Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Futurism touched many art forms, among which photography is the least explored; the Futurists, however, came to consider photography a privileged medium, capable of expressing the dynamism they held so dear. The photographs they produced can be considered as documents of the avant-garde activism of the early part of the twentieth century or emblematic images of the mythology of the Futurist revolution, as well as works of art in their own right. Futurism and Photography considers the innovations of the period from 1909 to 1939, when Futurist photographers such as Arturo and Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Giorgio Riccardo Carmelich, Fortunato Depero, Edmund Kesting, Enrico Pedrotti and Tato experimented with multiple portraits, abstract photography, photomontage and photocollage, as well as reportage that took for its subject-matter those things considered to embody 'modernity' and 'dynamism': dance, sport and the industrial world. This ground-breaking study fills long-standing gaps in the history both of photography and of the avant-garde culture of the twentieth century.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The design and typography of this exhibition catalog carry well the flavor of futurist style. Unfortunately, an awkward translation is compounded by repetitions and contradictions about futurist photography and the futurism-fascism collaboration. It is difficult to separate ego- and propaganda-serving photography from work that conveys dynamism and movement. Futurism courted and rejected photography with constant infighting. A.G. Bragaglia ("Fotodinamismo Futurista," 1913), the pioneer of futuristic photography, was excommunicated from the futurist art circle. Lista overstates the innovative aspects of futurist photography, but as the group became more exposed to trends in Germany, eastern Europe, and France (especially as shown in the 1929 FiFo exhibition in Stuttgart), their work became more sophisticated. In the 1920s, futurism became engaged with fascism. Lista does not critically investigate the significance of this alignment with totalitarianism. The more interesting works reproduced (more than half) are tellingly from the 1930s. Also curious is the fact that most of the photographers did all of their work in one decade, but the text says nothing about this. The notes are references without discussion, and the reproductions are not referenced to help make connections with the text; but the bibliography, brief biographies, and checklist are useful reference tools. General readers; undergraduates through faculty. C. Chiarenza emeritus, University of Rochester