Rhythm + Movement + Light: Futurist Impulses in Czech Art

The motive behind this publication was the question of whether and how Czech art of the first third of the 20th century reflected the impulses of Italian Futurism. The idea of capturing, evoking, and presenting movement evolved in several different directions in Czech art. One preserved the traditional art form and aspired towards a symbolic abstract form of expression, another leaned towards a conceptual application and sign language, and finally the third incorporated real movement into the work of art.

Futurism is dealt with here in connection to the enthusiastic reception of industrialisation and the celebration of the machine (extending so far as the purgative function of war). The historical archetypes of Futurism can be found in the fluid, rhythmic curve of the ornamental vegetation in Secessionist art and in the scientific visualisation of a heart beat in the 1860s. Around the turn of the century some artists strove to capture the rhythm of history in the regular alternations of periods of rise and fall. Speed and movement are themes closely associated with Futurism, but the impulses for expressing these themes in art form can be sought elsewhere and not just in the sphere of art.

The studies in the book identify the mutual relations, shifts, and variations of the themes of dynamism, movement, and time in Czech visual art, film, photography, and theatre of the first third of the 20th century. This theme has not been addressed elsewhere and this narrative publication captures a phenomenon that sheds light on Czech art history from a new angle.