POST #14 – LECTURE – FUTURISM - FLUXUS

Futurism and Fluxus were two major art movements that came from very different times, but both were all about breaking rules and doing things differently. Futurism started in Italy in the early 1900s. The leader of the movement was a man named Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who wrote the Futurist Manifesto in 1909. This was basically a loud announcement that said, “Out with the old, in with the new!” Futurists were excited about the future, machines, technology, speed, youth, and war. They hated old traditions like museums, libraries, and anything that reminded them of the past. Futurists loved motion and energy. They didn’t just paint or sculpt in the traditional way. They used strong lines and shapes to make things look like they were moving. One famous Futurist was Umberto Boccioni, who created a sculpture called “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space.” The statue looks like a person walking forward, but instead of having a clear body, the figure is made of flowing shapes that look like wind or energy surrounding the person. He didn’t want to show what someone looked like—he wanted to show what movement feels like. He was inspired by scientists like Étienne-Jules Marey, who used early photography to show how bodies moved. Another big part of Futurism was its connection to politics. Many Futurists supported Benito Mussolini and fascism, which is a very strict and violent kind of government. They believed war could clean out old ideas and bring in new ones. This part of Futurism is very controversial and has caused a lot of people to criticize the movement. On the other hand, Fluxus was a much more playful and peaceful movement that came about in the 1960s. It started in the United States and Europe. Fluxus artists believed that art could be made out of anything and by anyone. They wanted to get rid of the idea that art had to be expensive or kept in a museum. They believed that everyday life and actions could be art too. George Maciunas was the leader of Fluxus, and other important artists included Yoko Ono, John Cage, and Nam June Paik. Fluxus was very experimental. Artists created strange and fun performances called “happenings.” These weren’t like plays or concerts; they were more like events where weird or surprising things happened. For example, Yoko Ono once invited people to come cut pieces off her clothes while she sat still. It was meant to make people think about control, power, and the role of the artist. Another example of a Fluxus event was the “Bed-In for Peace” with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Instead of protesting with signs, they stayed in bed and invited the media to ask questions. It was a peaceful and creative way to speak out against war. Both Futurism and Fluxus changed the way people saw art. Futurism was fast, aggressive, and focused on machines, motion, and destruction of the past. Fluxus was calm, weird, funny, and focused on involving people in everyday life. Even though they were very different, both movements were rebellious and helped open up what art could be. They made it clear that art doesn’t have to follow the rules—and sometimes, breaking the rules is how you make something new.