This volume explores the fraught relationship between Futurism and the
Sacred. Like many fin-de-siècle intellectuals, the Futurists were
fascinated by various forms of esotericism such as theosophy and
spiritualism and saw art as a privileged means to access states of being
beyond the surface of the mundane world. At the same time, they viewed
with suspicion organized religions as social institutions hindering
modernization and ironically used their symbols. In Italy, the
theorization of "Futurist Sacred Art" in the 1930s began a new period of
dialogue between Futurism and the Catholic Church. The essays in the
volume span the history of Futurism from 1909 to 1944 and consider its
different configurations across different disciplines and geographical
locations, from Polish and Spanish literature to Italian art and
American music.
Sacred. Like many fin-de-siècle intellectuals, the Futurists were
fascinated by various forms of esotericism such as theosophy and
spiritualism and saw art as a privileged means to access states of being
beyond the surface of the mundane world. At the same time, they viewed
with suspicion organized religions as social institutions hindering
modernization and ironically used their symbols. In Italy, the
theorization of "Futurist Sacred Art" in the 1930s began a new period of
dialogue between Futurism and the Catholic Church. The essays in the
volume span the history of Futurism from 1909 to 1944 and consider its
different configurations across different disciplines and geographical
locations, from Polish and Spanish literature to Italian art and
American music.
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