Italian Futurism

 by Jack H

Abstract Speed and Sound by Giacomo Balla

Originating in Italy in 1909, Futurism is an artistic and social movement that embraced dynamism, speed and technology. Initiated by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founder of Futurism, it aimed to “liberate Italy from the weight of the past” 1 with machinery, violence and science. According to the futurists, Italian art and culture had become stale and no major steps forward had been taken since the Renaissance period, the grand revival of classical art and culture. 

The Renaissance was a period of rediscovery of ancient knowledge that had been hidden or forgotten for centuries. Classical culture, art and science was revived and re-learnt and specifically the rediscovery of De Rerum Natura had a profound effect upon the Italian Renaissance. In the realms of science, many questions had been left unanswered for a substantial period of time by great minds such as Newton and Lucretius, until a rebellious young, German-born, theoretical physicist broke the silence in 1905 by publishing his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein. 

By no coincidence, this was just before the time of the Futurist movement that “glorified science” and praised technology. In 1894 Einstein moved to Italy after dropping out of college and in 1905 sent three articles to the most prestigious physics journal of the time, ‘Annalen der Physik’. This was a huge breakthrough in the scientific community that undoubtedly set off generations' worth of new research and inventions. Renaissance art often depicted events from the Bible and not only did Einstein’s discoveries shake the core of religion at that time, but the Futurist movement also had no interest in Christianity, attempting to move Italian culture in a new direction. 

Science, art and poetry united in an effort to break the moulds of the country's well established and long running social norms. The artwork that surrounded the movement ranged from painting to sculpture and from theatre to music, heavily influenced and led by the works of Russolo, Boccioni, Balla and many others, most of which were also highly acclaimed poets or musicians. Luigi Russolo focused on the relationship between sound and machinery, Giacomo Balla based his work primarily on movement and speed, worrying less about violence and technology, and Umberto Boccioni approached the dynamism of form through his work with sculpture. 

Many of the Futurists lost their lives during the First World War, enticed by the violence and noise of such a momentous ‘opportunity’. With many of the movement's protagonists lost through war, Futurism was reignited for a second time before coming to an abrupt end in 1944 when Filippo Marinetti, the founder and leader of Futurism, died.