I have this hanging on my wall! The middle illustration, in Italian. I found it years ago in a bookstore in NYC and framed it. I never knew what it was, just have enjoyed the design and typography. I'm so happy to see this.
Thank you George for your words. Portia and I have known each other for a while here on Substack, and I always appreciate her kind and thoughtful comments.
Marinetti was such a phoney. He wanted to play the iconoclast, then ended up as an Accademico d'Italia with Mussolini, so very pro-establishment, and a Fascist one at that!
I am not an expert, but what is striking, even just reading this manifesto, is the explicit, almost blind glorification of violence and its highly theatrical tone. I wonder how much of it was deeply felt conviction and how much it was an intellectual posture designed just to provoke.
For sure, enthusiasm for war was not limited to the Futurists: many welcomed it, and many later paid the price. The Futurists were simply more vocal.
It might have well been provocation. It's easy to glorify war when you've never seen one, the blood, the guts spilling from the wounds on the abdomen, the stench of death, the sheer horror of it all.
I like better a Futurist like Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, who strolled around Moscow in a yellow and black-striped shirt.
Luckily, there is also a lighter side to this manifesto. The Futurists actually created garments in line with their program, and some of them are quite interesting, full of vivid colors and exuberance. I’ll share a few images in the coming days.
I have this hanging on my wall! The middle illustration, in Italian. I found it years ago in a bookstore in NYC and framed it. I never knew what it was, just have enjoyed the design and typography. I'm so happy to see this.
Thanks for letting me know. I am glad that you found my article helpful 😊
Cool read, I’ve always been fascinated by the futurists
Thank you!
Futurist always swinged between the clownish and the ingenious.
I agree. The more I learn about them, the less clear it becomes where the boundary lies between these two aspects.
Splendid article! ... and thanks for the link in your back-and-forth with Portia.
Thank you George for your words. Portia and I have known each other for a while here on Substack, and I always appreciate her kind and thoughtful comments.
Marinetti was such a phoney. He wanted to play the iconoclast, then ended up as an Accademico d'Italia with Mussolini, so very pro-establishment, and a Fascist one at that!
I am not an expert, but what is striking, even just reading this manifesto, is the explicit, almost blind glorification of violence and its highly theatrical tone. I wonder how much of it was deeply felt conviction and how much it was an intellectual posture designed just to provoke.
For sure, enthusiasm for war was not limited to the Futurists: many welcomed it, and many later paid the price. The Futurists were simply more vocal.
It might have well been provocation. It's easy to glorify war when you've never seen one, the blood, the guts spilling from the wounds on the abdomen, the stench of death, the sheer horror of it all.
I like better a Futurist like Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, who strolled around Moscow in a yellow and black-striped shirt.
Luckily, there is also a lighter side to this manifesto. The Futurists actually created garments in line with their program, and some of them are quite interesting, full of vivid colors and exuberance. I’ll share a few images in the coming days.
Brilliant, please do!
questi panciotti di Depero ad esempio sono tutti bellissimi! EDIT: non prende l'immagine :-( vedi a questo link: https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/italian-futurist-fashion/
Davvero favolosi, dovrebbero produrli e venderli.