Futurist manifesto

Manifestos, public declaration of policy and aims…they’ve been all the rage for at least 100years. Granted the majority of polices are written by political candidate but they’re equally suited to those in the art world.

Perhaps one of the more shocking manifestos published was that of the ‘Futurist’ movement. They had an 11 rule manifesto with dogma ranging from ‘glorifying war’ to ‘essential elements of our [their] poetry’. In my opinion they were living in such a time of change they released their manifesto to stand out from the crowd it were. One thing that can be said for them, they might have promoted violence but they were inspirational in their referring to technology and their futuristic art. One such artist was Umberto Boccioni, use style and use of violent dynamics would have been controversial at the time but now comes across as filled with energy and symbolism.

'The city rises', 1910, Boccioni,

I’ve decided to put down some rules for my life and work, perhaps with less poetic flair than the futurists.

1. Always start the day with a cup of tea.
2. Be editorial, have an opinion on everything.
3. Be Truthful to others without being cutting whilst understanding society wouldn’t function without white lies.
4. Start acknowledging that sometimes things are out of my control.
5. Remain ethical in my practice and not sell my soul.
6. Religious expressions should not be used as metaphors, not everyone understands what a metaphor is.
7. At all times I shall stay informed of what is going on in the world as to not forget how fortunate I am and that we must all help.
8. I shall be an informed and involved citizen; I shouldn’t sit back and watch from a distance if I can help in any way.
9. Tea is not a meal substitute and biscuits are not either.
10. To be firm in my actions but flexible enough to change them if needs be.
11. Use my skills, artistic or other, to the betterment of those around me.
12. Have morals founded in an own philosophy, not in tradition.
13. Be open to new experiences and never stop learning.
14. Stop writing lists.

References:

Marinetti,F, 1909. The Futurist Manifesto. [online] Available at: <http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html> [Accessed 09 January 2012 ].

Research

Scrivner,L, 2006. How to Write an AvantGarde

Manifesto. [online] Available at: <www.londonconsortium.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/scrivneripmessay.pdf> [Accessed 09 January 2012 ].