Marinetti’s Mess

Trying to pry Futurism from Fascism is not easily accomplished, but Richard Jensen gives it a try in his article Futurism and Fascism where he looks at the intimate relationship that Marinetti had with both.  Although Marinetti was the heart of Futurism, Jensen explores how he was intrinsic to the rise of Fascism’s growth.  He recognizes how Mussolini and Marinetti were involved in the creation of the Fascist movement, but that Marinetti’s disgust towards actions of the Fascist movement caused him to distance himself.  But when Jensen begins to separate Fascism from Marinetti’s Futurist movement based on the level of violence, I believe that Jensen forgot that the 2^nd theme of the Futurist programme was “championing of violence and conflict”.

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Architecture Aesthetics Analysis

Dennis P. Doordan’s The Political Content in Italian Architecture during the Fascist Era examines how Italian architects of the 1920’s and 1930 have reacted to their limited resources and technologies and a political revolution that affected all aspects of Italian life.  This combination set in place an artistic independence in architecture that gave rise to uniqueness that combined ideas of aesthetics and a vision of what Fascism looked like in this form.  A cultural revolution when strong enough can apparently help dictate not only the heart of a country, but it’s appearance as well.

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Fascist Architecture

Here is an article I found about Italian Fascist Architecture by George P. Mros that gives excellent examples of Architecture during the time.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/774290

There is a PDF available on the page along with citations used for the article.

L. Engle

 

Reactions to Futurism

Heidegger Quote

 

Here are 2 assignments that were directly influenced from the my studies of Futurism in this class.

Mosaics & Relics of Fascist Italy

Ethiopian panel IX May XIV, Fascist Era Mosaic, Italy

“This proclaims the conquest of Ethiopia – soldiers in the bottom left, soldiers as engineers in the center, a bulldozer to the right. Above, aerial assaults (weirdly combining airplanes with naturalistic eagles – the upper airplane has an eagle perched on its wing). Above and to the left of the inscription, an Ethiopian gives the fascist salute and a lion bows in submission. All very typical.” Source

Squadristi Mosaic, Fascist Era Mosaic, Italy

“Top of mosaic: St George and the dragon. Bottom of mosaic: a Squadristi defending a fallen comrade. In the center, one of the trucks carrying Fascist Squadristi, the violent activists of the post-WWI years, into action. Mussolini tried to suppress the casual violence that brought him to power, but he never forgot it, and the Socialist Republic of Salo brought it all out again.” Source

Palazzo Venezia, Fascist Era Mosaic, Italy

“You may call me “Dux.” This is what the crowd chanted to Mussolini while he stood on the balcony at the Palazzo Venezia — and being slightly weird Fascist art, of course they produce the banal repetition of DUCE DUCE DUCE quite literally.” Source

Stadio dei Marmi, Fascist Era Sculpture, Italy

One of the first statues to greet visitors to Mussolini’s 1932 sports arena, the Stadio dei Marmi, thrusts his buttocks at us challengingly. Source

Mussolini purposely used designs that evoked the Roman Empire period to make Italians proud and back his own efforts to become a colonial power. (Photo by Anthony Majanlahti.) source

Mussolini’s Pool Doors

Doors in the Foro Italico pool complex all have this Mussolinian M on them, stylised but recognizable. source

 

The bear is in a party hat! I had no idea that the Fascist dictatorship was so whimsical. These mosaics are on the floor of Mussolini’s private pool area. source

Work of the Balilla, the Italian Fascist Youth party, in the tenth year of the Fascist era (ie, 1932). The base of the Mussolini obelisk. Note the stylish capital A without the crossbar. source