Futurism was an
artistic and
social movement that originated in
Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized speed, technology, youth and violence and objects such as the car, the aeroplane and the industrial city. It was largely an
Italian phenomenon, though there were parallel movements in
Russia,
England and elsewhere. The Futurists practised in every medium of art, including
painting,
sculpture,
ceramics,
graphic design,
industrial design,
interior design,
urban design,
theatre,
film,
fashion,
textiles,
literature,
music,
architecture and even
gastronomy. Its key figures were the Italians
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti,
Umberto Boccioni,
Carlo Carrà,
Gino Severini,
Giacomo Balla,
Antonio Sant'Elia,
Bruno Munari,
Benedetta Cappa and
Luigi Russolo, the Russians
Natalia Goncharova,
Velimir Khlebnikov,
Igor Severyanin,
David Burliuk,
Aleksei Kruchenykh and
Vladimir Mayakovsky, and the Portuguese
Almada Negreiros. It glorified modernity and aimed to liberate Italy from the weight of its past.
Cubism contributed to the formation of Italian Futurism's artistic style. Important Futurist works included Marinetti's
Manifesto of Futurism, Boccioni's sculpture
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space and Balla's painting,
Abstract Speed + Sound (pictured). To some extent Futurism influenced the art movements
Art Deco,
Constructivism,
Surrealism,
Dada, and to a greater degree
Precisionism,
Rayonism, and
Vorticism.