What Is the Futurist Movement?

Speed, youth, violence, pollution from a thousand machines hanging over an industrial skyline punctuated with smokestacks and skyscrapers. Rain, black with soot falling on a landscape devoid of trees or grass.
This was some of the world as envisioned by artists who called themselves "futurists."

Founder

The Futurist movement began in the early twentieth century with founding member, Italian Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Marinetti stated that art can and will be "nothing but violence, cruelty and injustice" (see Resources).

Ideals

The Futurist movement denounced anything from the past, turning their attention to technology and the future, along with the repression of nature and man's triumph over nature.

The Futurist Movement in Art

Paintings and sculptures done with the futurist ideals in mind tend to be chaotic and unclear, the figures and paintings giving the impression of speed, violence and insanity.

Cooking the Futurist Way

Marinetti laid out guidelines for the ideal futurist meal, a series of stringent dos and don'ts. Included in these guidelines were ideas that there should be no use of the knife or fork, foods should be sculpted to be as pleasing to the eye as they are to the mouth, perfumes and scents should be used as accents to the taste, and questionable conversations--including politics, music and poetry--are forbidden.

Prominent Artists

The futurist movement inspired some staunch followers, including Italian writer Giovanni Papini, Vladimir Mayakovsky (one of the founding members of the Russian Futurist movement) and Primo Conti.

Impact

It is largely believed that the Futurist movement died with its leader in 1944, but its influences can still be seen in other artistic movements, such as Surrealism and Dada. Futurism has also found a distinctive place in cinema, where its heavy influence can be seen in classics such as "Blade Runner" and "A Clockwork Orange."

Resources

• The Futurist Movement