Futurism within Art Movements

art movement, Futurist art, art critic, young artists, technology, futurism

Futurism within Art Movements

 

 

 

Futurism, like so many other art movements, was a product of its age. As the early 20^th century continued to propel us forward into new technologies, artists began to confront this phenomenon spilling over into their works. Futurist art was, as a whole, greatly concerned with new technology (how it was created, what it was used for, and how it was expected to spread), machines (particularly the new mass-production factories benefiting from centralized assembly line design) and war. Born in Italy, Futurist art was initially driven by such talents as Filippo Tomasso Marinetti, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini. The movement capitalized on a manifesto written by Marinetti in which he implored young artists to “set fire to library shelves…flood the museums.” Understandably, there were many art critics who accepted his statements at face value, condemning Futurist works as anarchist, childish, and reactionary. Though the works were definitely reactionary (driven primarily by the broad technological changes that were occurring in almost every industry), at the core of Futurism was an appeal to the individual artist’s passion, with the paintings demanding that he or she become emotionally involved with the work.

 

 

Such characteristics made the art movement extremely popular with young artists as they rushed to embrace cities, pollution, noise, and all other facets of urban life as the cities themselves rapidly increased in population density as the new manufacturing capacity brought a gigantic influx of new workers looking for steady employment. Their art utilized dynamic brushstrokes as many of these young artists attempted to capture their subjects in motion. We must remember that audiences were seeing motion pictures for the very first time during this era and many people were simply amazed by the technology. Thus, some artists attempted to recreate a similar effect on the canvas.

 

 

Despite the dismissals by some art critics, Futurism survived and thrived, eventually becoming its own technological movement emphasizing (as one might imagine) a special interest in the future and how our technology might improve over time. Futurism in science often takes an extremely long-term view, asking how humanity might improve (or harm) itself over the course of several human lifetimes. The fascination with technology, however, has remained. Futurism now turns its eye to large problems, such as how we might be able to colonize other worlds, how we might be able to make full use of solar energy, and how we can address the problems overpopulation has created in different parts of the world. 

 

Keywords: art movement, Futurist art, art critic, young artists, technology, futurism