The Bal Tik Tak by Giacomo Balla. A futuristic decoration project

Abstract

 The recent discovery and restoration of the murals that Giacomo Balla painted in the Bal Tik Tak commissioned by Ugo Paladini in 1921 have revived interest in the painter and his futurist interventions on furniture and decoration derived from his manifesto Ricostruzione futurista dell´universo. This article reconstructs Balla´s intervention based on the scarce graphic evidence and sketches for the setting of the Roman premises. It also highlights the programmatic dissolution between the lines of art and life based on the reviews of its inauguration, the venue and its music that turned the Bal Tik Tak into one of the emblematic venues of the mundane Roman nights. Its success led to the creation of other similar Futurist venues such as the Cabaret del Diavolo in 1922 and the Cabaret della gallina a tre zampe in 1923 and influenced other similar venues of the European avant-garde.