ART

                          Movement

                                                     Post No 1

Futurism

Futurism is connected with movement. In its various artforms there is a lot of movement like speed, horse racing, cycling and motor racing. In abstract futurist work we can see lines in motion, intersecting with each other and flowing in all directions and this is particularly evident in paintings. Colour blending is also used to create movement and give the impression of speed. The Futurist movement originated in Italy and spread to other countries. Among the main artists who formed part of this movement we can mention Giacomo Balla, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Umberto Boccioni.

Elasticity 1912

This is one of Boccioni s' futuristic paintings. The Italian artist 's aim is to let the viewer figure out what 's in the painting. In this case there is a man on a horse but in a much more complex way. In the background there is a chimney producing harmful chemicals. Maybe by means of this drawing he wanted to send a message that technology has its positive and negative sides. . At the bottom of this piece we see curvilinear motion, shades of yellow and orange, which might be representing dust due to the amount of speed and the movement of the horse. Boccioni makes use of bright colours and this makes his work more lively and much more eye-catching and noticeable.

                                Flight of the Swallows 1913

On the other hand we see one of Giacomo Balla 's works. From its title one could easily figure out what 's the painting is all about. But even tough the title helps us to figure it out it s' just giving us a small hint of what it s' all about. Although Balla did not go into alot of detail like in the swallow 's tails, since he painted them  black we see various of movement especially in the middle were the swallows are like going into each other. This means that they are getting confused by something or else there are two flights going in opposite ways. The four white lines, although very simple they are telling us that it is windy and one could figure out the season.

I chose these artists because they connect with the theme. Almost every piece of their works there is a lot of movement going on, as we could see above in Boccioni and Balla s' works. 

Links : 
Encyclopaedia Britannica 2013, viewed 24 October 2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70885/Umberto-Boccioni
Encyclopaedia Britannica 2013, viewed 24 October 2013, 
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50455/Giacomo-Balla

                                                    Post No 2

Kinetic Art

Kinetic Art is connected with movement in any way one could possibly imagine. Alexander Calder and Alexander Rodchenko, both of them sculptors through their work make movement come to life. Although they had different nationality, Calder was American and Rodchenko was Russian they had one common task in their mind to give movement to their works. The fact that their work is mobile proves their kinetic functions and almost all of their works is three dimensional.

This is one of Calder s' sculptures, his works always follows specific rules and processes, this work is created from wire and metal sheets. The work is very balanced both in an artistic way and even in its physical form when moved. When one firsts looks at this work the first thing that comes to mind is that of a scale balance. On the left there are only two hanged items they are holding the weight of the five items on the right, but if one looks closely the pivot is not in the middle but more to the right. Calder makes use of bright colours and basic shapes.

                                                          Spatial Constructions No.12

Rodchenko made this work out of light plywood covered with aluminum paint so that there would be reflection when light is put on this sculpture. It is based on geometrical forms and when flattened creates the form clearly in this case of an oval but in his other works even square, circle, rectangle and triangle. This has more of an orbital form when suspended from the ceiling, but the interesting part is how the ovals fit and intersect into each other.

Links:
Into to Visual Practice Fall 2010, viewed 25 October 2013, http://sites.duke.edu/artsvis54_01_f2010/2010/10/04/alexander-calder/
The Museum of Modern Art 1998, viewed 25 October 2013, http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/1998/rodchenko/texts/spatial_construct.html

                                                       Part 2

Initially, I embarked on a research to find out how speed and movement has been depicted in the history of art. The artistic movement that is mostly associated with such elements is futurism which reached its climax in Italy around the second decade of the twentieth century. Among the main figures in the group we find Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Marino Marini.  

I looked at specific works by futurists in which speed is predominant. One of the main aims of the futurists group was to create a sense of dynamism in the work my means of particular techniques. Balla's 'Speed of a Motorcycle' (1913) is a good example in this regard.

Futurists often made use of exaggerated distortions, sharp lines and bright colours to enhance speed and movement, and to capture the technological advancements of the time. The period within which the futurists were active coincided with massive technological innovations among them the rapidly developing automobile. Manufacturers were not only investing in the mechanical aspects of cars and motorcycles but also in the overall design and aerodynamics. Automobile designs were becoming more streamlined as this made them run an look faster.

Boccioni's  'Elasticity' can be described as a work of 'natural' speed because it does not show the power of a man-made engine but the force of nature unleashed by the horse.

The same characteristics maybe seen also in the 'Charge of the Lancers'.

Boccioni's play with sharp and bold lines create a dynamic image from a series of still images as if we are seeing different frames from a film near each other at the same time. The themes chosen by the futurists are often highly charged with energy in order to reflect their ideal aesthetics. 

After researching the futurist movement in depth I set out to create sketches for a poster meant to promote a film based on fast cars and the busy city life - a reinterpretation of the popular 'Fast and Furious'. My intention is to design a poster based on futurist principles and which captures various elements of important art movements. The design of the poster must reflect speed and dynamism by means of multiple images superimposed together as in futurist works.

As explained in the design section of this blog I have used different layers in photoshop to create the multiple still images next to and on top of each other  in order to create a sense of speed and movement. I have used contrasting colours to enhace the energy generated by the moving automobile. A similar technique was applied to the building in the background. The main elements of this poster reflect the futurists approach and style.


Links:
smart history, viewed 11 December 2013, http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/futurism.html
Giacomo Balla, viewed 11 December 2013, http://bittleston.com/artists/giacomo_balla/
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2000-2013, viewed 12 December 2013, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1990.38.3
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, viewed 10 December 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Boccioni