The Vorticists: a short-lived 20th century avant garde art movement

"The vorticists did not have many members; nor did the movement last long, because of unfortunate timing - it formed in 1914 as Europe hurtled towards war. By 1918 there was not much appetite for dogmatic groups such as theirs.

Nevertheless, the group holds an important place in 20th-century British art history.

'They were the first abstract modernist group in Britain,' said Stephens. 'It inevitably comes out of the revolution of cubism, but then, so does everything in the 20th century.'

They were part of a maelstrom of new, aggressive art 'ism' movements, not least the one practised by the Italian futurists, who were, in Lewis's eyes, the bad guys.

Stephens said: 'Unlike the futurists, who celebrate the energy of the machine and actual war as a purging force, the vorticists were engaged in more universal ideas of identity, time and movement in a philosophical sense.'"

(Mark Brown, 13 June 2011, The Guardian)

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GOOD Worldwide: 25 Female Designers and Illustrators We Love

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Sketchbook blog of illustrator and cartoonist Jillian Tamaki

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Laura Bifano: a menagerie of polygonal animal paintings

Laura Bifano's "Menagerie" are a series of 10 polygonal animal paintings which she explains were inspired by her love of nature and classic video games. The paintings were shown in a solo show in 2011 at the Intent Gallery at Art Central, Calgary AB.

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