Manifestos
Marinetti, a born publicist, set the tone of Futurist manifesto writing with the first Founding and Manifesto of Futurism in February 1909 - its vehemently polemic and argumentative style began by denouncing tradition and a reliance on the past, demanding an art of revolution and change - based in the present and dependant upon total freedom of expression.
Futurism was characterised by the huge number of manifestos issued in its name and used to promote it to a mass audience. In fact, the tenets of Futurism across the arts were invariably defined in words of manifestos long before they appeared in the arts themselves.
Manifestos
Style apart, however, the manifestos form a body of work in themselves and the study of them gives a clearer understanding of the Futurist mind and its approach to the arts as well as everyday life.
Click here for the complete list of Marinetti's Manifestos
Manifestos
The other 'modern' way the Futurists publicized themselves and their movement was the serata. These Futurist soirées, invariably organized and led by Marinetti, were the precursor of the 'Synthetic Theatre'. Performances usually included music or a performance of Russolo's intonorumori or noise machines, improvised speeches, presentations of paintings, literary and poetic readings and short dramatic plays called sintesi or syntheses.
In 1917 Marinetti met Benedetta Cappa, twenty one years his junior and a student of Giacomo Balla. By 1919 - the year he wrote his manifesto Against Marriage - they were living together and they married in 1923. He died Dec. 2, 1944 in Bellagio, Italy.