Pleasing Numbers, 1919

The Italian Futurists had high aspirations for how art might represent and even participate in the progressive evolution of modern society, one fueled by a heady energy and embrace of technology. Futurist painter Giacomo Balla saw the movement as a space of infinite potential and co-penned a manifesto titled “Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe” that encompassed manifold forms of action under the movement’s banner. Colleague Luigi Russolo’s work embodied this ideal and he expanded on his painting practice through sonic compositions often utilizing instruments of his own creation called Intonarumori. These noise-generating devices brought the atmosphere of industrialism into a sound art context and when coupled with the visual side of Futurism they amplified its kinetic abstraction. Unfortunately, the Italian Futurists’ fanatic desire for revolutionary nationalism eventually spilled over into the realm of real world facism as Italy thrust itself into World War I under Mussolini’s fateful leadership.