BotStory: The Futurist Cookbook

The Futurist Cookbook was published in 1932 by the poet and art historian Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and the artist Fillìa. Disguised as a cookbook, this manifesto appealed to its readers to embrace the advances and promises offered by the 20th century. Bourgeois traditions, they wrote, were to be swept aside by speed, machines, and new media such as cinema. The Futurists believed that the perfect arena for this conflict was the dining table—where the enemy of choice was pasta—and the book was packed with the most absurd culinary excesses. Now, in an era when technology and societal developments remain inextricably entangled, IDFA DocLab has invited contemporary artists Klasien van de Zandschulp and Emilie Baltz to use artificial intelligence to breathe new life into The Futurist Cookbook. For the duration of the festival, you can engage in conversation with a futuristic chatbot from the last century, sharing your dreams and fears of the future and discovering new rituals and recipes for the digital era.