The Futurist
Manifesto, written by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, was published
in the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dell'Emilia in Bologna on 5 February 1909,
then in French as "Manifeste du futurisme" in the newspaper Le Figaro
on 20 February 1909. It initiated an artistic philosophy,
Futurism,
that was a rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, machinery,
violence, youth and industry; it was also an advocation of the modernisation
and cultural rejuvenation of Italy.
The Futurist Manifesto:
• written before the Futurist movement actually
existed; a direct challenge to the French
avant-garde which is why it was published in a
French newspaper
• a call for “war” on the old but this call is
made by claiming that war is the world’s best
“hygiene” a call for speed and change and the
rejection of all forms of tradition
• claims that “Art can be nothing but violence,
cruelty and injustice.”
