BLAST!1914 and 1915, Wyndham Lewis, ed.
Percival Wyndham Lewis1882-1957
the men of 1914
unpopular
politics – questionable at best
artist, writer, thinker
The Enemy – and its pitfalls
Vorticism
Vorticismderives from Futurism and Cubism
F. T. Marinetti – Thursday’s reading
dynamism
form
purity
line, plane, colour
content does not matter – non representative
p. 86, BLAST 2
VorticismSo: What has Vorticism got to do with the War?
Vorticism
“The Creditors” 1912
Vorticism
“The Machine Age” 1916
Vorticism
“The Menin Road” 1918
Vorticism
“Battery Shelled” 1919
Vorticism
“Mr. Wyndham Lewis as a Tyro” 1921
BLAST 1914 shocking, offensive, challenging, effrontery
young men, brash, arrogant, defiant
blasting away at what they disapprove
blessing what they approve
often in the same page
new poetry, new visual arts, new typography, new distribution, new aesthetics
To Hell with the Old (cf. Eliot, Pound, Aldington, …)
BLAST
BLAST
BLAST
BLAST
BLAST
Lewis on BLAST 1: p. 85-6 in BLAST 2
get a load of his review of the 1st number’s reception
BLAST 1915the war number
after a year of war, things are slightly more restrained
people are gone, to the front – some dead
most notably Henri Gaudier-Brzeska whose sculptures were eminently vorticist
Gaudier-Brzeska
“Head of Ezra Pound” 1914
Gaudier-Brzeska
“Red Stone Dancer” 1913
Gaudier-Brzeska
“Seated Woman” 1914
Let’s read a bit…
What do you want to talk about?
nationality p.6, 15, war and art p. 25, 72 Gaudier-Brzeska and Marinetti p. 26,
33 Aestheticism (decadence) p. 71 the war p. 73, 75, BLAST and BLESS p. 92-3 design, typography, illustrations “The Crowd Master” p. 94-102
FuturismF. T. Marinetti (1876-
1944)
Leader of Italian futurism
Aggressive, brash
Promoted machine, noise, violence, dynamics, war, speed, movement, youth
Toured England 1913, met Lewis and influenced a lot
Futurism
Fortunato Depero, Skyscrapers and Tunnels (Gratticieli e tunnel), 1930
Futurism
Goncharova, Cyclist
Futurism
Goncharova, Cyclist
Promotional Poster for Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis (1927)
Manifesto for a NEW ArtGet into groups of four
Write me a manifesto for a new art in the style of Marinetti and/or Lewis
You can Blast and Bless things if you like
Whip up your sense of aggression, anger, outrage
Tell me how it is – and how it should be
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