Back to the Futurists

This collection of essays aims to reassess the activities and legacy of the Italian Futurist movement from an international and interdisciplinary perspective. The essays analyse the diversity of Futurism's creative forms, its verbal, visual, theatrical and political manifestations, offering exciting new readings in the field of gender politics, aesthetics, historiography, intermediality and interdisciplinarity. They explore the works of major players of the movement (including Marinetti and Boccioni) as well as its lesser-known figures (such as Irma Valeria); the role of the movement in Italy's regional centres such as Florence; and its links to the broader European avant-garde. The essays explore the often critical impact of Futurism on contemporary or later movements such as Cubism, Dada and Vorticism, as well as on individual artists and writers such as Albert-Birot or Buvoli. Individual contributors develop fascinating dialogues across disciplinary boundaries - between Boccioni and Delaunay, Marinetti and Gramsci, Severini and Albert-Birot, or the links between Futurism and occultism, the theory of advertising, or the cinematic aesthetic. Through its interdisciplinary and contextual approach, the book provides new perspectives on the diversity and dynamism of Futurism and its legacies across European culture. The majority of the contributors are international experts in the field, with the addition of original work by younger scholars. This book is aimed at cultural historians, art historians and scholars and students of European history, cultural history, literature, and art, as well as the informed general public.