radical, especially through the use of countless broken brushstrokes to create a cohesive image. Futurism reflected on the art form of Art Nouveau, because Art Nouveau was inspired by modernity and the industrial revolution. Thus, it is clear that Futurism was also inspired to create artwork based on modernity, primary machinery.

E. The ideals of futurism are not only critical to the growth of our society, but also inevitable. Proof of the impact futurism has had on society can easily be seen through a singular mode known as the internet. The internet encompasses many futurist ideals, and it has shaped the way that the society has grown in past decades and paves the way for how it will move forward. It has given society unlimited knowledge that is decentralized, free of ownership, time and space, and authority, and allows for the collaboration of individuals and groups no matter where on Earth (and beyond) they may be. Before, barriers such as politics, economics, authorship, and time and space have held back our true growth potential. The internet’s embedment in our lives is leading to changes via the destruction of those barriers that restrain society’s evolution. I leave you with a YouTube video that does an excellent job in showing the potential critical functions of futurism as its best (the internet).