Tato and Exhibitions of Futurist Photography in the 1930s
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Ilaria Schiaffini
Abstract
Seventeen years after the Futurist painters’ rejection of A.G. Bragaglia’s photodynamism, photography resurfaced amongst Marinetti’s interests the second time round. A decisive contribution was made by Tato (pseud. of Guglielmo Sansoni), co-signatory with Marinetti of the Manifesto della fotografia futurista (Manifesto of Futurist Photography, 1930). Having gone down in history, above all, as a leading figure in aeropittura, Tato was also a professional photographer, who for several years directed in Rome the photographic studio ‘La Serenissima’, about which very little is known today. This essay seeks to bring Tato’s photographic activity back to light and to reconstruct the effect it had on the developments of Futurist photography. In the early 1930s, Futurism set itself the goal to gain national recognition as the photographic avant-garde. At the beginning of the decade, under its corporatist system, the Fascist State officially sponsored two photographic exhibitions in Rome, in which the Futurists played a leading rôle: Primo concorso nazionale (First National Competition, 1930), where the Manifesto of Futurist Photography circulated for the first time, and Prima biennale internazionale d’arte fotografica (First International Biennial of Photographic Art, 1932). This essay also focusses on two exhibitions organized by the Futurists themselves: the Mostra sperimentale di fotografia futurista (Experimental Exhibition of Futurist Photography), held in Turin in 1931, and the Mostra nazionale futurista (ceramiche) (National Futurist Exhibition: Ceramics), held in Trieste in 1932, as well as the Mostra fotografica internazionale (International Photographic Exhibition), organized as part of the Fifth Triennial in Milan in 1933. In the First International Biennial of Photographic Art, the Futurist section, accompanied by a ‘foreign’ part dominated by German photographers, displayed a significantly international outlook in its reception of recent photographic trends. What emerges is the central rôle of Tato as an aerial painter and Futurist photographer as well as early supporter of the Fascist régime.
Abstract
Seventeen years after the Futurist painters’ rejection of A.G. Bragaglia’s photodynamism, photography resurfaced amongst Marinetti’s interests the second time round. A decisive contribution was made by Tato (pseud. of Guglielmo Sansoni), co-signatory with Marinetti of the Manifesto della fotografia futurista (Manifesto of Futurist Photography, 1930). Having gone down in history, above all, as a leading figure in aeropittura, Tato was also a professional photographer, who for several years directed in Rome the photographic studio ‘La Serenissima’, about which very little is known today. This essay seeks to bring Tato’s photographic activity back to light and to reconstruct the effect it had on the developments of Futurist photography. In the early 1930s, Futurism set itself the goal to gain national recognition as the photographic avant-garde. At the beginning of the decade, under its corporatist system, the Fascist State officially sponsored two photographic exhibitions in Rome, in which the Futurists played a leading rôle: Primo concorso nazionale (First National Competition, 1930), where the Manifesto of Futurist Photography circulated for the first time, and Prima biennale internazionale d’arte fotografica (First International Biennial of Photographic Art, 1932). This essay also focusses on two exhibitions organized by the Futurists themselves: the Mostra sperimentale di fotografia futurista (Experimental Exhibition of Futurist Photography), held in Turin in 1931, and the Mostra nazionale futurista (ceramiche) (National Futurist Exhibition: Ceramics), held in Trieste in 1932, as well as the Mostra fotografica internazionale (International Photographic Exhibition), organized as part of the Fifth Triennial in Milan in 1933. In the First International Biennial of Photographic Art, the Futurist section, accompanied by a ‘foreign’ part dominated by German photographers, displayed a significantly international outlook in its reception of recent photographic trends. What emerges is the central rôle of Tato as an aerial painter and Futurist photographer as well as early supporter of the Fascist régime.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- The Futurist Manifestos of 1909: Dates and Editions Reconsidered 3
- Margherita Sarfatti, Novecento and Futurism 35
- Network Diagrams in Futurist and other Avant-garde Magazines: The Creation and Self-Positioning of an Imaginary Community 68
- The Reception of Italian Futurism in Vienna during the 1920s and 1930s 95
- Carlos Porfírio and Futurism in the Algarve: An Early Chapter in the History of Portuguese Modernism 120
- Tullio d’Albisola between Futurism and Fascism 149
- The Georgian Avant-garde: Futurism and More 172
- Futurism and the Birth of Modern Typography 200
- Tato and Exhibitions of Futurist Photography in the 1930s 216
- In Search of Lost Scents: The Olfactory Dimension of Italian Futurism 247
- Satirizing Futurism in France: Roland Dorgelès, André Warnod and their Circle 276
-
Section 2: Caricatures and Satires of Futurism in the Contemporary Press
- At a Sándor Bortnyik Exhibition in Budapest (June 1919): A Hungarian Critic’s Interpretation of ‘Futurism’ 309
- Ragnvald Blix’s Caricature of Futurist Painting in the Midst of WWI 315
- French Humour and Futurist Music: Luigi Russolo’s intonarumori in a Cartoon by Jean-Jacques Roussau 319
- Caricatures of Futurism in Il travaso delle idee 324
- Macaronetti, Marie Netti, and the Like: Parodies of Futurism at the Great Zwans Exhibition in Brussels (1914) 328
- Returning to the Futurist Fold: A Caricature in Bloodless Murder Magazine (1916) 332
- Marinetti Viewed by Antonio Teixeira Cabral, a Portuguese “Caricature-on-the-scene reporter” 336
-
Section 3: Archive Report
- Archive Report: The Archiv der Avantgarden (AdA) in Dresden 341
-
Section 4: Reviews
- A New Study on Italian Futurism and the Machine 359
- New Research into Marinetti’s Notebooks 368
- Evola’s Path from Futurism to Dada and Beyond 379
- Valentine de Saint-Point: Between Carnality and Ideism, Between East and West 383
- Contours and Borders of International Futurism 392
- Růžena Zátková’s Life and Works Elucidated in a New Study 397
- Ukrainian Modernism between Futurism and Constructivism, between Russia and the West 404
-
Section 5: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2017–2020 411
-
Section 6: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 431
- Notes on Contributors 439
- Name Index 449
- Subject Index 481
- Geographical Index 511
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- The Futurist Manifestos of 1909: Dates and Editions Reconsidered 3
- Margherita Sarfatti, Novecento and Futurism 35
- Network Diagrams in Futurist and other Avant-garde Magazines: The Creation and Self-Positioning of an Imaginary Community 68
- The Reception of Italian Futurism in Vienna during the 1920s and 1930s 95
- Carlos Porfírio and Futurism in the Algarve: An Early Chapter in the History of Portuguese Modernism 120
- Tullio d’Albisola between Futurism and Fascism 149
- The Georgian Avant-garde: Futurism and More 172
- Futurism and the Birth of Modern Typography 200
- Tato and Exhibitions of Futurist Photography in the 1930s 216
- In Search of Lost Scents: The Olfactory Dimension of Italian Futurism 247
- Satirizing Futurism in France: Roland Dorgelès, André Warnod and their Circle 276
-
Section 2: Caricatures and Satires of Futurism in the Contemporary Press
- At a Sándor Bortnyik Exhibition in Budapest (June 1919): A Hungarian Critic’s Interpretation of ‘Futurism’ 309
- Ragnvald Blix’s Caricature of Futurist Painting in the Midst of WWI 315
- French Humour and Futurist Music: Luigi Russolo’s intonarumori in a Cartoon by Jean-Jacques Roussau 319
- Caricatures of Futurism in Il travaso delle idee 324
- Macaronetti, Marie Netti, and the Like: Parodies of Futurism at the Great Zwans Exhibition in Brussels (1914) 328
- Returning to the Futurist Fold: A Caricature in Bloodless Murder Magazine (1916) 332
- Marinetti Viewed by Antonio Teixeira Cabral, a Portuguese “Caricature-on-the-scene reporter” 336
-
Section 3: Archive Report
- Archive Report: The Archiv der Avantgarden (AdA) in Dresden 341
-
Section 4: Reviews
- A New Study on Italian Futurism and the Machine 359
- New Research into Marinetti’s Notebooks 368
- Evola’s Path from Futurism to Dada and Beyond 379
- Valentine de Saint-Point: Between Carnality and Ideism, Between East and West 383
- Contours and Borders of International Futurism 392
- Růžena Zátková’s Life and Works Elucidated in a New Study 397
- Ukrainian Modernism between Futurism and Constructivism, between Russia and the West 404
-
Section 5: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2017–2020 411
-
Section 6: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 431
- Notes on Contributors 439
- Name Index 449
- Subject Index 481
- Geographical Index 511
