sabato 6 giugno 2009

martedì 2 giugno 2009

Omaggio al Futurismo




This piece is a tribute to the movement of Futurism which celebrates it’s 100th year this year. Beginning in 1909 when Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published his Futurist Manifesto. The Manifesto was a declaration of leaving behind all things of the past , despising them in fact. Futurists embraced the new, and were known for their fascination with speed and movement, violence, technology, youth, and favoring humanity over nature. A majority of Futurist Artists were Italian, though most of the movement took place in France.  Futurism was very tied to the political movements Nazism and Fascism in Germany and Italy during the pre-WWII period because they were strong attempts to change the social workings of Western Europe.

When I began to contemplate my role today as an artist looking at Futurism, I found that I could appreciate the movement despite my disagreement with some of the very things that Futurism focused on. I feel very strongly that humanity cannot function without nature, we must coexist in order to survive. While scientific advances often fascinate me, part of the fascination often comes from the part of us that questions the dangers of growing technology. In 1984 by George Orwell the advances of technology and the strength of government actually lead to the downfall of humanity. This is a theme for many movies and books in mainstream culture today, and there are still those artists who are captivated by the quick growth of technology and the strength that comes with knowledge.  I however feel afraid that knowing everything means forgetting the very instincts that differentiated us from other mammals to begin with, changing to become the best making us all equal.

This piece is a retaliation of nature to humanity. It is the strength of the earth mimicking the mechanical movements of today’s technology.  I used wood from harvested olive trees from an Italian olive orchard and screws to make this piece. I focused on the violence of a struggle and did research by watching videos of impacts in slow motion, such as in boxing or car safety testing, as well as videos of explosions. I attempted to mimic the fly of shrapnel with the wood, as though the wood was exploding from within the constraints of today’s technology. 

Untitled Mass of Red String