Futurism

Futurism developed in 1909 with the work of an Italian poet Filippo Marinetti, he published his Manifesto of Futurism in the Paris newspaper, Le Figaro. All the arts were to test their ideas against the new realities of the industrial society. Typographic design was pulled onto the movement when Giovanni Papini began the publication of the journal Lacerba.  Marinetti had urged poets to liberate them from servitude to grammar and open the new worlds of expression. Gutenberg’s invention the movable type had used vigorous horizontal and vertical structure but the futurist poets started experimenting more, freed from the traditional structure they used dynamic, nonlinear works, these were attained by pasting words and letters in place for reproduction from photoengraved printing plates.

The concept for the futurists was that typography could become to be an expressive visual form.  Arno Holz a German peot reinforced intended auditory effects by leaving out devices. A French poet by the name of Guillaume Apollinaire was associated with the cubism, in particularly Picasso and his work he was in rivalry with Marinetti, Apollinaire promoted African sculpture, and defined the principles of cubist painting and literacy. Apollinaire unique contribution to graphic design was in 1918 publication of a book by the name of Calligrammes, poems in which the letter forms are arranged to form either a visual design, a figure or a pictograph.

The futurist painters were influenced by cubism, but they attempted to also express emotion, energy and cinematic sequences in their work.  Fortunato Depero was also a futurist designer who produced a dynamic body of work in poster, typographic and advertising design; she shifted from typographical, advertisements, tapestry designs and other works. He published a book entitled Depero futurista which included all his artistic works. Depero worked in New York and designed covers for magazines as well as printed advertising.

The futurists initiated the publication of manifestos typography and publicity stunts, forcing poets and graphic designers to rethink the very nature of the typography and its meaning.

Reference:

James Joll, The Futurist Manifesto, [online],  available at : http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html  [accessed 1^st of December 2013]

Meggs P. B. and Purvis A. W. 1998. 5th Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons , Inc.