Feu d'artifice

On April 30, 1917, Feu d’artifice (Fireworks), a performance conceived by Giacomo Balla during the years he participated in the Futurist movement, was produced at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Set to music by Igor Stravinsky and directed by Sergej Djagilev, Balla’s work presented for a few minutes, in place of live actors, a set composed of solid geometic wood forms that were covered with fabric and colored paper. Inside these pyramid and prism forms, Balla had placed electric lights, which operated rhythmically, creating unexpected effects of movement. Violet and white colors appeared on the left part of the set; red, blue, and yellow in the center; and green on the right.ù