Katana VentraIP

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (Italian: Forme uniche della continuità nello spazio) is a 1913 bronze Futurist sculpture by Umberto Boccioni. It is seen as an expression of movement and fluidity.[1] The sculpture is depicted on the obverse of the Italian-issue 20 cent euro coin.

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space

1913

111.44 cm (43.87 in)

History[edit]

The Futurist movement was striving to portray speed and forceful dynamism in their art. Boccioni, though trained as a painter, began sculpting in 1912. He exclaimed that "these days I am obsessed by sculpture! I believe I have glimpsed a complete renovation of that mummified art."[2] The following year Boccioni completed the sculpture. His goal for the work was to depict a "synthetic continuity" of motion instead of an "analytical discontinuity" that he saw in artists like František Kupka and Marcel Duchamp.[3] In 1912–13 Boccioni created several other sculptures[4] including his 1913 Development of a Bottle in Space.

Influence[edit]

In 2009 Italian composer Carlo Forlivesi in collaboration with Stefano Fossati, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Melbourne, created an international composition competition and workshop titled Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (Forme Uniche della Continuità nello Spazio), commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Italian Futurism. With a name which brings to mind Boccioni's piece, the initiative, organised on an annual basis, celebrates the power of musical composition mingled with the strength of the Italian language. The international composition competition and workshop Unique Forms of Continuity in Space aims to contribute to the creation of a large and eclectic body of art works, with particular significance for the relationship between music and poetry.[12] [13]


In 2018, the sculpture was used as the basis of the trophy presented to the winner of the virtual Gran Turismo World Series sim racing competition held in the Gran Turismo series of racing games. The sculpture was chosen because it represents the surprise and fascination of machines discovered in the beginning of the 20th century, and shares values with Gran Turismo. Polyphony Digital, the creators of the Gran Turismo series, used laser scanning methods to create an accurate replication of the sculpture.[14]

Antigrazioso

a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on this work

Umberto Boccioni