Vorticists

Writing in the first issue of Blast in 1914, the poet Ezra Pound asserted that Vorticism was the British form of Futurism. Its founder, Wyndham Lewis saw the movement as an alternative to Cubism, Expressionism and Futurism, declaring 'The new Vortex plunges to the heart of the present - we produce a new living abstraction'. The group, including Jessica Dismoor and William Roberts, approached their subjects with angular abstraction and harsh colours, embracing the dynamism of the urban world and all things modern. The onset of the First World War dealt a huge blow to the short lived movement, with sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska being killed while serving with the French army. The group held one exhibition at the Rebel Art Centre and one more issue of Blast was published in 1915. After the Great War, Lewis tried unsuccessfully to revive the movement with 'Group X' in 1920.