Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 16:35:42 -0600 From: "Robert Kibler" <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Futurism Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline One reason why Fascism accompanies Pound discussions more than it does = Futurist discussions is that Pound was an American, not an Italian. = Another was the fact that Futurism was sort of snuffed out by Fascism. = True, a group of Futurists accompanied Mussolini on 11 Jan 1919 to disrupt = a Socialist meeting concerning Italian concessions to the Slavs of the = Adriatic, and so became dubbed "fascists of the first hour," according to = John Whittam (Fascist Italy, Manchester UP., 1995), but almost from the = beginning, the Futurist movement were marginalized by the political arm of = the Fascist movement. True, the Fascists kept closer connections to = avant-garde artistic movements (Futurism, Surrealism, Constructivism, = Bauhaus, De Stijl, et cetera)than did the Nazis, but they never did = sanction a stile fascista. In 1929, Futurist Marinetti may have been = elevated to membership in the Academia d'Italia, and consequently, his = Futurism became a propogandist tool for the State, but in 1931, Futurism = fails to be recognized as a privelaged State art, and in 1937, the = anit-Futurist political arm of the Fascist movement was more than glad to = agree with the Nazi inclusion of Futurism in its list of degenerate forms = of art. Read all about it in Gunter Berhaus' Futurism and Politics: = Between Anarchist Rebellion and Fascist Reaction, 1909-1944 (Berghahn = Books, 1996).=20 The writers of BLAST certainly knew of the Futurists, and I believe = Reedy Way Dasenbrock in his book on Literary Vorticism addressed the = difference between the BLAST folk and the Futurist folk. If I recall, the = BLAST group was linked to history in a way that the Futurists were not. = But Marinetti had made a grandstand tour of London just prior to the BLAST = initiative. I think you can read all about it in Dasenbrock.=20 <<< "R.Gancie/C.Parcelli" <[log in to unmask]> 1/17 11:14a >>> In The Women Artists of Italian Futurism: Almost Lost To History (Midmarch Art Press, 1997), there's a brief mention of Pound's admiration for the artist Benedetta (Marinetti's wife). The theories & forms of Futurism radicalized twentieth century art -- there is little 'modern' art from the last century that doesn't reference Futurism in some way. Yet Benedetta & Marinetti were quite public in their admiration of fascism--if I recall correctly, Benedetta at one point toured the country as a spokesmodel for Mussolini's new 'ideal' womanhood.=20 Yet, seemingly unlike Pound, the Futurists' influence is frequently cited without the impulse to make reference to their fascist politics. --Rosalie Gancie C.Brandon Rizzo wrote: >=20 > I've been searching for information pertaining to Pound & Futurism = (pref. > pre-war), but haven't had much luck. Did Pound know those Futurist = fellows at > all? If anyone could offer some assistance it would be much appreciated. >=20 > --CB --=20 =CF=E0=A1=B1=E1