Hum 110: Introduction to HumanitiesInstructor: J ScholteApril 15, 2016Futurism In this paper I will be talking about Futurism. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, futurism is a movement in art, music, and literature begun in Italy about 1909 and marked especially by an effort to give formal expression to the dynamic energy and movement of mechanical processes. The purpose of this paper is to describe what futurism is and how futurism was used in the the 20th century. Futurism is the most important Italian avant-garde art movement of the 20th century. Futurism celebrates advanced technology and urban modernity. Committed to the new, its members wished to destroy older forms of culture and to demonstrate the beauty of modern life – the beauty of the machine, speed, violence and change. Although the movement did foster some architecture, most of its adherents were artists who worked in traditional media such as painting and sculpture, and in an eclectic range of styles inspired by Post-Impressionism. Nevertheless, they were interested in embracing popular media and new technologies to communicate their ideas. Their enthusiasm for modernity and the machine ultimately led them to celebrate the arrival of the First World War.
By its end the group was largely spent as an important avant-garde, though it continued through the 1920s, and, during that time several of its members went on to embrace Fascism, making Futurism the only twentieth century avant-garde to have embraced far right politics. When it comes to art futurism played a big role in the 20th century, one famous artist who practiced futurism is Banksy. Banksy is a graffiti artist and activist. No one knows his real name and only a few people have seen him. But what he does is pure art. Banksy takes art from other people and he put a modernistic spin to it, he also does his own art as well. He is most known for his stencilled work which appears spray painted on walls all over the world. A great movie to watch if you would like to know about Banksy is Exit Through the Gift Shop. Another Famous artist is Umberto Boccioni. Some of his famous artwork is The City Rises which was painted in 1910. There is also the The Charge of the Lancers. Umberto’s artwork paved the way and inspired other artists that followed him. Without Umberto then there wouldn’t be a Bansky or Guy Laramee. Futurism artist of the 20th century paved the way for artist of today.Music in the 20th century was huge. I think that it was the best thing that happened. When it comes to music there is a huge variety from jazz to the blues, rock, rap and rock and roll. There were also many other genres as well. Rap and hip hop came into play towards the end of the 20th century. Rap actually originated from the blues, then hip hop came along which was a mixture of jazz and the blues. During this time these genres helped the African American community express themselves. The most famous rock and roll artist is Elvis Presley. “Rock & Roll music was born in the 1950’s from a fusion of electric blues, country and gospel music. Confined to the Rhythm ; Blues charts early in the decade, rock crosses over to the Pop charts from 1955 onward. Electric Blues, R;B, Doo Wop, Rockabilly”. During the 20th Century people were not confined by society. This generation expressed themselves whether it was through form of art or music or even literature. This is why I love this time period and this is what futurism is all about.
For most of 20th-century theatre, realism has always been the mainstream. There have been some, however, who have turned their backs on realism. Realism originally began as an experiment to make theatre more useful to society; a reaction against melodrama, highly romanticized plays. Realism has become the dominant form of theatre in the 20th-century. There have been some experiments, though, which have allowed for more adventurous innovation in mainstream theatre.
In the 1920s, Futurism had become widespread in England, France, and the United States. In the U.S. theatres boomed, there were 200 to 275 new productions