Thayaht, unorthodox futurist

Ernesto Michahelles, nom de plume Thayaht, has been sculptor, painter, and the inventor of the overalls. The first complete show on the work of a very peculiar XXth century italian artist.

A versatile figure active in the most varied fields of art, from sculpture to painting, and from fashion to stage design, Thayaht made a significant and original contribution to twentieth century Italian art and to the history of Futurism. Known above all for having invented an item of clothing still worn throughout the world - the TuTa, the overalls which owes its name and design to him - Thayaht was extremely active between the two world wars (from 1915 to 1939) in the whole range of artistic production: painting, fashion and interior design, stage design and costumes, decorative art objects, and, last but not least, a substantial contribution to Italian and not just Futurist sculpture. The MART show, curated by Daniela Fonti, presents over 200 works, not just by Thayaht but also by Fortunato Depero, Giacomo Balla, Tullio Crali and other twentieth century avant-garde artists. The exhibition focues on Thayaht's whole sculptural output with the addition of a selection of abstract graphics, paintings, fashion designs, advertisements, and decorative art objects. The installation of the show will place the various artistic expressions of Thayaht in an international context. These various strands have until now been considered separately, but our present aim is to distinguish the overall creative idea behind the output of an original artist who never accepted hierarchical categories in art or thought. The exhibition is the latest step in a long programme of studies based on the Thayaht documents bought many years back by MART for its International Study Centre for Futurism. This study centre is unique in Europe both for the quality and the quantity of material and bibliographical material about the history of the Futurist movement. The Thayaht 'case' has gained from these precious sources held by the MART archive, previously unpublished papers about his personal and professional history, studied with passion both by Daniela Fonti, the curator of the exhibition, and by Alessandra Scappini, who has published a large part of them in the book "Thayaht. Vita, scritti, carteggi" published in conjunction with the show in MART's Documenti series of publications. Ernesto Michahelles (Thayaht) Biography Born in Florence in 1893 into a family of Anglo-Swiss origins, the artist had an international training, spending study periods in France and the United States. In 1919 he invented, together with his brother Ruggero (Ram), the "TuTa" or overalls. In Paris at the beginning of the twenties he collaborated with the Madeleine Vionnet studio. In 1929 he met Marinetti and entered the Futurist group, participating in the show Trentatrè futuristi in the Pesaro gallery in Milan. In 1932 he signed, together with Ram, the Manifesto per la trasformazione dell'abbigliamento maschile, or manifesto for transforming men's-wear. He took part in many exhibitions, such as those of decorative art held in Monza in 1923 and 1927; in the thirties he took part in the first Rome quadrennial (1931), in the Venice Biennials, and in the Milan triennials in 1933 and 1936. He retired to Marina di Pietrasanta to further his scientific and astronomic studies and, in the post-war period, he founded the CIRNOS, the Centre for the Independent Study of Space Observations.

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Thayaht, unorthodox futurist
(Ernesto Michahelles)
Kurator: Daniela Fonti