Futurism

1. Futurism The dead shall be buried in the earth’s deepest bowels! The threshold of the future will be swept free of mummies! Make room for youth, for violence, for daring! http://www.unknown.nu/futurism/painters.html

2. Where and when? • Futurism was an Italian movement that began 1909 with the publishing of the Futurist Manifesto. • Futurism emerged at a time when Italy was in a period of social and political unease. • It ended in 1944 • Although the official ending of the movement can vary depending on the source of the information

3. Futurists disliked and rejected: • Classical art • Imitation • Art critics • Academic institutes

4. Futurists were driven by: • Violence and conflict • Modern technology • Machinery • The speed of fast cars, trains, planes • The excitement of modern city life

5. The founding member of Futurism was FilippoTommaso Marinetti. Marinetti was a poet who published his first Futurist Manifesto in 1909 Futurist artists included: GiacomoBalla Carlo Carra Luigi Russolo Gino Serverini Umberto Boccioni

6. Style and Influences • To begin with they were slow to develop a distinctive style • Earlier work shows influences of Neo-Impressionism and Pointillism • Later work was influenced by Cubism

7. This is an early Futurist painting by GiacomoBalla • Would you say that this painting is influenced by Pointillism or Cubism? • The painting is made of from dots and dashes • This is a technique used by Pointillist artists • What can you see in this painting? • Light • Rays or glow from the light • Moon • The title of this painting is Street Light • Can you see how the manmade light outshines the light from the moon?

8. Inspired by Rome’s first electric street lamps • Emphasis is on the light at the centre of the painting • The electric shines brighter than the moon • Demonstrates Futurist beliefs in technology

9. Pablo Picasso Le guitariste, 1910 Compare these two images • What are the similarities? • Both use geometric shapes • Both use similar colours • What are the differences? • One is a portrait • One is more static • One has more energy and movement Umberto Boccioni , The Charge of The Lancers, 1915

10. Force Lines • Futurists used marks called force lines • They could be straight or curved • Force lines were used to create energy and movement • They lead your eye around the work

11. This is a painting by Gino Severini • What can you see in the painting? • The title is Armoured train in action • Train • Smoke • Artillerymen • A cannon • Gunfire • Trees • Force lines • Arrow shape

12. This is a painting by GiacomoBalla • What can you see in this painting? • The title of the work is Swifts: Paths of Movement + Dynamic Sequences • Wave like lines force lines • Structural forms • Repetitive patterns • Birds • You can see in this painting Balla’s interest in stop frame photography.....

13. Stop Frame Photographyor Chronophotography The repeated lines reflect those in GiacomoBalla’s paintings

14. Time for quiz  Get into groups

15. Q. 1 what interested the Futurist artists/what were they inspired by? • Q. 2 Name the founding member of Futurism? • Q.3 When and where did the movement begin? • Q.4 Name 2 artists associated with the movement.

16. Q.5 What other art movements inspired the work of the Futurists? • Q. 6 What techniques did they use as a result of their influences from other art movements? • Q.7 Name one of the things that Futurists disliked and rejected.

17. Q.8 What was the name given to lines used to create energy and movement? • Q.9 Name 3 things you can see in Gino Severini’s painting ‘Armoured Train in Action’. • Q.10 What technology influenced GiacomoBalla’s work?

18. Well done! • For more information on Futurism and Futurist artists see: • http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/futurism/ • http://search.moma.org/?q=futurism&q1=The+Collection&x1=category