The Characteristics of futurism Vary according to the art to which they refer, although some common are the exaltation of modernity and dynamism.
Futurism was a movement emerged in Italy in the 20th century that expanded throughout Europe. It was released by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti With the publication in Figaro of France in 1909 of the Futuristic Manifesto .
Dynamism of a cyclist (1913), Umberto Boccioni
It was developed in Russia, Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and other countries. In Italy it is considered that futurism is divided into two stages: the first from 1909 to the 1920s and the second from the 1920s to 1938. The second stage was very influenced by the political situation of the time.
This current highlighted danger, movement, technology, light, struggle and other phenomena to which earlier artistic movements had not paid much attention.
This movement arose in Italy where the tyranny of the classical world did not allow young people to express themselves in a rebellious way. Futurism has general and specific characteristics of each artistic expression.
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List of 8 general characteristics of futurism
1- It is an antihistorical, anti-naturalist and non-anthropocentric movement
2- Exaltation of modernity
The movement exalted modernity and called artists"freeing themselves from the past." It is interesting that just in Italy, where the classic influence is palpable, this movement was called for to deny classical art.
He Renaissance art And other artistic currents were considered by the Futurists as an interpretation of classicism, which did not allow a new aesthetic to develop.
Futurists were revealed against the harmony of classical art. For example, Cubism refused to represent reality in classical terms, where the harmony of forms prevailed, but made existence more mechanical, which allowed us to see the most primary forms of things.
3 - Admiration by the machines
Futurists loved machines. Futurism tried to eliminate bourgeois culture and its destructive force expressed the aggressive aesthetics of urban life. The idea of destruction of reality was professed by the futurists.
4- Interest in the occult
Futurists sought to present to the public a more primary and hidden reality of things. Influenced by the philosophy of the intuition of Henri Bergson , Sought with the help of forms to represent the occult. It should be remembered that Bergson developed the philosophy of movement, thought and what moves, time and space.
5- The universal dynamism
Futurists believed in universal dynamism as the artistic principle and basis of human development. This postulate was reflected in artistic expressions in different ways.
For example, Umberto Boccioni In his sculpture Unique forms of continuity in space (1913) represents movement and change. His work does not represent a moment in time, but is dynamic.
6- Apology of urbanism
Futurist art was an apology for urbanism, for the"concrete jungle", the city. The main feature of futuristic urbanism was rationalism.
The buildings had to be practical. For example, Florence Santa Maria Novella Station, built by a group of architects Giovanni Michelucci .
7- It is a symbolist movement
Strength, movement, violence and aggressiveness were the main values of futurism and the most important thing was to represent them in their works.
In that sense, it can be said that the theme of works was not of great importance as long as these values were reflected.
In relation to these values, futurism can be defined as symbolist, in the sense that it used the image of a"hard hand"to represent force or aggressiveness. It is considered that the futurists were very influenced by the French symbolism.
8- Exaltation of originality
Futurists applauded the original works or techniques. It was important to represent futuristic values in an unconventional way.
For example, the Russian futurists merged futurism with geometric abstraction thus creating Rayonism . This slope in the painting stood out for its bright colors. An example would be the works Electric Lamps from Natalia Goncharova or Red and blue from Mikhail Larionov .
Specific characteristics of futurism
Futuristic painting
It was characterized specifically by the use of elongated brush strokes. This technique allowed better transmission of movement. Also, the futurists expressed their moods, alternating the dynamic elongated lines with empty spaces. In this way, they expressed discouragement.
Glowing colors were a way for futurist painters to highlight movement. The technique of drawing the same image several times in different colors and overlapping it, was not only a way of representing the movement, but a technique developed under the influence of cinema and photography.
The succession of an image in different colors generated and represented a rhythm, which can be understood as the rhythm of the city and development and transparency in painting and architecture were related to the idea of the world of the future in which They would use other bills in construction and art.
Political issues were also highlighted, especially in Russian futurism. In the second stage of futurism, the Aeropittura reigns, which sought to reflect the flight, the planes and the dynamism of a city that grows. An example of futuristic painting is the Armed train in action (1915) Gino Severini .
Futuristic architecture
Opera House. Copenhagen.
Influenced the Art Deco , That prevailed in the architecture before World War II. It was characterized by the rationalism of buildings and the use of space, in addition to the use of non-conventional materials such as plastic.
Futuristic architecture was reinvented during the Space age . It developed within what was futuristic urbanism, which was a holistic conception of the cities of the future.
One of the most important principles of futuristic architecture and urbanism was the constant renewal of the city. It was considered that in the future the houses would be built to have the useful life of a generation and each generation should build their own houses.
At present, futuristic architecture has been reborn in neo-futurism. In recent years many neo-futuristic buildings have been built, such as The Copenhagen Opera House.
Futuristic graphic design
It was characterized by the transformation of traditional typography and the presentation of texts. The texts became designs of dynamic composition with drawings that evoked futuristic values.
The texts were placed diagonally with a contrast of sizes. At times, a text was composed of figures made, which gave a character varied and expressive.
In 1910, the"Manifesto of Futurist Painters"was signed by Carra , Balla , Severini and Luigi Russolo , Who applied the futurist theory to the decorative arts. For example, the Lacerba revits.
Futuristic fashion
It developed from the Manifesto, although its rise was related to the Space Age. At this time fashion designers experimented with new materials and their costumes looked like space suits.
Andre Courrèges , Pierre Cardin Y Paco Rabanne Were the greatest exponents of futuristic fashion. This fashion stood out for the development of many unisex garments.
Dressmakers preferred circular shapes, the comfort and practicality of suits, and often ignored femininity, so they were heavily criticized.
Futuristic music
He used city noises as musical notes. For example, the typing of a typewriter or the market noise in the city. These sounds had to be harmoniously integrated with the musical notes.
In 1910 the Futuristic Music Manifesto That instead of unmasking"the aesthetics"of futuristic music, rather described the attitude of the"futurist musicians". They had to leave classical music education centers and dedicate themselves to creating their works freely and outside the influence of academic music.
This manifesto called the musicians to replace the musical notes and scores for a free music and also declared the song as of equal value to the music, since previously the singers were the central figures in any orchestra.
The biggest representative of futuristic music is Luigi Russolo, author of A Rte of Noises . Luigi constructed a set of experimental instruments called Intonarumori, with which he composed works like The awakening of the City . Other famous futurist musicians were Arthur-Vincent Lourié and Alexander Goedick .
The Futuristic Theater
It is mostly a variety theater in which several short numbers are presented. It emphasized vaudeville, that was a type of light comedy with few personages.
The futurist theater used to have only one act. Also notable was the music hall, which was a type of vaudeville famous in England, which brought together performance, dance and music.
The theater of varieties presented many acts, where they were not related with each other. These included musical numbers, illusionism, poetry, stand up, circus, sample of biological rarities, juggling, athletes and vedettes.
The Futurist Literature
He emphasized not only the issues he was addressing but also his attempt to revolutionize the grammar of languages. One of the main ideas of the futurist literature was the negation of punctuation marks and grammatical rules.
Grammatical rules and syntax were considered as a hindrance, something that prevented or limited the author's creativity. The metrical rules of poetry were also changed.
The poet who most stood out for not meeting these standards was the Russian Vladimir Mayakovski , Initiator of Russian futurism. His work Slap to the public taste Was a critique of the literature prior to Futurism. The literary genre that developed most during the period was poetry.
The Futuristic Cinema
Picture of the film Thaïs (1917). Bragaglia.
It was characterized by the use of optical illusions. It was the oldest movement of European avant-garde cinema. Its cultural significance was very broad and influenced all later avant-garde movements.
His legacy can be seen in the works of Alfred Hitchcock . The production of the avant-garde film was quite limited.
The first experimental films of the Corradini brothers, dubbed Ginna and Corra, were not preserved, but they are known to have used the cinepitture technique (hand-colored films) with scattered and confused color touches. The futurist cinema was continued by the German expressionist cinema.
The only significant futuristic film is Thai , Filmed in 1917 and directed by Anton Giulio Bragaglia . A copy is preserved in the Cinematheque of France. The story is conventional for the time, but the effects made by the painter Enrico Prampolini created a capricious and oppressive world of spirals and chessboards.
It is possible to emphasize the influence of the futuristic architecture in the cinema. For example, the architect Virgilio Marchi Designed the set of more than 50 films, among which stand out Condottieri (1937) and Lost in the Dark (1947).
Futuristic gastronomy
Futurists, who sought to influence all aspects of daily life, also launched a gastronomic manifesto. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti also published the Futuristic Manifesto of the Kitchen Published on January 20, 1931. Although French chef Jules Maincave is considered to be the forerunner of the ideas Marinetti explains in his manifesto.
Marinetti stated that traditional cooking methods are boring and stupid. He also considered that Italians should eliminate pasta from their diet.
This thinker called on chemists to experiment with the flavors and the consistency of food, he felt it necessary to create new mixtures and abolish the fork, knife, traditional condiments, weight and volume of food. Marinetti believed that it was necessary to create changing morsels.
After the launch of the manifesto, futuristic conferences and banquets were organized in Italy and France and the restaurant"Santopalato"was opened. Marinetti would then publish The Futuristic Kitchen by Marinetti and Fillia .
References
- Humphreys R., Futurism, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
- Verdone M., The Futurist Movement, Rome, Lucarini, 1986.
- De Torre, Guillermo, History of Literatures of Vanguardia, Madrid, 1965.