Reviving a Forgotten Pyrotechnical Art Form: Pyrotechnics and Twentieth-Century Performance Art

The author briefly traces the history of various, long-forgotten pyrotechnical art forms from the late seventeenth century, based on the craft commonly called ‘fireworks’. Originating in China, the craft was further developed in Italy, where it was practiced in secrecy within family lineages until the advent of new technologies radically transformed it into pyrotechnics, or the ‘science of fire’—today ranging in application from safety matches to booster rockets. The author discusses the revival of the attendant art forms with twentieth-century technology and how these forms relate to performance art in this century.