This archive of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Benedetta Cappa Marinetti papers consists primarily of material from the 1920s and 30s, though correspondence and newspaper clippings date from before and after those decades. It offers a view of FTM in the ceremonial rather than incendiary role that he played during Futurism’s second phase. Pieces such as “Ritratti futuristi del Duce” suggest the extent to which he served as a propagandist for the Fascist government and adapted the tenets of Futurism to that purpose. There are a number of minor manuscripts on art and Futurist artists, generally typewritten, occasionally with corrections, and some minor literary manuscripts as well.
The material on Benedetta includes handwritten corrected drafts of her three novels and a number of essays, speeches and notes on women and art, women and Fascism, Futurism, and FTM. Benedetta’s letters to her brother, Alberto Cappa, and to FTM at the Russian Front, offer an intimate view of this woman who, as clippings in her Librone document, was presented in the 1930s Italian press as a role model for Italian women. Her correspondence with fellow Futurists and with American collectors and institutions after FTM’s death show her active role in preserving the accomplishments of Futurism for posterity.
Various media comprise the archive, including manuscripts, photos, clippings, slides, posters, scrapbooks, and scores. Through all these media in combination the archive selectively documents the activities of the inner circle of the Futurist movement.
It is a strange story. Most of Marinetti’s papers are at Yale. These are easily available for consultation. Those at the Getty seem to be burried in a vault and no copies have been offered to the general public. Something needs to be done, especiallly the notebooks of the very young FTM. Most of the contents should be put on the internet. Free. JpdV
Here I am again, three years later, and nothing has been done about the Marinetti archives at the Getty. It is sad to see such an institution refuse to open its trove of documents on one of the most seminal movements of the XXth Century. The most important documents should be published on the Getty site. Malibu is so far from all the learned centers of America that it is as if The Getty wanted to bury Marinetti and Futurism forever.Jean-Pierre de Villers, University of Windsor.