Since 1909, starting date of the Italian Futurist art, the artists have been developing a particular interest in dynamic forms, inspired by an attentive observation of bodies in action and in motion. Horse riding, dance, football and other sports have been points of reference for the Futurist art. When thinking about the Italian history of Art of the XX century, it is possible to realize how all the artistic forms get ideas from various forms of moving objects, like race cars and motorcycles, trains and horses in movement. In order to be able to express the new idea of motion, the artists created a wide variety of new ways of modelling, like the use of photographic sequences and an approach to geometric segmentations fit for defining the image on a visual screen.
Futuristic works do not have the only aim to communicate a temporal conscience that can feel the idea of space, but also a strong inner passion. We know that Italian artists are fascinated by dynamic forms in movement, for they are expressions of the new industrial society of that time. Through their works, we perceive that trustful and positive feeling toward a scientific progress oriented to an improvement of the quality of life.
Science and technology continue to create new miracles and the physical world is going through a period of rapid change. The Italian artist Roberto Bosco takes up the Futuristic idea of movement and enriches it of new contents and values, wholly oriented to a new ethic and moral vision of the world. Yet, he is no longer affected by the charm of the machine and its power and speed, rather the artist represents the movement through the simplicity of human figures advancing naturally,that is to say, walking.
In his paintings we observe groups of figure moving in the streets of modern metropolis. Bosco is not interested in representing the facial features of these figures, and many of them not only share the same walk and characteristics, but also the same expression. The figures, even when are taken from behind, express a melancholic existential feeling, even though their faces do not express any feeling of happiness, anxiety, joy or sadness. The black colour, largely used by the artist, strengthens this melancholic perception of the contemporary man. Certainly, Roberto Bosco is not interested in the realistic representation of his figures, rather in penetrating their inner emotions. The characters portrayed in his works are not just figures passing in a street, but they are also expressions of the general condition of modern men. He feels like a stranger in this world. These advancing figures, become rapidly the symbol of the artist’s deepest feelings.According to an old Chinese saying “life is like a white horse racing: just a moment later it is already gone”
The French philosopher Jean Baudrillard in his poem “Why hasn’t everything already disappeared?” wrote: “When I speak of time, time is not yet./ When I speak of a place, it has disappeared/ When I speak of a person, he’s already dead/ When I speak of time, it is already no more.” (Jean Baudrillard wrote in his individual poem “Pourquoi tout n’a-t-il, pas déjà Disparu” :” Quand je, parle du temps, c ‘ est qu’il n’est pas encore / Quand je parle d’un lieu, c’est qu’il a Disparu / Quand je parle d’un homme, c’est qu’il est déjà mort / Quand je parle du temps , c’est qu’il n’est déjà plus “)
In front of a new era in rapid evolution and in front of a world in continuous change, the eternal enigma “where do we come from, who are we, where are we going to?”comes up again. It is harder and harder to find any answer to these questions.Roberto Bosco wanted to capture the idea of the fleeting moment through his delicate expressionistic style. His creations want to be a clear and profound reflection on the wide themes of the future and destiny of mankind. His figures move backwards and forwards, like between life and death, in a dimension in which humanity can still hope. Thanks to his unique and original paintings, Roberto Bosco expresses the courage of a man struggling constantly with his own tragic destiny, with the aim of helping us to regain confidence in such hard times.
