Handbook of International Futurism

Abstract

TheHandbook of International Futurism edited by Günter Berghaus is probably the most comprehensive volume on Futurism yet to appear, not least because it includes the legacies of futurism in  countries. It is not exactly a handy book: although printed on lightweight paper, the  pages in hardcover have enough weight and volume to require a table to rest the book on while you are reading. And even though the contents are often very interesting and entertaining, it takes some time to read through all these pages without a single illustration. So it is not exactly holiday or leisure reading. But once you have it you will have references handy for almost every aspect of futurism worldwide. The first part sums up “General Aspects of the History and Theory of Futurism” in just three chapters comprising  pages, which inevitably seems a bit short. Berghaus’ own chapter on the “Historiography of Studies on Italian Futurism” contextualises the historical trends in futurism studies, but is less a narrative than a useful bibliographical overview focused, as the title indicates, on Italian futurism. Italian futurism remains at the centre throughout the volume, while Russian futurism is less well covered. The second chapter in the first part on the vexed subject of “The Politics of Futurism” by Aleš Erjavec includes both Italy and Russia, but is too short to give the necessary information about futurism in both countries and adequately explain their complex relations to fascism and communism. Some of these political perspectives are taken up by the two more ample and nuanced essays on Italy by Luca Somigli (on literature) and Giorgio Di Genova (on the fine arts) in the third part of the volume, but their focus is primarily on aesthetic matters. The two very good essays on Russia by Henryk Baran and Christina Lodder in the third part of the volume also give more detailed contextual information on the historical relations between art and politics in the more heterogenous groups of Russian futurists and a good overview of the differences and similarities of Russian and Italian futurism. So together the chapters on Italy and Russia fill out some of the lacunae in Erjavec’s chapter in the first part. It is a great idea to have a third chapter in this section on the traditionally somewhat neglected subject of “Women Futurists”, but unfortunately this entry, divided into one part on Italian women (by Lucia Re) and one part on Russian women (by Charlotte Douglas), is equally short and in parts becomes just a listing of women associated with futurism. Fortunately, each article in the volume provides a long list of relevant references in several languages where the curious reader can find more information. The first part has probably been cut too short to make room for the second part on “Futurism in Different Aesthetic Media” and not least for the third part on “Futurist Traditions in Different Countries”, which takes up half the volume and expands the study of futurism with a whole new series of local studies that to my knowledge have never