Cubism and Futurism: twentieth-century avant-garde art movements

¶ … Art Movements

Cubism vs. Futurism

Futurism

Futurism was an Italian movement originated in early 20th century. It was artistic and social movement targeted to mass urban population. Futuristic was focused on transforming the mindset of society from political thinking to more rational, conscious and close to humanity mental perspective. Futurism movement has traces of modern life and comprehensive renewal of human sensibility brought by modern science. Futurist's art work is presented in every medium including painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, theatre, film, fashion, textiles, literature, music, architecture and gastronomy. The eminent figures of this movement were Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Umberto Boccioni, Carlocarra, Gino Severini, Giacomo Balla, Antonio Sant' Elia, Tullio Crali and Luigi Russolo. Important work of this movement include Marinetti's Manifesto of Futurism, Boccioni's Sculpture, Unique form of continuity in space and Balla's painting. Futurism has also influenced other art movements like Art Deco, Constructivism, Surrealism and Dada. Marinetti had tried to make Futurism the official state art of Facist Italy but was unsuccessful in doing so. At exhibition of art by Novecento Italiano group in 1923, Mussolini had once commented: "I declare that it is far from my idea to encourage anything like a state art. Art belongs to the domain of the individual. The state has only one duty: not to undermine art, to provide humane conditions for artists, to encourage them from the artistic and national point-of-view." (Quoted in Braun, Emily, Mario Sironi and Italian Modernism, 2000)

Comparison of Cubism and Futurism

Art symbolic representation: Futurism is the exemplary representation of artwork in the artistic style and poetry that motivated the gullible art audience, out ragged the conservative middle class and moulds as an artistic political activist. Cubist art and artists were pretty much intellectual and rational committed to further revolutionizing artwork among interested audience.

Art physical representation: the Futurists were raucous, loud, straightforward, confrontational and political. However, Cubism on the other hand worked in isolation like that of Picasso and Braque sole contribution to artwork, or they prefer working in groups when small and emphasized on conventional dimensions of artistic illustration making their art work displayed in galleries and exhibitions.

Target Audience: the Futurists work is targeted their art and skills to mass audience since their subjects have been social issues and political movements. Cubism had contracted their market to elite art educated audience and art lovers who understands the real meaning of artistic design.

Art movement: In the initial period of movement, Futurists worked in performances and have written many manifestos in exaggerated languages. Cubist has confined itself in intellectual writing and making wise contribution by linking their work to the French classical art and recent scientific ideas. Cubism art movement was defined in terms of gallery and art exhibitions making active contribution in the field of art through work of Picasso, Braque and setting exhibitions for the Salon Cubists. However Futurism movement has social touch also. It had made active contribution in social condition of the society, cultural heritage and addressing cultural issues thus making an impact on human minds.

Futurist art movement was not much different from social and political movement as it has linked itself with artistic designs with violent changes and with violent methods. Therefore, it was common that Futurism was a political movement that has used art as its weapon. Cubism was the art movement with the prime objective of art. Futurism had than adopted the artistic style of Cubism and innovated itself in putting the visual and symbolic representation of art in the discipline and form of art. Futurist art was not much intellectual rather it was optical or imagery focusing on things that are directional and dynamic, colorful and fragmented. Futurist's style was such that it was best suited to illustrate the War scenes.

The main difference between the two proto-abstract movements was that Cubism was concerned with the forms in static relationships however, Futurism is more liked to the motion and movement as it was much more associated with the things happening around and prevailing societal issues. Therefore, the art work was aggressive rather than being subtle as in the case of Cubism.

Cubism had not much magnified the scientific inventions of that time but Futurist had sparkled machines. Futurist have tried their work to me more contemporary and related to the prevailing social, political and economic conditions of the society.

It is learned from Cubism and the Futurists they both had up-to-date languages, geometric expressions and modernity in their paintings. Cubist sculpture in line with Cubist painting was also well-known in the history. It is learned from many sources that first cubist sculpture was either Picasso's bronze Head of Women in 1909 or Otto Gutfreund's Anxiety in 1912. (Glueck, Grace,1982). In Futurist, for Marinetti, geometry was comparable to the mechanical spirit of the machine. The Futurists, Paris Debut was at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune on 5 February, 1912. The paintings attribute the customary ideas of the Futurists, dynamism, speed, and movement and used "lines of force" to drive the viewer into the center of the painting. Giacomo Balla's painting of Abstract Speed -- The Car has Passed By of 1913 propels the eye to move from right to left, following the direction of the spinning wheels. It can be said that, Futurist work was nothing like the static version of shifting perspectives found in Cubism, but the Futurists were destined to be labeled as "derivative" of Cubism by the French critics. Yet it is well analyzed in the literature above that Cubism and Futurism were very different.