Thesis: D鈥橝nnunzio鈥檚 Futurists: Modernism and Fascism in an Occupied City, 1919鈥1920
厂耻辫别谤惫颈蝉辞谤:听Prof. Sarah Wilson
CHASE AHRC funding award (2017鈥2021)
The 91制片厂 Scholarship (2017鈥2020)
One of the most exciting moments related to Futurism and politics occurred in the city of Fiume (present-day Croatia) when the Italian poet-soldier Gabriele D鈥橝nnunzio, with Futurists in the military ranks, occupied the city in 1919. Circumstances were favourable for developing a utopian version of Futurism as a civic practice.
This thesis takes part in research which sees the occupation as a moment of Futurist theory coming into practice and Futurism and fascism as manifestations of the Italian struggle for modernity. I will participate in the arena of critical studies by exploring art鈥檚 position within the ideology of fiumanesimo, arguing that some practices were part of the Futurist movement while others escaped such categorisations. In addition, I will argue that the occupation made evident Marinetti鈥檚 and D鈥橝nnunzio鈥檚 different approaches to art, but similar approaches to politics. This critical study of Fiume during the Italian occupation will also re-evaluate the historical context by prioritising questions of gender, labour and the traces left by the Fiume experiment on Futurism. Furthermore, the research will look at satirical representations of the occupation in the Croatian and Italian press claiming that similar tropes were found in caricatures of both countries.
Education
2017鈥2022: PhD, 91制片厂 Institute of Art, London.
2011鈥2014: MA in听Art History,听University of Rijeka, Croatia.
2008鈥2011: BA in听Art History,听University of Rijeka, Croatia.
Research interests
- Futurism and Italian fascism
- Futurism and feminism
- Interwar European avant-garde art and politics
- Political satire and disgust
Teaching
2018/19 and 2019/20: Teaching Assistant,听Core Methodologies听(MA), The 91制片厂 Institute of Art.
2019/20: Teaching Assistant,听Foundations听(BA1), The 91制片厂 Institute of Art.
2020/21: Teaching Assistant,听Frameworks for Interpretation听(BA2), The 91制片厂 Institute of Art.
2020/21: Associate Lecturer,听Techniques and Meaning in 20th Century Art听(BA1), The 91制片厂 Institute of Art.
2022/23: Associate Lecturer, Lessons in Critical Interpretation (BA3), The 91制片厂 Institute of Art.
2022/23: Associate Lecturer, Avant-gardes and Neo-avant-gardes听 (BA1), The 91制片厂 Institute of Art.
Publications
D鈥橝nnunzijeva mu膷enica | L鈥橭locausta di D鈥橝nnunzio | D鈥橝nnunzio鈥檚 Martyr, exhibition catalogue, (Rijeka: Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, 2019).
鈥樷,听Casopis za povijest Zapadne Hrvatske,听vol.13, 2018, pp.13-35.
鈥樷,听Peristil,听vol. 58, 2015, pp. 171-182.
Conference Papers
鈥楢 Centre of Transgression Between 1919 and 1920? The Futurists in Fiume and the Silenced Multi-ethnic Archive鈥, EAM 2022 Conference 鈥 Globalising the Avant-Garde, University of Lisbon, 1鈥3 Sept 2022.
鈥榃hose Revolutionary Utopia? Futurism and Failure in Fiume between 1919 and 1920鈥, Revisiting the Avant-Garde Total Work of Art, University of Leuven, Irish College, 23鈥24 May 2022.
鈥楻egenerating Italian Masculinity after the First World War: Gabriele D鈥橝nnunzio and the Futurists during the 1919 Occupation of Fiume/Rijeka鈥, AAH Annual Conference, Newcastle, 1鈥3 Apr 2021.
鈥楧roppings from the Sky: Futurist Interwar Protests and Fears鈥, IAS-sponsored session for the 108TH CAA ANNUAL CONFERENCE, session topic From Cloaca Maxima to America: Italy鈥檚 鈥楬istory of Shit鈥, Chicago, Feb 12鈥15 2020.
鈥楧ecadent Revolutionaries: The Futurists鈥 Communication Strategies during the Occupation of Rijeka, 1919 鈥 1921鈥, Revolution and Revolutions in Art, Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana, 12鈥13 Sept 2019.
鈥楽exual Borders: Visualizing the Occupation of Rijeka in 1919鈥, Cities and Regions in Flux. Reconfiguring the Frontier, Reshaping Memory and Visualizing Change in Twentieth century, The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Rijeka, 10鈥12 Jul 2019.
Curated exhibitions
D鈥橝nnunzijeva mu膷enica | L鈥橭locausta di D鈥橝nnunzio | D鈥橝nnunzio鈥檚 Martyr, Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral, Rijeka, Croatia, 12 Sept 2019 – 31 Jan 2021 (Co-curator).
Bu膰an art, Villa Polesini, Pore膷, Croatia, July 2014 (Curator).
First World War and Avant-garde Art: Deconstruction鈥揅onstruction, Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia, 26 Jun 2014 – 28 Sept 2014 (Co-curator).
Umjetnik na odmoru (Artist on Vacation), Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb, Croatia, Sept 2014 (Curator).
Other Academic Activities
Co-Editor-in-Chief,听immediations, the peer-reviewed postgraduate journal of the 91制片厂 Institute of Art, 2019.
Co-organizer,, CHASE DTP funded project.