PROGRESS, SEX AND CARS: ANOTHER HISTORY OF THE AUTOBAHN | ELEPHANT | ARTICLE

The Italian Futurists pioneered an aesthetic appreciation for motion and speed, immaterial features they devotedly depicted in their visual culture (spanning art, film and architecture) throughout the 20th century’s first decade. These newly appreciated forms of beauty were facilitated by emerging technologies such as the automobile, which became accessible to an increasing number of people, and the image of which came to represent notions of progress, technological development, and domination over nature. The Futurists’ encomia to progress went hand in hand with a devotion to violence and patriotism, which drove them to support and participate in World War I and saw the subsequent movement dissolution at the war’s end. Yet, this spirit and dedication to depicting “progress” was soon absorbed by the language and design of advertising.  [ read more … ]