Unique Forms of Continuity in Space
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| Artist | Umberto Boccioni |
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| Year | 1913 |
| Type | Bronze |
| Dimensions | 111.44 cm (43.87 in) |
| Location | Museum of Modern Art (1931 cast), New York City |
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (Italian: Forme uniche della continuità nello spazio) is a bronze Futurist sculpture by Umberto Boccioni. It is seen as an expression of movement and fluidity.[1] The sculpture is depicted on the obverse of the Italian-issue 20 cent euro coin.
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[edit] History
The Futurist movement was striving to portray speed and forceful dynamism in their art. Boccioni, though trained as a painter, began sculpting in 1912. He exclaimed that "these days I am obsessed by sculpture! I believe I have glimpsed a complete renovation of that mummified art."[2] The next year, Boccioni completed the sculpture. His goal for the work was to depict a "synthetic continuity" of motion instead of an "analytical discontinuity" that he saw artists like František Kupka and Marcel Duchamp portraying.[3] In 1912-1913 Boccioni created several sculptures.[4] Also see image of "Development of a Bottle in Space" of 1913.
[edit] Composition
It seems clear to me that this succession is not to be found in repetition of legs, arms and faces, as many people have stupidly believed, but is achieved through the intuitive search for the unique form which gives continuity in space.
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space depicts a human-like figure apparently in motion. The sculpture has an aerodynamic and fluid form. As a pedestal, two blocks at the feet connect the figure to the ground. The figure is also armless and without a discernibly real face.
Though Boccioni apparently reviled traditional sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space does resemble more realist works.[5] It is reminiscent of the classical Winged Victory of Samothrace, which Filippo Marinetti, founder of Futurism, declared was inferior in beauty to a roaring car.[6] The lack of arms also pays homage to Auguste Rodin's Walking man.[7]
[edit] Original plaster and casts
Boccioni's work was in plaster, and was never cast into bronze in his lifetime; this is on display at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea, São Paulo. Two casts were made in 1931 (one is on display at the Museum of Modern Art[5]), two were made in 1949 (one is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art[2]), and in 1972 (one is on display at the Tate Modern[8]), and another eight in 1972 made not from the plaster, but a 1949 cast.
[edit] Influence
In 2009 Italian composer Carlo Forlivesi in collaboration with Stefano Fossati, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Melbourne, created an international composition competition and workshop titled Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (Forme Uniche della Continuità nello Spazio), commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Italian Futurism. With a name which brings to mind the famous sculpture by Italian Futurist artist Umberto Boccioni, the initiative, organised on an annual basis, celebrates the power of musical composition mingled with the strength of the Italian language. The international composition competition and workshop Unique Forms of Continuity in Space aims to contribute to the creation of a large and eclectic body of art works, with rich implications in the relationship between music and poetry.[9] [10]
[edit] References
- ^ Petrie, Brian (March 1973). "Futurism at the Royal Academy". The Burlington Magazine 115 (840): 196–198.
- ^ a b "Umberto Boccioni: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/11/eust/ho_1990.38.3.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b Henderson, Linda (1981). "Italian Futurism and "The Fourth Dimension"". Art Journal (Art Journal, Vol. 41, No. 4) 41 (4): 317–323. doi:10.2307/776440. JSTOR 776440.
- ^ "Umberto Boccioni: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (1990.38.3)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
- ^ a b "Umberto Boccioni. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. 1913". The Museum of Modern Art. http://moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=81179. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ Richard, Paul (November 9, 1980). "FUTURISM; A smashing Show of the Artist-Prophets Who Put Modern Art in Motion". The Washington Post
- ^ Glueck, Grace (February 13, 2004). "ART REVIEW; Blurring the Line Between the Present and the Future". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00EFDB103AF930A25751C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
- ^ "Umberto Boccioni: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space". The Tate Modern. http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=1208. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "Musical Composition Workshop: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space". The Italian Institute of Culture, Melbourne. http://www.iicmelbourne.esteri.it/IIC_Melbourne/Menu/Gli_Eventi/Workshop_Composizione_Musicale. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ^ "International Composition Competition: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space". http://www.alya.it/forlivesi/UniqueForms.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
