Tuesday 18 March 2008
A celebration of La Cucina Futurista
as proposed by F.T Marinetti (1932)
Entrance Hall
In 1932 the Italian Futurist artist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti turned
his radical glare onto the sacred world of Italian bourgeois cuisine.
His revolutionary Futurist cookbook excitably proposed the incorporation
of countless new sensations into food: speed, technology, colour,
sculptures, bizarre stagings, noises and tactile pleasures and railed
against the evils of pasta!
This event aims to re-enact an extraordinary Futurist Banquet,
presenting an array of the remarkable, innovative dishes, combined
with thrills and sensations to tempt all five senses. Consulting
on the menu and overseeing preparation of the food is Giorgio
Locatelli, chef, food writer and proprietor of Locanda
Locatelli. The banquet will be laced with surprises: scents, sounds,
live music and Futurist readings.
In addition, the British Library is proud to present, at 18.30
and 19.10, two special screenings of A Very Beautiful Day After
Tomorrow (Un Bellissimo Dopodomani ) by Italian-born,
New-York based artist Luca Buvoli: a video-installation that was
one of the highlights of the Venice Biennale 2007. The words of
the title are by Marinetti, spoken by his daughter Vittoria, and
are the starting point for an exploration of velocity and flight,
their appeal and danger, their aesthetic and political aspects.
The evening will be introduced by Lesley Chamberlain,
editor of the English translation of The Futurist Cookbook
(Trefoil Publications 1989) and a tour of the exhibition Breaking
The Rules: The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900-1937.
Presented by the British Library in association with the
Accademia Italiana della Cucina and under the patronage of H.E.
The Italian Ambassador Giancarlo Aragona
Menu advisor Giorgio Locatelli
With wines generously offered by Gianfranco Molinari of
Gustar Divino
With thanks to the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies
Limited tickets: £75 each, including all food, wine, cocktails
and other distractions
Dress code: Black Tie or 1930s style with a futurist twist (no jeans
or sportswear please).
19.15- 22.30 (with additional tours of
the Breaking the Rules exhibition and screenings from
18.30)
To book please phone the Box Office on
+44 (0)1937 546546. Not available to book online.
