Manifesto Of Futurism

Le Figaro, 20 February 1909, Futurist Manifesto

The Futurist Manifesto was one of the first documents to celebrate the automobile as an object of beauty and to cite speed and acceleration as aesthetic elements. “We declare that the splendor of the world has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed,” Marinetti proclaimed.

Futurism emphasized the dynamism, speed, energy, and power of the machine and the vitality, change, and restlessness of modern life in general. The most significant results of the movement were in the visual arts and poetry. 

The name Futurism, coined by Marinetti, reflected his emphasis on discarding what he conceived to be the static and irrelevant art of the past and celebrating change, originality, and innovation in culture and society.

Personally I found the manifesto quite difficult to read and quite shocking taking into consideration when it was published. Marinetti glorified the new technology of the automobile and the beauty of its speed, power and movement. He promoted violence and conflict. The manifesto's rhetoric felt passionately bombastic and the tone aggressive and explosive and purposely intended to encourage anger and confusion to motivate controversy.

I also came across a video an interpretation of futurism which gives an impression and creates feeling of that era.