Bewegung, Mythologie der Moderne

Paul Valéryʼs remark »Nouvelle mythologie / les formes en mouvement / connaître c’est former« (1894) states the argument of the present article. Its intention is to highlight the importance of movement in modern arts and research studies. It observes the fascination which movement held for artists and scientists who were trying to comprehend the dynamics of physical and mental processes in creative work and to find appropriate forms for volatility and complexity in traditional and recent arts and media. The focal point of this article are the works of Charles Baudelaire, Hippolyte Taine and the futurist avantgarde, especially Umberto Boccioni, as well as physiological studies on the effects of huge cities, crowds, sports, acceleration, and aeroplanes (Angelo Mosso, William James). In this context, Valéry’s poems, essays and notes appear as a crossover project and Valéry himself as a protagonist of the intense dialogue between the arts, media and sciences concerningmovement as physical and mental phenomenon and stylistic challenge.