“The Futurist Manifesto” is the ultimate piece written by the Italian poet and artist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and published on 20th February 1909 in the French newspaper Le Figaro. It exposed people to the critical concepts that Futurism, a rival movement, set out to praise modernity, technology, and the intensity of the citizens’ contemporary experience. It extolled velocity, technical devices, war, and the industrial class in contrast to tradition. It manifested a fascination with eras to come and a dislike of past ways (Marinetti,1909, pg.40). It glorified murder as the only way for the world to be healed, advocated for the utter destruction of museums and libraries, and called for a truce in the past with no pain at any level of life whatsoever, including art, literature, or politics.
The hallmark of the Futurist Manifesto is that it strongly impacted the development of art and design. It was the point of a break-up from traditional artistic symbols; therefore, it set the stage for a new visual perception to represent the power and fast pace of the modern era (Jones, 2021). The Futurist artists employed vanguard techniques such as simultaneity, motion, and disjointness to express the essence of living in an age of technology, which took over all aspects of life.
One of the primary concepts outlined within the manifesto is the celebration of velocity and dynamism. Marinetti exalts the virtues of speedy motion and technological development, proclaiming, “We claim that the beauty of the world has been enriched via a new splendor: the splendor of pace.” This emphasis on velocity displays the Futurists’ fascination with the modern City surroundings, characterized by bustling streets, mechanized transportation, and industrialization.
Linked to the celebration of speed is the rejection of the beyond and a fervent embrace of the future. Marinetti calls for an entire break from culture, putting forward, We want to demolish museums and libraries, fight morality, feminism, and all opportunist and utilitarian cowardice (Falcone, 2023). This rejection of the beyond is a central guideline of Futurism, which seeks to loosen itself from the constraints of history and forge a brand new path ahead.
Marinetti’s contempt for traditional art and his call for radical innovation are central themes in “The Futurist Manifesto. He vehemently rejects the art conventions of the past and demands a complete break with tradition in favour of a bold, forward-thinking art style.
In the manifesto, Marinetti denounces traditional art forms: “We will destroy all museums, libraries, and academies,” reflecting his belief that these institutions work to preserve and stifle the artistic heritage of the past and curb development by suppressing creativity (Popalisky and Bracco, 2016, pg.310). Marinetti’s call for radical innovation is reflected in his desire for artists to embrace new expressions that reflect the development of the modern world. He writes, “Let us sing the vibrant joy of night with.” singing of arsenals and shipyards illuminated by chaotic lightning moons,” emphasizing Marinetti’s Painterly Modern Age Technology -encouraging us to draw inspiration from marvels, such as machines and industry, and to seek alternatives if it captures the energy and vitality of urban environments (Falcone, 2023). The manifesto advocates the destruction of museums and libraries as a symbolic gesture representing a break from the past. Marinetti sees these institutions as repositories of outdated ideas and art forms that hinder societal progress. By calling for their destruction, Marinetti seeks to eliminate the influence of tradition and make room for a revolutionary new art.
Marinetti’s interest in motion and movement as an aesthetic principle is integral to “The Futurist Manifesto.” He sees the world constantly evolving and driven forward by technology, industry, and urban forces. Marinetti seeks to capture this sense of movement and energy in art, advocating a radical departure from static, traditional forms in favor of dynamic, innovative expression.
In the manifesto, Marinetti celebrates speed as a symbol of modernity and progress, “We declare that the glory of the world has been enriched with another beauty: the beauty of speed.” he encourages artists to depict movement and speed in their work. Connected to Marinetti’s interest in speed, his ability to run is emphasized as a critical aesthetic principle (Zaccaria,2021, pg. 60). He writes, “A race car whose hood is decorated with expensive tubes like explosive breathing snakes—a roaring car that looks like it’s riding on a toasted vine—is more beautiful than conquering Samothrace Marinetti sees strength as.” it is inherently beautiful, Capturing the energy and energy of the modern era, he encourages artists to experiment with new techniques and techniques that create a sense of emotion and change.
Furthermore, Marinetti’s interest in movement extends beyond the physical realm to encompass broader concepts of change and innovation. Rejecting the immovable, unchanging elements of the past, Marinetti believes that art must be evolutionary in response to an artistic vision that is dynamic, changeable, and responsive to the changing realities of modern life after the 1990s
“The Futurist Manifesto” insists on rendering as authentic as the speed and movement in life nowadays, using an array of different methods at the service of the visual materials continuity and symbolizing the ongoing activity of the Futurist movement. Marinetti explains that the supremacy of speed distinguishes the modern age from all other ages. Therefore, artists should festively adopt the rhythm of urban life and technological progress. Now, he asks them to show those machines with their fluent lines of racing cars in the same composition, factory smoke, steam, and mechanical movement(Zaccaria,2021, pg. 60). By considering the aesthetic opportunities that come from speed and technology, the artists will accurately represent the movement professed in current times.
This manifesto calls on artists to initiate a dramatic change in artistic processes and styles, advising artists to explore modernity’s dynamism in vision. Marinetti suggests paralleling these innovative approaches of simultaneity, motion blur, and incoherent composition with reality (Jones, 2021). Since futurist artists are required to go into dependency on the street and the bustling crowds within the confines of the urban City centers and draw ideas that lie around them, the bustling life of the modern cities usually acts as their inspiration. For Marinetti, a quick blare of a traffic light or the flying of a steam train can be as appealing as a lovely sunrise or a lullaby song (Zaccaria,2021, p. 62). The painting of the realistic, multilayered environment by artists manifests modern life dynamics and its unpredictable appeal.
Glorifying war as a supposed antidote to boredom and stagnation is controversial. Nevertheless, it calls for depicting a soldier’s heroic progress and the powerful energy of combat. Marinetti argues for using war as an engine of transformation, a force consigning the old world to the past and opening up an opportunity for creating a better future(Lawton, 1985, p. 480). By painting combat and bloodshed scenes, artists can understand deeply what human living is about if they portray the life-like experiences’ energy and intensity.
Marinetti’s manifesto was a bold incitement to arms, having advocated for the ruination, removal, and banishment of museums, libraries, and academies to craft a novel artistic perception uncluttered by the old. He regarded war as cleansing and purifying forces that would refresh society and, therefore, usher the former population into a new era of development and advancement (Jones, 2021). Marinetti’s Futurism vision mainly involved writing, art, street art, architecture, music, and performance, and was a multidisciplinary movement whose main aim was to change/reverse the culture.
Umberto Boccioni was co-leader of the Futurist group, along with a group of other artists. He became famous for his style of dynamic paintings and sculptures that reflected the spirit of modernity. One of Rodin’s most famous sculptures is “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space,” which dates to 1913. The statue shows a figure belonging to the motion rather than the form. The limbs and body of the subject are stretched as if it runs, so the work of art is considered dynamic (Popalisky and Bracco, 2016, p. 310). Boccioni departs from the traditional line of unity that represents a calm appearance and creates power and the intensity of age dynamism. The constructivist flat, sleek, streamlined contours invoke an aesthetic similar to a machine; they embody the futurist ideal of the convergence of art and technology.
Boccioni is one of Futurism’s most celebrated artists, and “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” (1913), which was utilized to illustrate futurist artists’ ideals, is one of his most iconic works. This sculpture depicts an active movement, where the figure is walking as if the figure has planned for long walks with great power (Lawton, 1985, p. 480). Its dominant element is a streamlined shape, and in its long lines, one can sense speed and the beauty of speed that Marinetti described as the one that gives modernity its character.
Boccioni’s sculpture, among other things, reflected the Futurist faith in modernity and the excitement for the progress technology brought. The smooth, streamlined tire and the low sheen of the design suggest the impact of machines and industrial design. The sculpture pushes the boundaries of the mortality of the human body. In such a way, it seems like it is expressing power that goes beyond just the reality of human life or mechanical expectations, which is what Marinetti wants the artist to appreciate (Yanoshevsky,2009, p. 290). Besides that, the sculpture mentioned above (“Unique Forms of Continuity in Space”) is also an innovation compared to the traditional forms of art, which define classical beauty and proportion as the standard of art. Rather, it develops a new kind of aesthetic language that rejects traditional classics created in art.
The sculpture can be described as symbolic, representing progress and change, showing the core of the Futurist ideology, which is the transformative force that brings along technology and innovation. The athlete brings traditional beliefs that support common values into the present under the company of 21st-century modernity.
“The Futurist Manifesto,” even to this day, continues to be very influential against art and design and controversial issues, as well as winning passage for more than a century since its publication. Its powerful lasting effects can be noticed in some ways, historically and in our modern society.
The modernization manifesto served as the foundation of the multiple artistic movements that were to follow, and it all started with an emphasis on modernity, dynamism, and an innovative spirit. Indeed, Futurism gave rise to national and international artists’ movements who were unafraid to break new ground– from painting and sculpture to literature, music, and performance art. The evidence of its influence can be found in the works of artists such as Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini, who have inspired Futurist ideas and techniques, which they have viewed not only as a means of capturing the energy and vitality of the modern world but also as an experience of it (Yanoshevsky,2009, p. 290).
Moreover, its proposal for a radical departure from tradition and an acceptance of technological development are still in resonance with the creative minds witnessing modernity’s deep implications.
Marinetti’s “The Futurist Manifesto” not only had a significant influence but promoted the start of a new era in 20th-century art, with the outdated forgotten that carried emotions. It gave them an idea to make something new, and, as a result, artists produced art pieces with techniques they had not used before, which became known as Futurism, Constructivism, Dadaism, and Surrealism. However, the manifesto seems to be equally controversial due to its violent portrayal and similar ideas to fascism’s expressive activity. It ignited discussions about the role of art in society and the role of technology in creating art. Marinetti’s writings remain renowned and motivate that paintings and art can all suddenly vanish poetically, mischievously, and provocatively. In the modern world with a lot of difficult questions, diaries help us explore new ways to interpret the future, fueling creativity, thinking, and the ability to reach heights that were beyond us before.
Boccioni, U., 2016. Futurist painting, sculpture (plastic dynamism). Getty Publications.
Falcone, G.A., 2023. Futurism in the City of the Future: Marinetti’s Avant-Garde in New York 1909-1930.
Jones, Z.M., 2021. Italian Futurism, Socialism, Urban Change, and Impressionism. In Mapping Impressionist Painting in Transnational Contexts (pp. 204-214). Routledge.
Lawton, A., 1985. Futurist Manifestoes as an Element of Performance. Canadian-American Slavic Studies, 19(4), pp.473-491.
Marinetti, F.T., 1909. The futurist manifesto. Le Figaro, 20, pp.39-44.
Popalisky, D.J. and Bracco, J., 2016. Futurismo: Linking Past and Present through an Artistic Aesthetic. Theatre Topics, 26(3), pp.307-319.
Yanoshevsky, G., 2009. The literary manifesto and related notions: a selected annotated bibliography. Poetics Today, 30(2), pp.287-315.
Zaccaria, G., 2021. The Dynamism of Boccioni: The Futurist Foundation of Artwork: Immersion into Potency and Energy. In The Enigma of Art: On the Provenance of Artistic Creation (pp. 51-70). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004460119_004