[3] Her brothers Alberto and Arturo, a historian and a journalist, also had ties to the military and Italian politics, bringing the family in close contact with the Socialist Party and eventually many Futurist thinkers.
Her interest in educational science led her to explore the pedagogy of Maria Montessori, whose ideas and concepts treat learning as a primarily sensory experience.
I want only to be me.”[5] Despite entering her marriage with such determined independence, the considerable contributions made by Cappa are often overshadowed by the figure of Marinetti and the vociferous manner with which he directed the movement.
[6] In 1919, Cappa published Psicologia di un Uomo, a collection of poetry which incorporates “unusual word placement, typographic experimentation, and visual and auditory correspondences”.
[6]: 10 Subsequently published in 1924, Le Forze Umane: Romanzo Astratto con Sintesi Grafiche (Human Forces: Abstract Novel with Graphic Synthesis), has a similar structure presented in an extrapolated form.
The linear composition of the second drawing, Forze Maschili: Armi e Piume (Masculine Forces: Weapons and Feathers), has numerous straight lines and arcs arranged in an impenetrable tangle.
[5] Well defined, curvilinear shapes, painted in gradient tones are compositionally arranged to imply objects in motion: “… the interplay of ‘force lines,’ become the subject”.
[10] The artist’s exploration of the machine continued with Luci + Rumori di un Treno Notturno, (Lights + Sounds of a Night Train), (ca.
It was the Futurists’ affiliation with the state establishment that would lead to one of Cappa’s most recognizable paintings, her mural series for the Conference Room at the Palazzo delle Poste in Palermo, Sicily.
Designed by the Rationalist architect, Angiolo Mazzoni, the Poste Italiane houses tile wall mosaics by Luigi Colombo Filìa and Enrico Prampolini in addition to the murals by Benendetta.
Completed between 1933 and 1934, each painting depicts a form of information transfer, including terrestrial, maritime, aerial, radio, telegraphic and telephonic communication.
Indeed, it was Benedetta’s five monumental mural paintings, Sintesi delle Comunicazioni (Synthesis of Communication)(1933-1934), which closed the show, on loan for the first time ever, and placed as they were, at the apex of the exhibition.
Their wish list included numerous political and public venues, such as train stations, posts offices, schools, and even a seaplane base.
[4] In addition to her rich artistic legacy, Cappa constantly reaffirmed in her works a desire that contributions by women would help to reduce aggression, although she did so in accordance with the Futurist’s revolutionary ideals.
But even within the context of the male-dominated Futurist movement, and the marriage to its founder, Cappa insisted on direct action and participation for women: In her own words: “I believe that the feminine soul is at the dawn of her artistic expression...without copying the experiences of men.”[4](p. 69)