‘’The Futurists and later the Dadaists used 'live' performances as one means for expressing their ideas about art and life. Discuss theses ideas making clear why the artists turned to live art. ‘’
‘Live art’; is a strategy that embraces more than just performance. It is a means of introducing the human presence into the creative practice and often, especially in the case of the Futurists and Dadaists, with much broader social and political intentions. The Serate evenings of the Futurists and productions such as Depero’s 1924 ‘Mechanical Machine Ballet’ are examples of the way in which the performances of the movement developed far beyond the art of the painters and sculptors. It was through 'live' performance that the Futurists and later the Dadaists could directly engage with the audience and …show more content…
Hugo Ball’s 1916 ‘Karawane’ poem/performance and The Dadaist night of 1916 officially began the movement as an expression of feeling and childlike simplicity, alogical and provocative. Performance became a way in which to achieve the simultaneity central to their ideas; that is the marriage of art and technology, art and life, the artist and the audience. The Italian Futurists were an artistic group who responded directly to the social/political advances of the modern world. It was through ‘live’ performance that the group could publicly celebrate the machinery, technology and rebellion at the core of their purpose. When Marinetti wrote the Futurist manifesto in 1909 (published in the French, La Figaro) the movement was initially intended for literary purposes. However by 1916, manifestos had been released by the interdisciplinary group on almost every aspect of life . The ideas were radical and called for all ties to the past to be severed. Marinetti writes “ Why should we look back, when what we want is to break down the mysterious doors of the Impossible?”. Through performance nights called Serate (‘evening’ in Italian) the Futurists