Italian Futurism and "The Fourth Dimension"

Author(s): Linda Dalrymple Henderson

Source: Art Journal, Vol. 41, No. 4, Futurism (Winter, 1981), pp. 317-323
Published by: College Art Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/776440 .
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Italian Futurismand
" T h e Fourth Dime nsion"
Lind a
Dalrymple
He nd e rson
During
th e first th re e d e cad e s of th e twe ntie th
ce ntury,
artists in
ne arly e ve ry major
mod e rn
move me nt we re influe nce d
by
a
h igh ly popular
conce pt
known as " th e fourth d ime nsion." In
th is
pe riod ,
" th e fourth d ime nsion"
signifie d
a
h igh e r,
unse e n d ime nsion of
space
wh ich
migh t
h old a
re ality
true r th an th at of visual
pe rce ption.
Linke d
close ly
to th e
ph ilosoph ical
id e alism
wh ich d ominate d th e
e ra,
be lie f in a fourth
d ime nsion
e ncourage d bold ,
formal
e xpe ri-
me ntation
by libe rating
artists fromth e d omi-
nation of th re e -d ime nsional visual
re ality.
If
some artistic ad vocate s of a fourth
d ime nsion,
such as th e
Cubists,
d id not
re je ct
visual
pe r-
ce ption comple te ly, Kupka, Male vich , Mond rian,
and Van
Doe sburg
found
support
in th e id e a
for th e ir cre ation of a
totally
abstract art. T h e
Futurists Boccioni and Se ve rini th us
joine d
a
d istinguish e d
list of artists attracte d to " th e
fourth
d ime nsion,"
a
group ranging
fromAna-
lytical
and
Synth e tic
Cubists as we ll as
Duch amp,
Picabia,
and
Kupka,
to Russian Futurists and
Supre matists,
Ame rican mod e rnists in th e
Stie glitz
and
Are nsbe rg circle s, Dad aists,
me m-
be rs of De
Stijl,
and e ve n ce rtain Surre alists.'
T h e
popular, e arly twe ntie th -ce ntury
vie w
th at
space migh t
ind e e d h ave more th an th re e
d ime nsions was an
outgrowth
of th e
d e ve lop-
me nt, d uring
th e first h alf of th e nine te e nth
ce ntury,
of
ge ome trie s
of more th an th re e
d ime nsions,
known as n-d ime nsional
ge ome try.2
Alth ough h igh e r
d ime nsions of
space
we re
first
brough t
to
public
atte ntion in th e late r
nine te e nth
ce ntury by
d e bate s about th e nature
of
ge ome trical
axioms and th e nature of
space ,
" th e fourth d ime nsion"
quickly acquire d
nu-
me rous
non-ge ome tric
associations as we ll. In
England ,
for
e xample ,
th e auth or Ch arle s
Howard Hinton
d e ve lope d
a
syste m
of
" h ype r-
space ph ilosoph y," 3
base d on h is be lie f th at
th e answe r to th e e vils of
positivism
and mate -
rialismwas for man to
d e ve lop
h is
powe rs
of
intuition in ord e r to
pe rce ive
a fourth d ime n-
Fig.
1 Pablo
Picasso,
Portrait of Ambroise
Vollard , 1910,
oil on canvas.
Moscow,
Push kin Muse um.
sion of
space ,
th e true
re ality.
T h e fourth
d ime nsion also took on
spe cifically mystical
qualitie s
wh e n
ad opte d by
ce rtain
T h e osoph ists
and
spiritualists;
it functione d in th is
way
in th e
writings
of th e
major h ype rspace ph ilosoph e rs
d e sce nd e d fromHinton-P. D.
Ouspe nsky
in
Russia and Claud e
Bragd on
in th e Unite d State s.
T h e first artistic
applications
of a
spatial
fourth d ime nsion we re
d e ve lope d
in Paris in
th e
ye ars
around
1910,
and th e Cubist lite rature
in wh ich
th e y
we re se t forth h ad an
impact
on
all
subse que nt th e orizing
on th e
subje ct.
Al-
th ough
Picasso's Cubisme volve d fromh is in-
te re st in Ce zanne and African
art,
h is
ste p
to
mature
Analytical
Cubismwas
unque stionably
e ncourage d by
h is e ra's be lie f in a
re ality
be yond
imme d iate visual
pe rce ption.
T h e con-
,:
-
,
'
D
'
:
::
Fig.
2
Pe rspe ctive cavalie re ,from
E.
Jouffre t,
T raite e le me ntaire d e
ge ome trie
a
quatre
d ime nsions
(Paris, 1903), Fig.
41.
ce ptual
nature of African art was th e
spe cific
factor th at
e ncourage d Picasso,
as h e
said ,
" to
paint obje cts
as I th ink
th e m,
not as I se e
th e m." 4 For th e th e orists
Me tzinge r, Gle ize s,
and
Apollinaire ,
on th e oth e r
h and ,
th e fourth
d ime nsion se rve d as th e
major rationale for a
Cubist
painte r's
fre e d omto d istort or d e form
obje cts accord ing
to a
h igh e r law,
as we ll as
for h is
re je ction
of
pe rspe ctive .5
As
Apollinaire
wrote on th e
subje ct
of formin
1912,
" It is to
th e fourth d ime nsion alone th at we owe a ne w
normof th e
pe rfe ct." 6
Apollinaire 's
re fe re nce in Le s Pe intre s Cub-'
iste s of
1913
to
pe rspe ctive
as " th at mise rable
tricky pe rspe ctive ,
th at fourth d ime nsion in
re ve rse " 7 confirms th e
spe cific
conne ction of
th e fourth d ime nsion with Cubist
pictorial space
as we ll as with form. T h e
ambiguous space
of a
work such as Picasso's Portrait
of
Ambroise
Vollard of 1910 offe rs a
striking paralle l
to a
Winte r 1981 317
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conte mporary
illustration in a te xtbook on
four-d ime nsional
ge ome try by
E.
Jouffre t, pub-
lish e d in Paris in 1903
(Figs.
I and
2).
Alth ough
not th e source of Picasso's Cubist
style ,
such illustrations would h ave confirme d
th e d ire ction in wh ich Cubismwas
d e ve loping.
Both
image s
se e k to avoid a trad itional th re e -
d ime nsional
re ad ing
of
obje cts
and
space .
More ove r, multiple vie wpoints
of th e
obje ct
are
juxtapose d , just
as He nri Poincare h ad
sugge ste d
in h is te xt La Scie nce e t
l'h ypoth e se ,
(1902),
in a d iscussion of a
possible
me ans to
re pre se nt
a four-d ime nsional
obje ct.
In
fact,
th e
e xplanation by Me tzinge r
and Gle ize s inDu
Cubisme
(1912)
th at th e Cubist
painte r
move s
around h is
subje ct, gath e ring multiple
vie ws of
it in ord e r to
prod uce
a true r
image ,
is base d
on Poincare 's conne ction of tactile and motor
se nsations with th e
possible pe rce ption
of
h igh e r
spatial
d ime nsions.8
T h e me th od of th e Cubist
painte r, th e n,
was
analogous
to th at of a
ge ome te r striving
to
ach ie ve a
pe rce ption
of a
h igh e r
d ime nsional
obje ct.
If motion in time was involve d in th e
proce ss,
it was
only
incid e ntal to th e artist's
pursuit
of four-d ime nsional
space .
Ye t with in
th e trad ition of a
spatial
fourth d ime nsion
th e re h ad
d e ve lope d , by
th e e nd of th e nine -
te e nth
ce ntury,
a se cond
approach
to
h igh e r
d ime nsions,
an
approach
in wh ich time and
motion
playe d
a
positive
role .
Howe ve r,
auth ors
such as
Hinton,
wh o includ e d time in th e ir
e xplanations
of th e fourth
d ime nsion,
we re
not
re turning
to th e
sugge stion
mad e in th e
e igh te e nth ce ntury
th at time itse lf could be
d e fine d as a fourth d ime nsion.9 T h at id e a was
to
gain wid e spre ad acce ptance
once
again
only
afte r
1919 with th e
popularization
of
Einste in's Ge ne ral
T h e ory
of
Re lativity
base d
on a four-d ime nsional
space -time
continuum.'0
During
th e nine te e nth and
e arly
twe ntie th ce n-
turie s, h owe ve r,
th e
inte rpre tation
of th e fourth
d ime nsion as time was almost
comple te ly
ove r-
sh ad owe d
by
e nth usiasmabout a
h igh e r spatial
d ime nsion, pe rpe nd icular
to th e th re e d ime n-
sions we know.
T h us,
Hinton be lie ve d
firmly
in
th e e xiste nce of a fourth d ime nsion of
space
and
argue d
th at time and motion we re incom-
ple te ly
und e rstood manife stations of th at ad d i-
tional
spatial
d ime nsion.
Hinton's th e ore tical
writings
ce nte re d about
th e four-d ime nsional
h ype rcube ,
or
te sse ract,
th e
h igh e r
d ime nsional
analogue
of th e cube
(Fig. 3,
lowe r
righ t).
Just as a cube can be
ge ne rate d by
th e motion of a two-d ime nsional
plane th rough
a th ird
d ime nsion,
a
h ype rcube
would be trace d
by
th e motion of a th re e -
d ime nsional cube into a
ne w,
fourth
pe rpe n-
d icular d ire ction. Give n th e
d ifficulty
of visual-
izing
th e four-d ime nsional
appe arance
of th is
figure ,
e ve n in a th re e -d ime nsional
pe rspe ctive
proje ction (Fig. 3,
lowe r
le ft),
a re ve rsal of
th is
proce ss
was more e ffe ctive for Hinton's
purpose s.
As a
re sult,
h e conce ntrate d on th e
th re e -d ime nsional se ctions wh ich would be
prod uce d
as a four-d ime nsional
obje ct passe d
318 ArtJournal
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Fourth
Dime nsion)
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Fig.
4 Claud e Bragd on, Plate 14Dfrom
A Prime r
of
Hig.h e r
S ace f1913)
of High e r................... . SPac (191,).
Fig.
5
Frontispie ce from
Ch arle s Howard
Hinton,
T h e Fourth Dime nsion
(Lond on and Ne w York, 1904).
th rough
our th re e -d ime nsional
space .
T o
e xplain
th is
proce ss,
Hinton and oth e rs
fre que ntly
use d th e
analogy
of a
planar
world
of two d ime nsions and th e re actions of its
inh abitants to th re e -d ime nsional solid s
passing
th rough
th e
plane (Fig. 4).
Such an e ve nt h ad
also forme d th e basis of th e first fictional tale
base d on
h igh e r d ime nsions,
th e
English man
E.A. Abbott's
d e ligh tful
book of
1884,
Flat-
land : A Romance
of Many
Dime nsions
by
a
Square ." I
As a
sph e re
inte rse cte d h is
plane ,
Abbott's Flatland e r
pe rce ive d only
a succe ssion
of conce ntric
circle s,
first
growing
and th e n
d e cre asing
in size . T h e se
circle s, e xpe rie nce d
in time and
motion,
we re h is
only
clue s to th e
nature of th e th re e -d ime nsional
sph e re .'2
As
th e four to th re e -d ime nsional
analogue
of th is
proce ss,
Hinton cre ate d a se rie s of multicolore d
cube s
stand ing
for th e th re e -d ime nsional se c-
tions of th e
h ype rcube ,
wh ich would be
pe r-
ce ive d in succe ssion as it
passe d th rough
our
space .
T h e illustration
re prod uce d
h e re
(Fig. 5)
includ e s six of th e twe lve
catalogue
cube s for
Hinton's
syste m,
as it was
pre se nte d
in h is
book T h e Fourth Dime nsion
(1904).
Hype rspace ph ilosoph y's
two
comple me n-
tary approach e s
to
h igh e r
d ime nsional
space
(motion
to
ge ne rate
a
h igh e r
solid
and ,
in
re ve rse ,
th e
se ctioning
of th at solid
by
a
space
of one le ss
d ime nsion)
are re le vant for artists
wh ose th e ore tical re fe re nce s to th e fourth
d ime nsion occurre d in th e conte xt of a motion-
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la
quatrie me d ime nsion,"
wh ich
appe are d
on
th e front
page
of Comoe d ia on
May 20, 1912.15
Just
as
Kupka's
motion stud ie s
may
h ave
acquire d
a four-d ime nsional
association,
h is
young
ad mire r Marce l
Duch amp may
h ave
conne cte d h is own
e xpe rime nts
in th e " static
re pre se ntation
of move me nt" '6 with th e
ge n-
e ration of
h igh e r
d ime nsional forms.
Duch amp
late r talke d of h is Sad
Young
Man on a T rain
(1911)
and th e Nud e
De sce nd ing
a Staircase
(1912)
(Fig. 8)
as
e xample s
of h is
e arly
inte re st in
" e le me ntal/e le me ntary paralle l-
ism" '7 and th e
" paralle l multiplication
of th e
n-d im'l continuumto formth e n+1 d im'l
continuum." '8 Ye t
Duch amp,
wh o kne w th e
ge ome try
of Jouffre t as we ll as Hinton's
id e as,
must
quickly
h ave re alize d th at th e re is
noth ing
four d ime nsional about th e motion of an obje ct
unle ss it move s off into a ne w fourth d ire ction
(as Hinton's
h ype rcube
was to h ave
d one ).
As
Duch amp
late r
e xplaine d ,
" T h e move me nt of
formin time
ine vitably
ush e re d us into
ge ome -
Fig.
6
Etie nne -Jule s Mare y, Fe nce r,
1882.
Paris, Cine math e que Jranqaise .
Fig.
7 Frantise k
Kupka,
Untitle d
d rawing,
ca.
1910, graph ite pe ncil
on
pape r. Paris,
Colle ction Karl Flinke r.
orie nte d
style . Kupka's painte rly e xpe rime nts,
inspire d by
th e
ch ronoph otograph y
of Etie nne -
Jule s Mare y (Fig. 6), appe ar
to h ave take n on
a four-d ime nsional association for h imonce
h e was aware of Hinton's th e orie s.'3 Most
like ly
introd uce d to Hinton's id e as
th rough
th e
Parisian
T h e osoph ical publications
in wh ich
th e y
we re
summarize d ,'4 Kupka may
h ave come
to consid e r th e forms
ge ne rate d
in works such
as Woman
Picking
Flowe rs
(Muse e
National
d 'Art
Mod e rne , Paris)
and a re late d
d rawing
of
about 1910
(Fig. 7)
as
analogous
to Hinton's
ge ne ration
of th e
h ype rcube by
motion in time .
Fig.
8 Marce l
Duch amp,
Nud e
De sce nd ing
a
Staircase ,
No.
2, 1912,
oil on canvas.
Ph ilad e lph ia Muse um
ofArt,
T h e Louise and
Walte r
Are nsbe rg
Colle ction.
T h e notation on th e
d rawing,
wh ich
Kupka
must h ave ad d e d in
1912,
confirms h is conce rn
with th e se issue s:
" Displace me nt
in th re e
d ime nsions take s
place
in
space ,
wh ile th at in
four d ime nsions
by
th e
e xch ange
of atoms. But
to fix
ge sture ,
a move me nt in th e
space
of th e
canvas,-arre st
se ve ral succe ssive move me nts."
T h is state me nt is d rawn
d ire ctly
froma
se gme nt
of Gaston d e Pawlowski's tale
" Voyage
au
pays
d e
Fig.
9 Kazimir
Male vich ,
T h e Knife
Grind e r,
1912,
oil on canvas. Ne w
Have n,
Yale
Unive rsity
Art
Galle ry.
try
and math e matics." '9 With th is
re alization,
Duch amp gave up
h is motion stud ie s (as we ll
as conve ntional oil
painting)
to
carry
out th e
most se rious
stud y
of four-d ime nsional
ge om-
e try
und e rtake n
by any e arly twe ntie th -ce ntury
artist,
a
stud y
wh ich culminate d in T h e Brid e
Strippe d
Bare
by
He r
Bach e lors,
Eve n
(T h e
Large Glass)
of 1915-1923.
A similar
re je ction
of motion in th re e -d ime n-
sional
space
was mad e
by
Kazimir Male vich
afte r h e
painte d
h is one
e xample
in th is
mod e ,
T h e
Knife
Grind e r of 1912
(Fig.9).20
Male -
vich 's
e xploration
of
se que ntial
motion in th is
work was most
like ly
influe nce d
by Le ge r's
Essai
pour
le s trois
portraits
of 1911 (Mil-
wauke e Art
Ce nte r)
wh ich was e xh ibite d in th e
Jack
of Diamond s e xh ibition in Moscow in
Fe bruary 1912.
Le ge r's
own subtle
e xplora-
tion of motion in th is
painting may
we ll h ave
be e n
inspire d by
th e
ch ronoph otograph y
fash -
ion,
re inforce d
by
th e Unanimiste
poe t Jule s
Romains's be lie f in th e
inte rpe ne tration
of
obje cts
in
nature ,
as we ll as
by
He nri
Be rgson's
d e scription
of a
re ality
in flux with in th e flow
of d uration.21
Ye t, Be rgson
h imse lf h ad
re je cte d
Winte r 1981 319
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th e
ch ronoph otograph
and th e
cine matograph .
For h imsuch
" snapsh ot
vie w[s]
of a transi-
tion" 22 we re antith e tical to th e
continuous,
pure
time of d uration.
T h us,
th e
ch ronoph oto-
graph ically inspire d
re cord s of th e motion of
th re e -d ime nsional
obje cts painte d by Kupka,
Duch amp, Male vich ,
and
Le ge r
we re not four-
d ime nsional
nor,
if one we re conte nt to
pursue
Be rgsonian
d uration
alone ,
we re
th e y truly
Be rgsonian.
Ente r th e Futurist
painte r
and
sculptor
Umbe rto Boccioni. In th e se cond
te ch nique
sugge ste d by h ype rspace ph ilosoph y (i.e .,
th e
visualization of a four-d ime nsional
obje ct by
me ans of its succe ssive th re e -d ime nsional
se ctions),
Boccioni was to find an alte rnative
approach
to th e
proble m
of th e fourth d ime n-
sion. T h is
solution,
h e
be lie ve d ,
was far
supe -
rior to th e Cubists'
pure ge ome trical
me th od
as we ll as to th e
ch ronoph otograph ic
vie ws
th at e ve n h is
countryman
Giacomo Balla h ad
e xplore d
in such works as
Dynamism
of
a
Dog
on a Le ash of
1912 (Albrigh t-Knox
Art
Galle ry, Buffalo).
Alth ough
Boccioni's e arlie r
writings
h ad
re gularly
includ e d nume rous
positive
re fe r-
e nce s to math e matics and
scie nce ,23
and al-
th ough Italy
was one of th e most
prolific
source s
of
sch olarly
lite rature on th e fourth d ime n-
sion,24
it se e ms th at Boccioni's artistic inte re st
in th e
topic
was arouse d
only th rough
h is
conne ctions with th e art world of Paris. Mari-
ne tti's
fre que nt pre se nce
in Paris fromth e
1890s onward and h is
acquaintance
with Alfre d
Jarry
and
Apollinaire 25 migh t
h ave
provid e d
an initial introd uction to th e id e a. More
impor-
tant, h owe ve r,
was th e
position
of th e Futurist
Se ve rini in th e mid st of th e Cubist
avant-gard e .
Wh e n Boccioni and Carra trave le d to Paris in
Octobe r
1911,
as a
pre lud e
to th e ir Be rnh e im-
Je une
e xh ibition of
Fe bruary 1912,
th e stud io
visits Se ve rini
arrange d
includ e d th e ate lie r of
Me tzinge r,
wh o
particularly impre sse d
Boc-
cioni.26 If Boccioni d id not h e ar of th e fourth
d ime nsion at th at
time ,
h is re turn
trips
to Paris
in
Fe bruary
and Nove mbe r 1912 and in
June
1913
for h is
sculpture
e xh ibition would h ave
afford e d
ample opportunity
to d iscuss th e no-
tion. For
e xample ,
Boccioni wrote to h is frie nd
Nino Barbantini fromParis in
Fe bruary 1912,
d e scribing
th e
goal
of h is ne w
painting
in
te rms of a
" spiritualization [wh ich ]
will be
give n by pure
math e matical
value s, by pure
ge ome trical
d ime nsions...." 27 In
ad d ition,
th e first
major
state me nt of Cubist vie ws on th e
fourth d ime nsion was soon to be
publish e d by
Apollinaire
in an article of
April 1912
in Le s
Soird e s d e
Paris,
a te xt th at forme d th e basis
for one
ch apte r
of h is Le s Pe intre s Cubiste s of
March 1913.
Boccioni's only major d iscussion of th e role
of th e fourth d ime nsion in Futurist art was writ-
te n and
publish e d initially
in De ce mbe r 1913.28
It was th e n
includ e d ,
with
ad d itions,
in h is te xt
Pittura
sculturafuturiste (d inamismo plas-
tico),
of
1914.
In th e final ve rsion Boccioni
Fig.
10 Umbe rto
Boccioni, Unique
Forms of
Continuity
in
Space , 1913,
bronze .
Ne w York, T h e Muse umof Mod e rn Art.
wrote as
follows, introd ucing
h is id e as with a
critique
of e arlie r
atte mpts
at
e xpre ssing d yna-
mismin art:
It se e ms cle ar to me th at th is succe ssion is
not to be found in
re pe tition
of
le gs, arms,
and
face s,
as
many pe ople
h ave
stupid ly
be lie ve d ,
but is ach ie ve d
th rough
th e in-
tuitive se arch for th e
unique form
wh ich
give s continuity
in
space .
It is th e form-
type
wh ich make s an
obje ct
live in th e
unive rsal.
T h e re fore ,
inste ad of th e old -
fash ione d
conce pt
of
sh arp
d iffe re ntiation
of
bod ie s,
inste ad of th e mod e rn
conce pt
of th e
Impre ssionists
with th e ir
subd ivision,
th e ir
re pe tition,
th e ir
rough
ind ications of
image s,
we would substitute a
conce pt of
d ynamic continuity
as
unique
form. And
it is not
by
accid e nt th at I
say
formand
not
line ,
since
d ynamicform
is a
spe cie s
of fourth d ime nsion in
painting
and
sculp-
ture ,
wh ich cannot e xist
pe rfe ctly
with out
th e
comple te
affirmation of th e th re e d i-
me nsions wh ich d e te rmine volume :
h e igh t,
wid th , d e pth .
I re me mbe r
h aving
re ad th at Cubism
with its
bre aking up
of th e
obje ct
and
unfold ing
of th e
parts
of th e
obje ct
on th e
flat surface of th e
picture approach e d
th e
fourth d ime nsion....
Howe ve r,
th is
pro-
ce d ure is
noth ing
but th e
transcription
onto th e surface of th e
canvas,
of th e
plane s
of th e
obje ct
wh ich its accid e ntal
position pre ve nts
us from
se e ing.
It is a
rational
proce d ure
wh ich e xists in re lativ-
ity,
not in an intuitive absolute . T h e in-
te gral
notion of th e
obje ct e xists,
with th is
proce d ure ,
in th e th re e
conce pts
of
h e igh t,
320 ArtJournal
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:f .:- :
:
:... ..C1?
Fig.
11 Umbe rto
Boccioni,
Muscular
Dynamism, 1913,
ch arcoal
onpape r.
Ne w York,
T h e Muse um
of
Mod e rn Art.
wid th , d e pth ,
th us I
re pe at,
in th e
re lative ,
in th e finite of me nsuration. If with th e
artistic intuition it is e ve r
possible
to
ap-
proach
th e
conce pt
of a fourth
d ime nsion,
it is we Futurists wh o are
ge tting
th e re
first. In
fact,
with th e
unique
formwh ich
give s continuity
in
space
we cre ate a form
wh ich is th e sumof th e
pote ntial unfold ing
of th e th re e known d ime nsions.
T h e re fore ,
we cannot make a me asure d and
finite
fourth
d ime nsion,
but rath e r a continuous
proje ction
of force s and forms intuite d in
th e ir infinite
unfold ing.
In
fact,
th e
unique
d ynamic
formwh ich we
proclaim
is noth -
ing
oth e r th an th e
sugge stion
of a formin
motion wh ich
appe ars
for a mome nt
only
to be lost in th e infinite succe ssion of its
varie ty.
In
conclusion,
we Futurists
give
th e
me th od for
cre ating
a
conce ption
more
abstract and
symbolic
of
re ality,
but we d o
not d e fine th e fixe d and absolute me asure
wh ich cre ate s
d ynamism.29
Boccioni's
und e rstand ing
of th e fourth d i-
me nsion was
obviously
far more
d ynamic
th an
th at of th e
Cubists,
wh ose
ge ome tric approach
h e
spe cifically re je cte d . Dynamismand , by
implication,
motion in time are e sse ntial e le -
me nts of h is
inte rpre tation. Ye t,
Boccioni is
care ful to
se parate
h imse lf fromth e
analyse s
of line ar
se que ntial
motion
painte d by Kupka,
Duch amp,
and h is fe llow Futurist
Balla,
as we ll
as fromth e
ch ronoph otograph ic e xpe rime nts
of th e Italian
ph otograph e r Bragaglia,
wh o
atte mpte d
to
e mbod y
Futurist te ne ts in h is
fotod inamismo.30
Be yond
h is criticisms of th e mistake n
ap-
proach e s
of oth e rs to
h igh e r d ime nsions,
Boc-
cioni's te xt
provid e s
se ve ral ind ire ct clue s to
h is own d e finition of th e fourth d ime nsion.
Since
" d ynamic
formis a
spe cie s
of fourth
d ime nsion" for
Boccioni,
h is vie w of th e notion
must be
close ly
re late d to " th e
unique
form
wh ich
give s continuity
in
space ,"
th e title of h is
most famous
sculpture (Fig. 10).31
A four-
d ime nsional formfor Boccioni is a " form-
type "
wh ich transce nd s artificial d ivisions in
space ;
in oth e r
word s,
it
" give s continuity."
Boccioni's fourth d ime nsion is an
absolute ,
unme asurable ,
infinite
conce pt,
as
oppose d
to
Cubism's " me asure d and finite " fourth d ime n-
sion wh ich is
only
re lative in Boccioni's vie w.
Intuition and not a " rational
proce d ure "
is th e
me ans
by
wh ich th e Futurist artist can
approach
th is fourth
d ime nsion,
wh ich is " th e sumof
th e
pote ntial unfold ing
of th e th re e known
d ime nsions."
Finally,
in
cre ating
a " more ab-
stract and
symbolic" conce ption
of
re ality,
th e
Futurist will
wise ly
avoid
trying
to d e fine or
d e limit " th e fixe d and absolute me asure wh ich
cre ate s
d ynamism."
T o
e xplain
Boccioni's
ve ry
d iffe re nt und e r-
stand ing
of th e fourth
d ime nsion,
h is
prior
artistic conce rns and h is ch oice of d iffe re nt
source s on th e fourth d ime nsion must be con-
sid e re d . In th e e volution of h is artistic
th e ory
Boccioni h ad be e n
particularly
influe nce d
by
th e
ph ilosoph y
of
Be rgson.
Basic to h is
th inking,
th e n,
was a be lie f in a
re ality
in constant
flux,
to be intuite d
by
e ach ind ivid ual with in th e
flow of d uration.32 Wh e n Boccioni
be gan
to
consid e r a fourth
d ime nsion,
h e
naturally pre -
fe rre d
inte rpre tations involving time ,
th e basic
e le me nt in
Be rgson's
th e orie s.
Hype rspace
ph ilosoph y,
with its
re cognition
of time as a
me ans to
h igh e r spatial d ime nsions,
was
id e ally
suite d to Boccioni's ne e d s.
Be rgson
h imse lf
h ad linke d time with
space , re fe rring
to " h omo-
ge ne ous
time " as a fourth d ime nsion of
space
in h is Essai sur le s d onne e s imme d iate s d e la
conscie nce of 1889.33
Significantly, h owe ve r,
Be rgson
h ad use d th e te rmin a
ne gative se nse ,
criticizing
th e mind 's
te nd e ncy
to contaminate
th e
pure
flow of d uration
by spatializing
it.
Ye t,
for Boccioni th e fourth d ime nsion d id
imply h igh e r spatial
d ime nsions and was not
simply
time alone
(as
it would h ave h ad to be
for a
Be rgsonian purist). T h rough out
Boccioni's
writings
of th e
pe riod
from1912 to
1914,
th e re are
fre que nt
re fe re nce s to " a ne w inne r
re ality," 34
" an
id e al, supe rior plane ," 35
and
th e ne e d of th e artist to " re nd e r th e invisible
wh ich stirs and live s
be yond inte rve ning
ob-
stacle s." 36 Boccioni's fe llow Futurist
Se ve rini,
wh o was late r to th e orize
e xte nsive ly
on th e
fourth d ime nsion in th e conte xt of
Synth e tic
Cubism,
wrote in th e fall of
1913 th at " we must
forge t
e xte rior
re ality
and our
knowle d ge
of it
in ord e r to cre ate th e ne w d ime nsions ... ." 37
And Boccioni h imse lf re ve ale d a d e bt to
Apol-
linaire and Cubism's
spatial
fourth d ime nsion
in h is asse rtion th at th e fourth d ime nsion
" cannot e xist
pe rfe ctly
with out th e
comple te
affirmation of th e th re e d ime nsions wh ich d e te r-
mine volume " -an e ch o of
Apollinaire 's
state -
me nt of
1912
th at th e fourth d ime nsion " is
e nge nd e re d by
th e th re e known d ime nsions." 38
Wh at th e n was th e
re lationsh ip
of
h igh e r
space
to time and motion in Boccioni's
d ynamic
inte rpre tation
of th e fourth d ime nsion? His
approach
to
h ype rspace ph ilosoph y
was not
th at of
Kupka
or
Duch amp,
wh o
sough t
to
ge ne rate
a
h igh e r
d ime nsional form
by
th e
motion of a th re e -d ime nsional
obje ct th rough
space . Inste ad ,
if Boccioni was at all influe nce d
by
th e
h ype rspace ph ilosoph y
of Hinton 39 or
an Italian
paralle l,
it was th e re ve rse
proce ss,
th e
passage
of a
h igh e r
d ime nsional form
th rough
our
space ,
th at inte re ste d h im. T h e
purpose
of Hinton's
syste m
of cube s h ad be e n
to e d ucate a re ad e r's
" space
se nse " in ord e r
for h imto visualize th is
proce ss. Alth ough
th e
re ad e r would
actually pe rce ive only
th e se ctions
of th e
h ype rcube (its e igh t
ind ivid ual colore d
cube s in
succe ssion),
h e would
h ope fully
e x-
pe rie nce
some intuition of th e
gre ate r re ality
of th e wh ole four-d ime nsional
obje ct.
Fig.
12 Inte rse ction
of
a
Spiral
and a
Plane ,
fromHinton,
T h e Fourth Dime nsion
(1904),
p. 27.
An
analogy
Hinton h ad use d as
e arly
as
1888,
and wh ich was we ll known in th is
pe riod ,
was th e notion of a h and with its five
finge rtips
place d
on a table .40 A two-d ime nsional
be ing
in th e
plane
of th e table would be unaware of
th e
single " unique
form"
(th e th re e -d ime n-
sional
h and ) " giving
[th e five
se parate
fin-
ge rprints] continuity
in
[th re e -d ime nsional]
space ."
In oth e r
word s,
th e h and would func-
tion as a
h igh e r
d ime nsional
form, transce nd ing
th e artificial d ivisions be twe e n
obje cts
in
space ,
d ivisions wh ich Boccioni
consiste ntly
d e crie d .
T h us,
Boccioni's
strid ing figure ,
as
d e picte d
in
ske tch e s
(Fig. 11), pre paratory mod e ls,
and a
final
sculpture , sugge sts
th e
passage th rough
our
space
of a four-d ime nsional
figure (a unique
form),
wh ose succe ssive state s mate rialize and
d e mate rialize be fore our
e ye s.
As th e Russian
mystic Ouspe nsky
would
late r
argue ,
time and motion in th re e -d ime n-
sional
space may
be consid e re d illusions th at
Winte r 1981 321
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re sult
only
be cause of our
incomple te pe rce p-
tion of
space .41 Boccioni,
th e followe r of
Be rg-
son,
would ne ve r h ave
acce pte d
th is e xtre me
vie w,
h owe ve r.
Inste ad ,
h e asse rte d th e
positive
value of time and motion as th e most e ffe ctive
ind ication of a
h igh e r, d ynamic re ality.
A furth e r
comparison
with Hinton is
sugge ste d by
Boc-
cioni's inte re st in th e
spiral
formas an
innate ly
d ynamic sh ape posse ssing
" absolute
motion,"
a conce rn manife ste d in h is
writings
and in h is
De ve lopme nt of
a Bottle in
Space
of 1912
(T h e
Muse umof Mod e m
Art,
Ne w
York).42
In
T h e Fourth Dime nsion Hinton h ad d e mon-
strate d th e
way
in wh ich th e illusion of circular
motion in a
plane
could re sult wh e n a
spiral
passe d th rough
a
plane
(Fig. 12).
In
re ality
th e
" re lative motion" of th e
point
would be sub-
sume d with in th e " absolute motion" of th e
spiral
(its
ve rtical move me nt in a th ird
d ime nsion).
For
Boccioni, th e n,
th e fourth d ime nsion
h ad both
spatial
and
te mporal implications,
as
th e " fixe d and absolute me asure wh ich
[at
th e
same
time ]
cre ate s
d ynamism." Ne ve rth e le ss,
Boccioni's fourth d ime nsion d iffe rs
rad ically
fromth at of
Cubism,
be cause of its
e mph asis
on time and motion. It is a
" continuing proje c-
tion of th e force s and forms intuite d in th e ir
infinite
unfold ing."
Boccioni's
goal
in Unique
Forms
of Continuity
in
Space
was a
synth e tic
d e piction
of
motion,
a
" synth e tic continuity"
as
oppose d
to th e
" analytical d iscontinuity" 43
of
Kupka, Duch amp,
and th e 1912
works of
Balla,
or th e Cubists' simultane ous
pre se ntation
of
multiple
vie ws of an
obje ct. Und oubte d ly,
much of Boccioni's
stylistic d e ve lopme nt
oc-
curre d
ind e pe nd e ntly
of an inte re st in
h igh e r
d ime nsions.
Howe ve r,
wh e n h e
atte mpte d
to
bring
h is own th e orie s into line with th e wid e -
spre ad conte mporary
be lie f in a fourth d ime n-
sion of
space ,
Boccioni found a suitable inte r-
pre tation
in one
aspe ct
of
h ype rspace ph iloso-
ph y.
His
Unique
Forms
of Continuity
in
Space
is a tribute to
h igh e r
d ime nsional
space
as we ll
as to th e
d ynamic re ality
of
Be rgson.
In th e
e nd ,
" th e fourth d ime nsion" was far
le ss
inte gral
to th e art and
th e ory
of Boccioni
th an it h ad be e n for th e Fre nch Cubists or
would be for artists such as
Duch amp
and
Male vich .
Ne ve rth e le ss,
it is a me asure of th e
importance
of th e id e a in th is
pe riod
th at
Boccioni fe lt th at h e must claim" th e fourth
d ime nsion" for Futurismand e ve n turn it
against
h is Cubist rivals.
Lind a
Dalrymple
He nd e rson is an
assistantprofe ssor ofth e h istory ofart
at th e
Unive rsity of
T e xas at Austin. Sh e h as d one
e xte nsive re se arch on art and non-Euclid e an
ge ome try
and sch olars are ind e bte d to h e r
article in T h e Art
Quarte rly
in 1971.
Note s
1 T h e
pre se nt e ssay
is d rawn fromth e auth or's
forth coming stud y
of " th e fourth d ime nsion"
in
e arly twe ntie th -ce ntury
art and
th e ory
to be
publish e d by
Prince ton
Unive rsity
Pre ss. T h at
te xt is a re vise d and
consid e rably e xpand e d
ve rsion of " T h e
Artist,
'T h e Fourth
Dime nsion,'
and Non-Euclid e an
Ge ome try 1900-1930:
A
Romance of
Many
Dime nsions" (h e nce forth
re fe rre d to as " T h e
Artist..." ),
a d octoral
d isse rtation
comple te d
at Yale
Unive rsity
in
1975.
2
By
th e late r nine te e nth
ce ntury,
anoth e r
type
of
ge ome try,
known as non-Euclid e an
ge ome -
try,
also contribute d to
public
inte re st in alte r-
native kind s of
space .
Non-Euclid e an
ge ome try,
formulate d
by
th e math e maticians
Lobach e vsky,
Bolyai,
and
Rie mann,
stud ie s
space s
of
positive ,
ne gative ,
or variable curvature and is th us a
totally se parate
are a of
stud y
fromn-d ime n-
sional
ge ome try. Alth ough
non-Euclid e an
ge om-
e try
ne ve r
e njoye d
th e
wid e spre ad popularity
of
" th e fourth
d ime nsion,"
it d id h ave an
impact
on se ve ral
artists, includ ing Me tzinge r
and
Gle ize s, Duch amp,
and El
Lissitzky.
3 T h e te rm
" h ype rspace ph ilosoph y"
is not Hin-
ton's but
my
own. It was inve nte d in ord e r to
d istinguish
th e
writings
of ind ivid uals such as
Hinton,
th e Russian P.D.
Ouspe nsky,
and th e
Ame rican Claud e
Bragd on,
all of wh om
e xplore
th e
ph ilosoph ical implications
of
h igh e r
d i-
me nsions,
frommore
straigh tforward e xposi-
tions of a
ge ome tric
fourth d ime nsion. Hinton's
major
th e ore tical te xts are A Ne w Era
of
T h ough t (Lond on:
Swan Sonne nsch e in &
Co.,
1888)
and T h e Fourth Dime nsion (Lond on:
Swan Sonne nsch e in &
Co., 1904;
Ne w York:
Joh n Lane , 1904);
in
ad d ition,
h e
publish e d
nume rous article s and sh ort storie s base d on
th e fourth d ime nsion.
4
Picasso,
as
quote d
in Ram6n G6me z d e la
Se ra, " Comple ta y
ve rid ica h istoria d e Picasso
y
e l
cubismo,"
inRe vista d e Occid e nte
(Mad rid ),
vol. xxv
(July 1929), p.
100.
5 For an initial d iscussion of Cubist inte re st in
th e fourth
d ime nsion,
se e
He nd e rson,
" A Ne w
Face t of Cubism: 'T h e Fourth Dime nsion' and
'Non-Euclid e an
Ge ome try' Re inte rpre te d ,"
T h e
Art
Quarte rly,
vol. xxxiv
(Winte r 1971), pp.
410-33. T h e
significance
of
h igh e r
d ime n-
sions for Cubist art and
th e ory
is d iscusse d in
far
gre ate r
d e tail in
He nd e rson,
" T h e
Artist...,"
Ch . iiI.
6 Guillaume
Apollinaire ,
" La Pe inture nouve lle :
Note s
d 'art,"
Le s Soire e s d e
Paris,
no. 3
(April
1912), pp. 90-91.
7 Guillaume
Apollinaire ,
Me d itations
e sth e tique s:
Le s Pe intre s Cubiste s (Paris: Euge ne Figuie re ,
1913), p.
68.
8 On th e
importance
of Poincare 's id e as for
Gle ize s and
Me tzinge r,
se e
He nd e rson,
" A Ne w
Face t of
Cubism,"
as we ll as
He nd e rson,
" T h e
Artist..
.,"
Ch . II.
9
D'Ale mbe rt
publish e d
th is id e a in h is 1754
article on " d ime nsion" in th e
Encyclope d ie
e d ite d
by
h imse lf and Did e rot.
Lagrange pre -
se nte d a similar vie w in
1797
in h is T h e orie
d e sfonctions analytique s.
10 Einste in
be gan
to attract
public
notice
only
in
Nove mbe r
1919,
wh e n th e re sults of
e xpe rime nts
d uring
a solar
e clipse
confirme d h is asse rtion
in th e Ge ne ral
T h e ory
th at
ligh t
wave s are be nt
by
th e mass of th e sun.
Se e ,
for
e xample ,
He nd e rson,
" A Ne w Face t of
Cubism," pp.
414
-
19;
and Ronald W.
Clark,
Einste in: T h e
Life
and T ime s (Ne w
York: World
Publish ing,
1971), pp.
227
-
66.
11 Se e Ed win Abbott
Abbott,
Flatland : A Romance
of Many
Dime nsions
by
a
Square
(Lond on:
Se e le y
& Co., 1884).
12 In contrast to
Bragd on's
d id actic
d iagram
(Fig. 4),
a
sph e re passing pe rpe nd icularly
th rough
a
plane
would
actually prod uce
a
succe ssion of
incre asing
and
d e cre asing
circle s
around a
single point
in th e
plane .
T h e cle are st
analysis
of th e
re lationsh ip
be twe e n
space
and
motion in time is to be found in Pe te r De miano-
vich
Ouspe nsky's
T e rtiumOrganium:
T h e
T h ird Canon
of T h ough t,
A
Ke y
to th e
Enigmas
of
th e World
(1911),
trans. from2nd e d .
(1916) by
Claud e
Bragd on
and Nicolas Be s-
saraboff,
2nd Ame r. e d . re v.
(Ne w
York: Alfre d
A.
Knopf),
Ch s. iii-vi.
Ouspe nsky's ph ilosoph y
and
particularly
h is e laboration of th e two-
d ime nsional
analogy (Ch . vi)
is summarize d
in
He nd e rson,
" T h e
Me rging
of T ime and
Space :
'T h e Fourth Dime nsion' in Russia from
Ouspe nsky
to
Male vich ,"
T h e Structurist, no.
15/16 (1975/1976), pp. 97-108.
13 On
Kupka
and
Mare y,
se e
Margit Rowe ll,
" A
Me taph ysics
of
Abstraction,"
in Frantise k Kupka
1871-1975: A Re trospe ctive (Solomon
R.
Gugge nh e imMuse um,
Ne w
York, 1975), pp.
49- 67. As Rowe ll
points out, Mare y actually
e xpe rime nte d
with th e
ge ne ration
of th re e -
d ime nsional virtual volume s
by ph otograph ing
a
rotating
form
(p. 56).
14
Se e ,
for
e xample ,
C.W.
Le ad be ate r,
L'Autre
Cote d e la mort
(Paris:
Ed itions
T h e osoph ique s,
1910),
wh ich includ e d an account of Hinton's
id e as.
15 Rowe ll
(" A Me taph ysics
of
Abstraction,"
in
Frantise k
Kupka, p. 66)
first note d th e similar-
ity
of
Kupka's inscription
to th e
following
passage
fromPawlowski's
" Voyage
au
pays
d e
la
quatrie me
d ime nsion"
(Comoe d ia,
20
May
1912, p. 1):
Wh e re as in th re e -d ime nsional
d isplace -
me nt th e atoms
constituting
a
bod y
are
push e d
asid e and
re place d by
oth e r
atoms
forming
anoth e r
bod y
... d is-
place me nt
in th e
country
of th e fourth
d ime nsion is e nacte d
by
wh at one use d
to call a transmutation. T h e world of
th e fourth d ime nsion
be ing
continuous,
no move me nt in th e
ord inary
se nse of
th e word can be
prod uce d
as in th e
mobile world of th re e d ime nsions. T h e re -
fore a
d isplace me nt
is mad e
th rough
an
e xch ange
of
qualitie s
be twe e n
ne igh -
boring
atoms.... Wh e n one e nte rs th e
country
of th e fourth
d ime nsion,
move -
me nt such as we know
it,
no
longe r
e xists;
th e re are
only qualitative ch ange s
and we re main
immobile ,
in th e com-
mon se nse of th e word .
16
Duch amp,
as
quote d
in " Ele ve n
Europe ans
in
Ame rica" (Inte rvie ws byJame sJoh nson Swe e ne y),
322
ArtJournal
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
T h e Muse um
of
Mod e rn Art
Bulle tin,
vol.
xIII/4-5 (1946), p.
20. Rowe ll contrasts th e
ch ronoph otograph ically inspire d approach
of
both
Kupka
and
Duch amp
to th at of th e
Futurists in
" Kupka, Duch amp,
and
Mare y,"
Stud io
Inte rnational,
vol.
CLXXXIX (January-
Fe bruary 1975), pp.
48-51.
17
Duch amp,
as
quote d
in Pie rre
Cabanne ,
Dia-
logue s
with Marce l
Duch amp,
trans. Ron
Pad ge tt (Ne w
York:
Viking Pre ss, 1971), pp. 29,
34.
18 Marce l
Duch amp,
A
l'infinitif
(T h e Wh ite Box),
in Salt Se lle r: T h e
Writings ofMarce l Duch amp
(March and
d u
se l),
e d . Mich e l Sanouille t
(Ne w
York: Oxford
Unive rsity Pre ss, 1973), p. 92.
19 Duch amp,
as
quote d
in
Cabanne , Dialogue s,
p. 31.
20 Male vich 's
Supre matist
title s such as Move me nt
of Painte rly
Masse s in th e Fourth Dime nsion
confirmth e continue d role motion
playe d
in
h is
th inking
about
h igh e r
d ime nsions. How-
e ve r, Supre matism's ge ome tric language
and
its infinite wh ite
space (fre e from
gravity
and
any
id e ntifiable
th re e -d ime nsionality)
we re far
re move d fromT h e
Knife
Grind e r's
simplistic
se que ntial
motion. Se e
He nd e rson,
" T h e
Me rging
of T ime and
Space ," pp. 104-5, alth ough
a
far more
d e ve lope d
d iscussion of th e
subje ct
occurs in th e auth or's
forth coming
book.
21 On th e
re lationsh ip
of
Le ge r's Essaipour
le s
trois
portraits
to th e inte lle ctual milie uof
Paris,
se e
Ch ristoph e r Gre e n, Le ge r
and th e
Avant-Gard e (Ne w Have n: Yale
Unive rsity Pre ss,
1976), pp.
22 -27.
22 He nri
Be rgson,
Cre ative Evolution
(1907),
trans. Arth ur Mitch e ll (Ne w York: H. Holt &
Co., 1911), p.
302.
23 T h e T e ch nical
Manife sto ofFuturistPainting
of 11
April 1910
h ad re fe rre d to th e
" vivifying
curre nt of scie nce ." Se e Futurist
Manife stos,
e d . Umbro
Apollonio,
trans. Robe rt
Brain,
R.W.
Flint, J.C. Higgitt,
Caroline T isd all
(Ne w
York:
Viking Pre ss, 1973), p.
18.
Similarly,
th e
te xt includ e d in th e
Be rnh e im-Je une catalogue
of
Fe bruary 1912,
base d on a le cture of
29 May
1911 by Boccioni, spoke
of " a law of our
inte rior math e matics" (Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio, p. 50).
Marine tti's late r mani-
fe sto,
Ge ome tric and Me ch anical
Sple nd our
and th e Nume rical
Se nsibility
(18 March
1914)
is a furth e r te stame nt to th e Futurist's
ge ne ral pre d ile ction
for re fe re nce s to math e -
matics. Se e Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio,
pp.
154-60. On th e strain of
positivism
ini-
tially
e vid e nt
among
th e Futurist
painte rs,
se e
Marianne W.
Martin,
FuturistArt and
T h e ory
1909-1915 (Oxford :
Clare nd on
Pre ss, 1968),
pp. 45,
46.
24 Duncan M.Y. Somme rville 's
Bibliograph y of
Non-Euclid e an
Ge ome try, Includ ing
th e T h e -
ory of Paralle ls,
th e Found ations
of Ge ome try,
and
Space of
n-Dime nsions (Lond on: Harrison
&
Sons, 1911)
lists a total of 322 books and
article s on th e " ne w"
ge ome trie s publish e d
in
Italy
be twe e n
1901
and 1910. Italy
ranke d
th ird be h ind
Ge rmany
and France in Somme r-
ville 's nume rical
analysis
of
publications
and
counte d
among
h e r
promine nt
sch olars of th e
" ne w"
ge ome trie s Euge nio Be ltrami, Giuse ppe
Ve rone se , Gino
Loria,
Robe rto
Bonola,
and
Fe d e rigo Enrique s.
25Jarry's
inte re st in four-d ime nsional and non-
Euclid e an
ge ome trie s
is e vid e nt in h is
writings
of th e late
1890s,
such as Ge ste s e t
opinions
d uDocte ur
Faustroll, pataph ysicie n
(Paris:
Euge ne Fasque lle , 1911)
and " Comme ntaire
pour
se rvir a la construction
pratique
d e la
mach ine a
e xplore r
le
te mps" (Me rcure d e
France ,
vol. xxix
[Fe bruary 1899], pp.
387-
96).
Se e
He nd e rson,
" T h e Artist ...,"
pp. 93-
100.
On Marine tti in Paris and h is conne ctions
with
Apollinaire and Jarry,
se e
Martin,
Futurist
Artand
T h e ory, pp.
28
-
37, 43. Se e also Gino
Se ve rini,
T utta la vita d i un
pittore (Milan:
Garzanti, 1946), pp.
96-98. On Marine tti
and th e
poe ts
of th e
Abbaye
d e
Cre te il,
se e
Marianne
Martin, " Futurism,
Unanismand
Apollinaire ,"
Art
Journal,
vol. xxviii
(Spring
1969), pp.
258- 68.
26 Se e
Martin,
FuturistArt and
T h e ory, p.
110.
27 Le tte r fromBoccioni to Nino
Barbantini,
12
Fe bruary 1912,
in Arch ivi d e l
Futurismo,
e d .
Maria Drud i Gambillo and T e re sa Fiori
(Rome :
De Luca
Ed itore , [1958]), p.
40. Oth e r le tte rs
re prod uce d by
Gambillo and Fiori d ocume nt
Boccioni's
pre se nce
in Paris on 12 Nove mbe r
1912 and 21
June 1913.
28 For th e
initial,
sh orte r ve rsion of th is
te xt,
se e
Boccioni,
" Plastic
Dynamism" (Lace rba, 15
De ce mbe r
1913),
in Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio, pp. 92- 95.
29 Boccioni,
" Pittura scultura futuriste
(d inamismo
plastico),"
Poe sia
(Milan), 1914, pp. 196-99.
30 On
Bragaglia,
se e
Martin,
Futurist Art and
T h e ory, p. 179,
as we ll as th e te xt
by
Giovanni
Lista e lse wh e re in th is issue .
31 T h at Boccioni id e ntifie d th e
ph rase
and title
with th e fourth d ime nsion is confirme d
by
Gino Se ve rini in h is article " La Pe inture d 'avant-
gard e ,"
Me rcure d e
France ,
vol. cxxI (1
June
1917), pp.
451
- 68. Se ve rini wrote th at " Boc-
cioni, wh e n
d e fining
wh at h e calls
'd ynamism,'
in conne ction with our e arlie r re se arch e s in
move me nt,
allud e d to a kind of fourth d ime n-
sion wh ich would be 'th e
unique
form
giving
continuity
in
space '" (p. 459).
32 In h is d iscussion of th e fourth
d ime nsion,
Boccioni also re fle cts th e influe nce of
Be rgson
in h is
pre fe re nce
for th e " intuitive absolute "
ove r Cubism's " rational
proce d ure
wh ich e xists
in
re lativity."
In Cre ative Evolution
Be rgson,
th e ad vocate of intuition ve rsus
inte lle ct,
h ad
asse rte d th at " in th e absolute we live and
move and h ave our
be ing.
T h e
knowle d ge
we
posse ss
of it is
incomple te ,
no
d oubt,
but not
e xte rnal or re lative "
(p. 199).
For furth e r e vid e nce of Boccioni's care ful
stud y
of
Be rgson,
se e Brian
Pe trie ,
" Boccioni
and
Be rgson,"
T h e
Burlington Magazine ,
vol. cxvi
(March 1974), pp.
140 -47. In ad d ition
to
Be rgson's ge ne ral ph ilosoph ical influe nce ,
Pe trie e stablish e s
spe cific
source s in
Be rgson's
writings
for Boccioni's id e as on th e
inte rpe ne -
tration of
forms,
on absolute and re lative
motion,
and on force -line s.
33 He nri
Be rgson,
Essai sur le s d onne e s imme d i-
ate s d e la conscie nce (Paris: Fe lix
Alcan,
1889), pp.
82-83.
34 Boccioni,
" T h e Plastic Found ations of Futurist
Sculpture
and
Painting" (Lace rba, 15 March
1913),
in Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio,
p.
88.
35 Boccioni,
" Plastic
Dynamism,"
in Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio, p. 94; also,
Pittura
sculturafuturiste , p.
201.
36 " T h e Exh ibitors to th e
Public,"
in Le s Pe inture s
futuriste s italie ns,
e xh . cat. (Gale rie
Be rnh e im-
Je une &
Cie , Paris, 5-24
Fe bruary 1912), p. 6;
te xt base d on a le cture of
29 May 1911 by
Boccioni.
37 Se ve rini,
" T h e Plastic
Analogie s
of
Dynamism
-Futurist Manife sto"
(unpub.), Se pte mbe r-
Octobe r
1913,
in Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio, p.
118.
38
Apollinaire ,
" La Pe inture
nouve lle ," p. 90.
39
In h is article of
1917,
" La Pe inture d 'avant-
gard e " (pp. 461, 464),
Se ve rini me ntions
both Maurice Bouch e r's Essai sur
l'h ype re -
space (Paris:
Fe lix
Alcan, 1903),
wh ich h ad
d iscusse d th e work of
Hinton,
and th e th e orie s
of A. d e Noircarme wh ose book Quatrie me
Dime nsion
(Paris:
Ed itions
T h e osoph ique s,
1912)
h ad linke d a time -orie nte d
h ype rspace
ph ilosoph y
to
T h e osoph y.
If Se ve rini kne w
th e se works be fore th e
war,
h e
may
we ll h ave
d ire cte d Boccioni to th e mand e ve n
be yond
th e mto Hinton.
40
Hinton,
A Ne w Era
of T h ough t, p.
65.
41 Had h e known of
it,
Boccioni would also h ave
re je cte d
th e
inte rpre tation,
voice d most
cle arly
by Ouspe nsky
(T e rtiumOrganum, p. 102),
wh ich
sugge sts
th at
be yond
th e illusions of
time and motion four-d ime nsional
re ality
is
static. Pawlowski sh are d
Ouspe nsky's
vie ws on
th is
subje ct,
as th e
quotation
in n. 15 above
d e monstrate s.
42 Boccioni first d e scribe d Futurist
sculpture
as
" spiral
arch ite cture " in h is
pre face
for th e
catalogue
Ire Exposition
d e
sculpture futuriste
d u
pe intre
e t
sculpte ur futuriste
Boccioni
(Gale rie
la
Boe tie , Paris,
20
June -
16
July
1913). Se e Mod e rn Artists in
Art,
e d . Robe rt L.
He rbe rt
(Engle wood Cliffs, N.J.: Pre ntice -Hall,
1964), p.
48. T h e
spiral
is also d iscusse d in
" Plastic
Dynamism,"
in Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio, p. 94.
Alth ough
Boccioni
pre se nte d
h is d ual d e fini-
tions of motion in th e
catalogue pre face
of
1913,
h is d istinctions be twe e n " absolute motion"
and " re lative motion" are cle are st in h is te xt
" Absolute Motion + Re lative Motion =
Dyna-
mism"
(Lace rba, 15 March
1914),
in Futurist
Manife stos,
e d .
Apollonio, pp.
150-51.
43 Rowe ll,
" Kupka, Duch amp,
and
Mare y," p.
48.
Winte r 1981 323
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