Futurism

We saw the big Futurism show at the Guggenheim.  It was very interesting.   Futurism, of course, is problematic.  Any movement that starts with a manifesto proclaiming love for war and contempt for women (literally), then collaborates with fascists, and ends up in advertising is very suspect.  But sometimes you have to ignore the endless manifestoes and movements and look at what they do.  (Why is it that so many visual artists feel the need to form groups with labels?  It's bad enough that the critics do it.)   The virtue of the Guggenheim's exhibit, for me, is that it follows in a very comprehensive way from the familiar paintings of the pre World War I period all the way up to the death of Marinetti in 1944.   There are a number of artists about whom I knew very little, and a lot of work in different media.  For example, I had no idea that Diaghilev in 1925 had commissioned the futurist artist Balla to create an abstract stage work for a performance of Stravinsky's "Fireworks".  The performance fell apart, apparently due to both technical and union problems.  It was also interesting to think about the early Futurist works in connection some very similar works in the Expressionist and Cubist movements.  And there were these wonderful murals painted by Benedetta (a female artist, so much for manifestoes) for a conference room at the Palermo Post Office.

And the drawings by Antonio Sant'Elia; an architect whose buildings were never built..

The Guggenheim is still problematic at times as a venue for viewing art.  Some of the

 smaller paintings cannot be seen closeup because they are on walls too far away, and

 several paintings were impossible to look at because of reflections from the lighting.