Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash

Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash
Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912
By ELLIE SCHNEIDER

"Everything is in movement, everything rushes forward, everything is in constant swift change."

While Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash strays from the classic Futurist image of cars, trains or machinery, I think it is one of the strongest works from the school. It does not show the patriotism and glory of war that late works show, but does show "celebration of...speed and city life" (Little 108). Futurists rejected the old and wanted to "make way doe everything new and vital" (Little 109). Dogs live relatively short lives compared to humans, so the Dog on a Leash is rushing through his life as seen by the motion of the brush strokes. Maybe this is a message to Italy that they must move on from their past and evolve, or to young boys that they must grow up from their lives as puppies and become men while fighting in WWI. 

I find Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash interesting because it focuses so much on motion. Other works like The City Rises and Dynamic Hieroglyphic of the Bal Tarbin are busy works. Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash appears basic. It lacks bright colors and only has two subjects. Its not at all basic though. The movement of the walker and the dog is extremely detailed. The painting resembles The Cellist, an early piece of Futurist photography. Balla uses paint to look like a photo that used a slow shutter speed. The painting only shows their outlines, which allows viewers to focus less on the subject and more on the movement. The detailed brush strokes allow us to focus on the movement of the tiny legs of the dog, the wagging tail, and walkers feet, and the movement of the leash. While they are the only two in the painting, it feels like they are rushing through a crowded street in the city. Maybe Balla isolated these two subjects on the crowded street and was able to create the feel of the city without painting the city. Balla uses horizontal and diagonal brush strokes to show the dog's movement down the grey sidewalk. Where are they rushing to? I think they are rushing into the future that Balla promoted so intently. They are leaving the Italian Renaissance behind and hopping feet first into a life of planes, trains, and automobiles. 


  • 7:00 AM

Freaks and Geeks and Street Light

1910
Giacomo Balla, Street Light, 1910-11

Freaks and Geeks debuted in 1999 and only lasted one season. However, in just 18 episodes it defined a generation and became a cult hit. It now features as a regular on most end-of-decade and in-retrospect TV best-of lists. The show, set in Michigan in 1980, deals with the lives of two groups of high school students: the wild, party-loving freaks and the socially awkward freshman geeks. The show embodies everything good about television for teenagers. It’s lovable, it discusses real issues, and most importantly, it’s intelligent enough that the audience can sit through an entire episode without cringing at a contrived plot point or a scene that sounds like it was written by a third grader.

In addition to exploring themes of isolation and coming-of-age, one of the most important recurring elements in the show is the generational gap between the kids and their parents and teachers. 1980 was a time of rapid change for the American cultural landscape; the cultural gap between a 16-year old and a 45-year old has perhaps never been wider than it was then. In Freaks and Geeks, this quickly becomes apparent over the main character Lindsay’s father’s views on music, feminism, and youth culture. For a man born in the great depression, the cultural landscape his son and daughter exist in could not be more alien. On the opposite end of the spectrum is McKinley High School's slightly younger counselor, whose hippie appearance and attitude serve to alienate him from the students and make him at best a type of comic relief. Just like Lindsay’s father, he has been left behind by a rapidly moving generational culture.

Just as a new generation was sweeping through music, film, and the general national mindset in the early 1980s, futurism accompanied the coming of a new unbridled optimism in turn of the century Europe. Before the physical and psychological destruction of World War I, the advent of machinery and increased international integration seemed poised to solve many of the problems that had plagued the world for millennia. And out of this mindset, futurism was born. Artists like Giacomo Balla created out of this spirit of optimism an innovative new art form, which idealized and espoused technology as an exciting new tool for good. Their rejection of all things outdated in favor of a completely new method of interacting with the world parallels—although perhaps with more intensity—the mindset of every new generation taking over its elders. The coming Great War would of course serve to dispel any rosy notions about what the near future might hold in terms of technology, but futurism in itself still serves as an example of the unbridled optimism each generation feels as it begins to shape its world.

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