Conference explores ‘Shades of Futurism’
Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10, 2009, various times · Chancellor Green Rotunda and 219 Burr Hall
A conference marking the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Futurist Manifesto, which spawned the cultural Futurist movement in Italy, is planned for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10.
Sessions of the conference, titled “Shades of Futurism,” will run from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Chancellor Green Rotunda on Oct. 9 and from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. in 219 Burr Hall on Oct. 10.
The manifesto, written by the Italian poet F.T. Marinetti, inspired the avant-garde Futurist movement by extolling speed and machinery while rejecting the past. The conference will explore the legacy of Futurism — both in Italy and around the world — in the arts, literature, theater, performance,
technology and industry.
Futurist publications and artwork will be on display during the conference, and Italian actors will perform a playful version of “futuristic recipes” by Marinetti in the Chancellor Green Rotunda. The conference will conclude with a Futurist dinner, designed by Pietro Frassica, professor of French and Italian, and prepared by chefs from Dining Services.
To complement the conference, a selection of Futurist manifestos and other publications from the Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology collection will be on view Oct. 5-18 in the 18th Century Room in the Rare Books Gallery at Firestone Library.
The conference is organized by the Department of French and Italian and cosponsored by the
Program in Italian Studies, Fondazione Carisbo, the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, the Italian Consulate of Newark and the Dorothea Van Dyke MacLean Association, with support from a Princeton alumnus.
October 9 and 10, 2009
“Shades of Futurism” Conference
The conference, “Shades of Futurism,” marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Futurist Manifesto (1909). The conference will explore the legacy of Futurism in literature, the arts, theater and performance, as well as in the technology and industry that so fascinated the Futurists and left a revolutionary imprint on their cultural life. Additionally, it will assess the reception of Futurism not only in Italy, but in various countries around the world, such as Russia, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Croatia. The conference will also feature an exhibition of original artworks by various artists and performances of two pieces by Marinetti, and will be concluded by a Futurist dinner designed to appeal to all five senses.
