Wyndham Lewis was a founder of the Vorticist art movement
and an editor for the Vorticist’s literary magazine, BLAST. Vorticism came from
a mixture of Cubism and Futurism, neither of which suited Lewis entirely. He
thought that Cubism was not ‘alive’ unlike Futurism, but Futurism lacked the
structure that Cubism brought, therefore Vorticism was born to incorporate
these two factors. Lewis used the industrialisation of Britain as their
subject, using large amounts of black contrasting with sepia tones and straight
lines to create the feel of industrial power. The subject matter he uses though is not
necessarily industrial though, as he even used figures as the base of some of
his creations.
“If the world would only build temples to Machinery in the
abstract then everything would be perfect. The painter and sculptor would have
plenty to do, and could, in complete peace and suitably honoured, pursue their
trade without further trouble.” –Wyndham Lewis
