''Blast'' was the short-lived literary magazine of the

Vorticist Vorticism was a London-based Modernism, modernist art movement formed in 1914 by the writer and artist Wyndham Lewis. The movement was partially inspired by Cubism and was introduced to the public by means of the publication of the Vorticist mani ...

movement in Britain. Two editions were published: the first on 2 July 1914 (dated 20 June 1914, but publication was delayed),Black (2004), p. 100 featuring a bright pink cover, referred to by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

as the "great MAGENTA cover'd opusculus"; and the second a year later on 15 July 1915. Both editions were written primarily by

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...

.Pfannkuchen (2005) The magazine is emblematic of the modern art movement in England, and recognised as a seminal text of pre-war 20th-century

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. The magazine originally cost 2/6.

Background

When the Italian futurist

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...

visited London in 1910, as part of a series of well-publicised lectures aimed at galvanizing support across Europe for the new Italian

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

, his presentation at the Lyceum Club, in which he addressed his audience as "victims of ... traditionalism and its medieval trappings", electrified the assembled avant-garde. Within two years, an exhibition of futurist art at the Sackville Gallery, London, brought futurism squarely into the popular imagination, and the press began to use the term to refer to any forward-looking trends in modern art. Initially galvanized by Marinetti's verve, Wyndham Lewis—like many other members of the London avant-garde—had become increasingly irritated by the Italian's arrogance. The publication of the English Futurist manifesto ''Vital English Art'', in the June 1914 edition of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', co-written by Marinetti and the "last remaining English Futurist" C. R. W. Nevinson, Lewis found his name, among others, had been added as a signatory at the end of the article without permission, in an attempt to assimilate the English avant-garde for Marinetti's own ends. On 12 June, during recitations of this manifesto and a performance by Marinetti of his poem ''The Battle of Adrianople'', with Nevinson accompanying on drums, Lewis,

T. E. Hulme Thomas Ernest Hulme (; 16 September 1883 – 28 September 1917) was an English critic and poet who, through his writings on art, literature and politics, had a notable influence upon modernism. He was an aesthetic philosopher and the Imagism ...

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American and British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1910. Early in his ...

, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Edward Wadsworth, and five others roundly interrupted the performance with jeering and shouting. Wyndham Lewis wrote a few days later, "England practically invented this civilisation that Signor Marinetti has come to preach to us about". The final riposte came with the publication of ''Blast'' (later known as ''Blast 1''), written and illustrated by a group of artists assembled by Lewis from "a determined band of miscellaneous anti-futurists". The name ''Vorticism'' was coined by the poet Ezra Pound, a close friend of Lewis and the group's main publicist. Writing to

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

in April 1914, Pound described the magazine in ambiguous terms: "Lewis is starting a new Futurist, Cubist, Imagiste Quarterly ... I cant tell, it is mostly a painters' magazine with me to do the poems". By July, the magazine had a name, a movement to support, and a typographic style, and it had forged a distinctly English identity, confident enough to praise Kandinsky, question

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, and openly mock Marinetti.

Editions

''Blast 1'' was edited and largely written by Wyndham Lewis with contributions from Pound, Gaudier-Brzeska, Epstein, Spencer Gore, Wadsworth, and

Rebecca West Dame Cecily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

and included an extract from Ford Madox Hueffer's novel ''The Saddest Story'', better known by its later title ''The Good Soldier'' (published under his subsequent pseudonym,

Ford Madox Ford Ford Madox Ford (né Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer ( ); 17 December 1873 – 26 June 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals ''The English Review'' and ''The Transatlantic Review (1924), The Transatlant ...

). The first edition was printed in

folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...

format, with the oblique title ''Blast'' splashed across its bright pink soft cover. Inside, Lewis used a range of bold typographic innovations to engage the reader, that are reminiscent of Marinetti's contemporary

concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

such as Zang Tumb Tumb. Rather than conventional serif fonts, some of the text is set in sans-serif "grotesque" fonts. The opening twenty pages of ''Blast 1'' contain the Vorticist manifesto, written by Lewis and signed by him, Wadsworth, Pound, William Roberts, Helen Saunders, Lawrence Atkinson, Jessica Dismorr, and Gaudier-Brzeska. Epstein chose not to sign the manifesto, although his work was featured. There is also a (positive) critique of Kandinsky's ''Concerning the Spiritual in Art'', a faintly patronising exhortation to

suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

not to destroy works of art, a review of a London exhibition of

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

woodcuts, and a last dig at Marinetti by Wyndham Lewis:

The Manifesto

The manifesto is primarily a long list of things to be 'Blessed' or 'Blasted'. It starts: # Beyond Action and Reaction we would establish ourselves. # We start from opposite statements of a chosen world. Set up violent structure of adolescent clearness between two extremes. # We discharge ourselves on both sides. # We fight first on one side, then on the other, but always for the SAME cause, which is neither side or both sides and ours. # Mercenaries were always the best troops. # We are primitive Mercenaries in the Modern World. # Our Cause is NO-MAN'S. # We set Humour at Humour's throat. Stir up Civil War among peaceful apes. # We only want Humour if it has fought like Tragedy. # We only want Tragedy if it can clench its side-muscles like hands on its belly, and bring to the surface a laugh like a bomb. The subjects either 'Blasted' or 'Blessed' depended on how they were seen by the fledgling Vorticists. Among them were the leaders of the rival avant-garde grouped about

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...

and the Bloomsbury set, as well as the literary leaders of the past. Thus the "Purgatory of

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

" is named for being the place to which

Algernon Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

had retired into respectability. Among the Blessed are seafarers because "they exchange...one element for another" (p. 22) and the hairdresser who "attacks Mother Nature for a small fee.... ndtrims aimless and retrograde growths" (p. 25).

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a Caricature, caricaturist. He became an influentia ...

, the

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...

, had the unique honour of being both 'Blessed' and 'Blasted'. The first edition also contained many illustrations in the Vorticist style by

, Edward Wadsworth, Lewis and others. The English press was unimpressed by ''Blast'', finding the literary contributions dull, and the artwork and typography a pale imitation of the Futurist style. Writing to Harold Monroe, Marinetti said he took the negative reviews as a “victory” for Futurism, but regretted there hadn’t been instead a collaboration with the Vorticists in the fight against “our great common enemy: attachment to the past." The second edition, published on 20 July 1915, contained a short play by Ezra Pound and

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's poems ''Preludes'' and ''Rhapsody on a Windy Night''. Another article by Gaudier-Brzeska entitled ''Vortex (written from the Trenches)'' further described the vorticist aesthetic. It was written whilst Gaudier-Brzeska was fighting in the First World War, a few weeks before he was killed there.

World War I and the end of Vorticism

Thirty-three days after ''Blast 1'' was published, war was declared on Germany. The First World War would destroy vorticism;Vorticism, an essay by Richard Cork, Oxford Art Online both Gaudier-Brzeska and T. E. Hulme were killed at the front, and Bomberg lost his faith in modernism. Lewis was mobilised in 1916, initially fighting in France as an artillery officer, later working as a war artist for the Canadian Government. He tried to re-invigorate the

after the war, writing to a friend that he intended to publish a third edition of ''Blast'' in November 1919. He organised an exhibition of avant-garde artists called ''Group X'' at Heal's Gallery in March–April 1920, and later published a new magazine, ''The Tyro'', of which only two issues appeared. The further issue of ''Blast'' failed to appear, and neither of the other two ventures managed to achieve the momentum of his pre-war efforts. Richard Cork writes:

Public collections

Both editions have been reprinted a number of times and are shortly to be made available again by Thames and Hudson; original copies are in the collections of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

, Chelsea College,

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

Special Collections and others. The Fundación Juan March launched an exhibition in Madrid (from 10 Feb 2010 through 16 May 2010), ''Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)'', publishing a semi-facsimile edition (translated into Spanish) of ''Blast'' No.1 and an edition of ''Timon of Athens''. The Nasher Museum of Art at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

held an exhibition entitled ''The Vorticists: Rebel Artists in London and New York, 1914–18'' from 30 September 2010, through 2 January 2011.Nasher Museum
Retrieved 17 September 2010

Facsimile editions

* 1982. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press. . * 2009. London:

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

. . * 2010. Madrid: Fundación Juan March. . With texts by Kevin Power and Paul Edwards. Translated into Spanish and annotated by Yolanda Morató.

Notes

References

* Black, Jonathan (2004). ''Blasting the Future: Vorticism and the Avant-Garde in Britain 1910–20''. Philip Wilson Publishers. * Lewis, Wyndham ed. (1914) ''Blast, issue 1''. London: Bodley Head. * Lewis, Wyndham ed. (1915) ''Blast, issue 2''. London: Bodley Head. * Lyon, Janet (1999). '' Manifestoes: Provocations of the Modern''. Cornell University Press. .
Excerpt at Google Books
* Pfannkuchen, Antje (2005). ''From Vortex To Vorticism: Ezra Pound's art and science''. Online vi

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