It seems like anytime someone talks about the art movement futurism, talk of fascism isn't very far behind. What was the connection between politicians like the NFP and the futurist art movement and how did futurism come to be regarded as a fascist art movement?
Not an expert, but I'll relay some information from Art in Theory: 1990-1910 in case someone doesn't come through with a better explanation.
Futurism was founded in 1909 by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti with the publication of the Manifesto of Futurism. Art in Theory claims that "politically[,] Marinetti's nationalism led him into a lifelong relationship with Mussolini's Fascism."
Here are a few things from the manifesto that stand out as compatible with Fascism:
"Except in struggle, there is no more beauty. No work without an aggressive character can be a masterpiece. Poetry must be conceived as a violent attack on unknown forces."
This one's even more in line:
"We will glorify war - the world's only hygiene - militarism, patriotism, the destructive gesture of freedom bringers, beautiful ideas worth dying for, and scorn for woman."
Finally:
"It is from Italy that we launch through the world this violently upsetting, incendiary manifesto of ours. With it, today, we establish Futurism, because we want to free this land from its smelly gangrene of professors, archaeologists, ciceroni and antiquarians."
I'll acknowledge my lack of fluency here and refrain from commenting further. I hope that helps though.
Many of the movements built around the ideas of progress, science, technology and materialism share a similar aberrant perspective of humanity, that of a "hive", and fascism as well as any other totalitarian society model, are a good match for that perspective.