Futurism was the first deliberately organized, self-conscious 'art movement' of the twentieth century. It quickly spread to France, Germany, Russia and the Americas, appealing to all who had tired of romanticism, decadence and sentimentality, desirious of something more vigorous and robust, something in keeping with the Machine Age. Speed, noise, machines, transportation, communication, information...and all the transient impressions of life in the modern city intoxicated Marinetti and his followers. They despised tame, 'bourgeois' virtues and tastes, and above everything else, loathed the cult of the past. One Italian critic labelled them 'art wiseguys' calling them 'the caffeine of Europe.' In a series of manifestos designed to shock and provoke the public, they formulated styles of painting, music, sculpture, theatre, poetry, architecture, cooking, clothing, and furniture. The manifestos vividly preserve the flavor of the movement. They still provoke, irritate, and amuse while opening endless possibilities still under exploration today.
Anticipating the Surrealists, the Futurists declared that discoveries of the subconscious must be brought to the stage. The entertainment would 'symphonize' the feelings of the public, exploring and revealing those feelings in every possible way.