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Futurism: Home

Early 20th Century Italian art & architecture movement characterized by a reverence for technology, speed, war, and monumentality.

Futurism


Public Domain

Italian futurists were inspired by the new technological landscape that followed World War I. They loved anything fast, loud, violent, colorful, powerful, and large. They embraced fascism, mechanization, and misogyny as core tenets of their world view as they desperately tried to sever ties with 19th-century traditions in art and architecture. Despite their questionable politics, the Futurists were hugely influential in the formation of other Modern art and architectural practices: their mechanical geometry and dynamic abstract compositions inspired many artists and architects working in such idioms as Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, Cubism, Abstract Expressionism, Constructivism, and Dada, as well as more contemporary "Neo-Futurist" and Postmodern styles. Their influence extends far beyond architecture (few Futurist works were actually built); Futurist sculpture, painting, typography, collage, fashion, and literature would all have an impact on the development of Modern art and design.

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