Futurism 1909

All this time I thought that futurism was a word that only gained currency in the 1970s or thereabouts. Think Future Shock and similar books from that era. For all I knew, the word wasn't even coined until then.

Here's a story, though, that makes a reference to someone named Filippo Marinetti, who in 1909 published a "Manifesto of Futurism," which is described merely as "belligerant." Was this a manifesto to do solely with art? After all, wasn't that roughly the same period that birthed the famous (or infamous) Armory Show, Dada, surrealism and other manifestations of angry and/or ironic rebellion against artistic convention and tradition?

The story is about an exhibit of works by a Czech artist named Jan Matulka, a "global modernist." It veers into a discussion of futurism in this paragraph:

What did originality mean from the standpoint of the avant-garde? According to Renato Poggioli, antagonizing mainstream ideals was a key factor. Even if the idea was to eliminate the past altogether (as Filippo Marinetti recommended in his belligerent 1909 manifesto of Futurism), in reality it was sufficient to decisively confront tradition.

You know of course that I'm going to have to Google for "futurism" and "Filippo Marinetti." I'll let you know what I learn.

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