Which movement's 1909 manifesto called for the destruction of museums and libraries and the glorification of speed and machinery?

Which movement's 1909 manifesto called for the destruction of museums and libraries and the glorification of speed and machinery?

• A. Futurism
• B. Dada
• C. De Stijl
• D. Constructivism

Answer: (A)

Futurism centers on a fearless break with the past and an embrace of modern life—speed, technology, and the energy of the city. The 1909 manifesto by Marinetti explicitly rejects tradition and calls for destroying museums and libraries as symbols of an antiquated culture. It paints art as something alive and kinetic, celebrating speed, machinery, and aggression as sources of vitality. This mindset is what the question points to: a bold, early 20th-century stance that wants to overturn old cultural forms in favor of a dynamic, machine-driven future. In contrast, the other movements emerged with different priorities: Dada questioned conventional art and meaning in the aftermath of World War I, but without a singular manifesto advocating the destruction of cultural institutions; De Stijl pursued formal abstraction and harmony through simple geometric forms; Constructivism focused on art’s social function and practical, industrial materials.

Futurism centers on a fearless break with the past and an embrace of modern life—speed, technology, and the energy of the city. The 1909 manifesto by Marinetti explicitly rejects tradition and calls for destroying museums and libraries as symbols of an antiquated culture. It paints art as something alive and kinetic, celebrating speed, machinery, and aggression as sources of vitality. This mindset is what the question points to: a bold, early 20th-century stance that wants to overturn old cultural forms in favor of a dynamic, machine-driven future.

In contrast, the other movements emerged with different priorities: Dada questioned conventional art and meaning in the aftermath of World War I, but without a singular manifesto advocating the destruction of cultural institutions; De Stijl pursued formal abstraction and harmony through simple geometric forms; Constructivism focused on art’s social function and practical, industrial materials.