Futurism and Russian Constructivism: A Modernist Analysis

Futurism: The Art of Speed and Technology

Futurism (Italian: Futurismo) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including:

• Speed
• Technology
• Youth
• Violence
• Industrial objects (cars, aeroplanes, and the industrial city)

While largely an Italian phenomenon, parallel movements emerged in Russia, England, and elsewhere.

Principles of Futurism

The Futurists practiced in every medium of art, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, urban design, theatre, film, fashion, textiles, literature, music, architecture, and even gastronomy. Key figures of the movement included Marinetti, Balla, Boccioni, Carrà, Sant'Elia, and Russolo.

Russian Constructivism: Art for Social Purpose

Russian Constructivism was a movement active from 1913 to the 1940s that quickly spread across the continent. It represented a rejection of autonomous art in favor of art as a practice for social purposes. It developed in architecture, graphic and industrial design, theatre, film, dance, fashion, and music.

Constructivist art is committed to complete abstraction with a devotion to modernity, where themes are often geometric, experimental, and rarely emotional.

Artistic and Political Principles

• Art in the service of the Russian Revolution: Developing a new form of art appropriate to the democratic and modernizing goals of the revolution.
• Construction Art and Productivism: Replacing traditional composition with a focus on construction.
• Materiality: An interest in understanding and demonstrating how materials behave.

Main Representatives

Key figures include: Alexander Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova, Liubov Popova, Vladimir Tatlin, Naum Gabo, Antoine Pevsner, Kasimir Malevich, Alexander Vesnin, El Lissitzky, Mikhail Larionov, and Natalia Goncharova.