After giving it some thought, I came up with a general idea for my visual concept, that is, to design an evening gown with a twist, in that I want it to be elegant and classy yet modern, inspired by the designs of Italian-born French couturière Elsa Schiaparelli. While conducting research regarding the mentioned designer, I found out that despite being greatly associated with the Surrealist and Dadaist movements, she was also influenced by the Futurists. That is why I decided that with regards to art, I would refer to the Futurist movement - focusing mainly on their use of colour, since that is the aspect which will be used as a source of inspiration for my design.
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It was founded by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who published his Manifesto of Futurism on the front page of Le Figaro - a Parisian newspaper. The movement was mainly based in Italy, although its influences reached out also to Russia and England, with key figures of the movement including Italian artists Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Umberto Boccioni and Giacomo Balla, and Russian artist Natalia Goncharova.
It is fascinating to note that the Futurists made use of every artistic form possible to demonstrate their beliefs: painting, sculpture, industrial design, theatre, fashion, film, literature, music, architecture and graphic design amongst others.
Being mostly based in Italy, the main aim of the Futurist movement was to rid the country of anything old, classical and not totally new and work towards a new, modern Italy. They felt that the past culture of Italy was weighing them down as it was particularly oppressive. That is why Marinetti states in one his Manifesto that the Futurists "will free Italy from her innumerable museums which cover her like countless cemeteries" (Marinetti,1909). What the Futurists proposed instead was the introduction of modernity. They emphasized and celebrated anything related to the modern world of industry and technology - speed, youth and violence; and objects such as the car, the aeroplane and the industrial city.
‘We declare … a new beauty, the beauty of speed. A racing motor car … is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace’
(Marinetti, 1909)
With regards to art, the Futurists incorporated elements of Neo-Impressionism and Cubism to create an original style that expressed the dynamism, energy and movement of modern life. Their art is distinctive in that most of the time they made use of a process known as divisionism, which meant that they broke light and colour down into a series of dots and geometric forms.
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| Sea = Dancer (1914) Gino Severini |
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Abstract Speed + Sound
(1913–1914)
Giacomo Balla
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| The City Rises (1910) Umberto Boccioni |
While looking for more contemporary examples of art inspired by the futurist movement, I came across the art work (shown below) by Mark Webster. Comparing the works shown above with the one below, one can immediately notice the aggressive use of line and simple but bold colours.
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| Abstract Geometric Futurist Figurative Oil Painting Mark Webster |
I will definitely be making use of a combination of these colours in my design and further enhancing the aspect of movement by including lines and shapes in subtle but effective way.
References:
Image sources:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Umberto_Boccioni_001.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/12/GBallaArt.jpg
http://markadamwebster.com/workszoom/897562
http://www.designishistory.com/files/gimgs/32_futurism01.jpg
