From Bologna to the World: The International Futurism of Athos Casarini
-
Giuseppe Virelli
Abstract
Athos Casarini (1883-1917) played an important rôle in the cultural life of his day, yet has been all but forgotten as a consequence of his untimely death during the First World War. Born in Bologna, he grew up in a cultural and artistic environment that, while fiercely proud of its own traditions, also offered encounters with novel ideas from beyond the city walls. F.T. Marinetti’s founding manifesto of Futurism was originally published in the local Gazzetta dell’Emilia on 5 February 1909, and many texts by the movement’s key protagonists circulated in the city well before the Futurists made their first official visit to the Emilian capital in 1914 on the occasion of a performance of Marinetti’s Elettricità at the Teatro del Corso. Nevertheless, Casarini’s initial encounter with the men who would later become protagonists of the Futurist movement did not occur in Bologna, but in Milan, between 1908 and 1909, through the painter Ugo Valeri. Moreover, his adherence to the movement took place on the other side of the Atlantic. Frustrated by the local culture he considered too provincial and traditionalist, and eager to engage with a more ‘advanced’ and modern society, Casarini moved to New York in the spring of 1909 and it was in the great American metropolis that he became not only the first Bolognese artist to convert to Futurism, but also the first Futurist to live and work in the USA.
Abstract
Athos Casarini (1883-1917) played an important rôle in the cultural life of his day, yet has been all but forgotten as a consequence of his untimely death during the First World War. Born in Bologna, he grew up in a cultural and artistic environment that, while fiercely proud of its own traditions, also offered encounters with novel ideas from beyond the city walls. F.T. Marinetti’s founding manifesto of Futurism was originally published in the local Gazzetta dell’Emilia on 5 February 1909, and many texts by the movement’s key protagonists circulated in the city well before the Futurists made their first official visit to the Emilian capital in 1914 on the occasion of a performance of Marinetti’s Elettricità at the Teatro del Corso. Nevertheless, Casarini’s initial encounter with the men who would later become protagonists of the Futurist movement did not occur in Bologna, but in Milan, between 1908 and 1909, through the painter Ugo Valeri. Moreover, his adherence to the movement took place on the other side of the Atlantic. Frustrated by the local culture he considered too provincial and traditionalist, and eager to engage with a more ‘advanced’ and modern society, Casarini moved to New York in the spring of 1909 and it was in the great American metropolis that he became not only the first Bolognese artist to convert to Futurism, but also the first Futurist to live and work in the USA.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- The Futurist Manifestos of Early 1910: Dates and Editions Reconsidered 1
- From Bologna to the World: The International Futurism of Athos Casarini 51
- Parisian Rivalries before the War: Futurism and Cubism as Enemy Brothers (1912–1914) 93
- Futurism in Occupied Fiume, 1919–1920 123
- Italian Futurism between Fascism, Modernism and Nazi Germany 163
- Vasily Kamensky and F. T. Marinetti: Italian Words-in-Freedom and Russian Typographic Visual Poetry 189
- The Scream of the Boor: Bruno Jasieński and the Politics of Art in Polish Futurism 225
- A Rêve onanistique: Futurism and Portuguese National Identity in Raul Leal’s Correspondence with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti 247
- Futurism in Goa: Early Interactions with Marinetti in Portugal’s Colony in India 279
- Out of the Archive: Marinetti in Cambridge (1914) 307
-
Section 2: Obituaries and Anniversaries
- Mariana Aguirre (1977–2022): Obituary 327
- Akademiia Zaumi 339
- The 100th Anniversary of Zenit (1921–2021): Futurism and the Yugoslav Avant-garde 349
-
Section 3: Critical Responses to Exhibitions, Conferences and Publications
- Cesare Andreoni (1903–1961), a Futurist in Milan: A Study Day Promoted by the Archivio Cesare Andreoni in Milan 359
- Aroldo Bonzagni and His (almost) Futurist Epoch 367
- Italian Futurism in the Gianni Mattioli Collection Presented in Russia (2021) 375
- Depero New Depero: Rovereto Presents the Artist and His Reception after 1960 385
- The Futurist Novel before and After the First World War 399
- Paolo Buzzi and the Futurist chiaro di luna 405
- Gian Pietro Lucini in Context: Futurism and the Pursuit of a New ‘Avant-garde’ 413
- Fortunato Depero’s ‘Bolted Book’ 419
- Visualizing the Invisible: Photography and Futurist Art 427
- The Permanent Revolution of Fascist Art 433
- Space, Geography and Centre-Periphery Relations: New Perspectives on Ultraism and Estridentism, 1918–1927 439
- Ilya Zdanevich (Iliazd): Ambassador of Georgian Futurism 445
-
Section 4: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2019–2022 465
-
Section 5: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 493
- Notes on Contributors 501
- Name Index 509
- Subject Index 541
- Geographical Index 571
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- The Futurist Manifestos of Early 1910: Dates and Editions Reconsidered 1
- From Bologna to the World: The International Futurism of Athos Casarini 51
- Parisian Rivalries before the War: Futurism and Cubism as Enemy Brothers (1912–1914) 93
- Futurism in Occupied Fiume, 1919–1920 123
- Italian Futurism between Fascism, Modernism and Nazi Germany 163
- Vasily Kamensky and F. T. Marinetti: Italian Words-in-Freedom and Russian Typographic Visual Poetry 189
- The Scream of the Boor: Bruno Jasieński and the Politics of Art in Polish Futurism 225
- A Rêve onanistique: Futurism and Portuguese National Identity in Raul Leal’s Correspondence with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti 247
- Futurism in Goa: Early Interactions with Marinetti in Portugal’s Colony in India 279
- Out of the Archive: Marinetti in Cambridge (1914) 307
-
Section 2: Obituaries and Anniversaries
- Mariana Aguirre (1977–2022): Obituary 327
- Akademiia Zaumi 339
- The 100th Anniversary of Zenit (1921–2021): Futurism and the Yugoslav Avant-garde 349
-
Section 3: Critical Responses to Exhibitions, Conferences and Publications
- Cesare Andreoni (1903–1961), a Futurist in Milan: A Study Day Promoted by the Archivio Cesare Andreoni in Milan 359
- Aroldo Bonzagni and His (almost) Futurist Epoch 367
- Italian Futurism in the Gianni Mattioli Collection Presented in Russia (2021) 375
- Depero New Depero: Rovereto Presents the Artist and His Reception after 1960 385
- The Futurist Novel before and After the First World War 399
- Paolo Buzzi and the Futurist chiaro di luna 405
- Gian Pietro Lucini in Context: Futurism and the Pursuit of a New ‘Avant-garde’ 413
- Fortunato Depero’s ‘Bolted Book’ 419
- Visualizing the Invisible: Photography and Futurist Art 427
- The Permanent Revolution of Fascist Art 433
- Space, Geography and Centre-Periphery Relations: New Perspectives on Ultraism and Estridentism, 1918–1927 439
- Ilya Zdanevich (Iliazd): Ambassador of Georgian Futurism 445
-
Section 4: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2019–2022 465
-
Section 5: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 493
- Notes on Contributors 501
- Name Index 509
- Subject Index 541
- Geographical Index 571
