View source for BLAST

[[File:Blast.jpg|thumb|BLAST]]
The following is a theoretical study of ''BLAST'' magazine conducted through digital means and techniques. 
==Introduction==
''BLAST'' was a literary magazine that birthed an artistic and social movement called Vorticism. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyndham_Lewis Wyndham Lewis] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Pound Ezra Pound], the founders of the Vorticist movement, were also effectively the chief authors of the two-issue magazine. ''BLAST'' contained, among other piece of literature, an aggressive manifesto by Lewis "blasting" conventional British art and culture and proclaiming the Vorticist aesthetic: ‘The New Vortex plunges to the heart of the Present – we produce a New Living Abstraction’. Incidentally, World War I broke out roughly one month after the publication of the first issue. The cultural and political tensions that fueled Vorticism were now at a dangerous climax...how would this affect the heart of the Vorticist movement?

In our exploration of ''BLAST'', we aimed to understand how the outbreak of World War I impacted the second issue of the magazine. We chose to examine both the rhetorical and visual aspects of the content.

==Timeline==
Below is an interactive timeline delineating the events that are relevant to our discussion of ''Blast.'' 
<html>
<iframe src='https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1kO2EXFy5Vxr6FWRsz3TIhj6EyuiJOCrslrMlrKIIAYY&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650' width='100%' height='650' webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen frameborder='0'></iframe>
</html>





==Text Mining==

Visualization software from Voyant Tools was essential to our rhetorical analysis of ''BLAST.'' By examining and comparing the usage of words that are central to the content, we can make conclusions about how the authors' intent changed between issues.

Words of Interest: '''Art''', '''Man''', '''War'''


<html>
<!--	Exported from Voyant Tools (voyant-tools.org).
The iframe src attribute below uses a relative protocol to better function with both
http and https sites, but if you're embedding this into a local web page (file protocol)
you should add an explicit protocol (https if you're using voyant-tools.org, otherwise
it depends on this server.
Feel free to change the height and width values or other styling below: -->
<iframe style='width: 50%; height: 400px' src='//voyant-tools.org/?query=art&query=man&query=war&bins=2&corpus=a7e3b8f379f4b6754df836680bea55a6&view=Trends'></iframe>
</html>

<html>
<!--	Exported from Voyant Tools (voyant-tools.org).
The iframe src attribute below uses a relative protocol to better function with both
http and https sites, but if you're embedding this into a local web page (file protocol)
you should add an explicit protocol (https if you're using voyant-tools.org, otherwise
it depends on this server.
Feel free to change the height and width values or other styling below: -->
<iframe style='width: 50%; height: 400px' src='//voyant-tools.org/?query=art&query=man&query=war&docId=8b7f57d488a1ca6944b4cae7e41bfdc2&corpus=a7e3b8f379f4b6754df836680bea55a6&view=Bubblelines'></iframe>
</html>

The usage of the word "art" is fairly consistent between the two issues, which makes sense considering the purpose of the journal is to advocate for a new style of art. Meanwhile, the mention of "war" increases between issues. This makes sense ''BLAST'' 2 is reflecting on the atrocities of war. Particularly interesting is the fact that the usage of the word "man" goes down. At its prime, Vorticism was a nationalistic movement that embraced the power of man to create. The decrease in the word usage suggests some sort of despondence; the empowerment of the authors to create an artistic revolution of sorts may have dwindled. However, since the decrease is so slight, it could be noted that "man" is still a vital part of the magazine as it may be used to humanize the abstract art included.

==Close Reading==
===Visuals===
The art between the two issues of ''BLAST'' helps define the emotions of Lewis from the effects of the war. The first issue is a lot easier to follow then the second. The first issue of ''BLAST'' has a more positive aesthetic due to the unique style that was used, which keeps the reader focused on the actual content. It reflects the time and care Lewis spent working on it. The second issue of ''BLAST'' which came out about a year into the war, is almost depressing to look at; however, the actual photos in the second issue are more abstract, which explains the conflict the war has caused.  Reading the first issue ''BLAST'' is more pleasing compared to the second issue with the standard, two column nightmare. 

<html>
<img style="border:5px solid black" src="http://library.brown.edu/jpegs/114320987715639.jpg" width="400" >
</html>

<html>
<img style="border:5px solid black" src="http://library.brown.edu/jpegs/1144596292968765.jpg" width="400" >
</html>

<html>
<img style="border:5px solid black" src="http://library.brown.edu/jpegs/1144596889921888.jpg" width="400" >
</html>

===Tonal Shift===

The tone in the two magazines changes drastically from being militant to playing the role of the victim. This change was specifically due to Kaiser Wilhelm wanting "to space no Cubist prisoners, wounded or otherwise." Before the war the ''BLAST'' often used harsh language such as "Curse its (England) climate for sins and infections"

==Conclusion==
Through exploring the evolution of ''BLAST'' between issues, we have been able to conclude that the outbreak of World War '''did''' have a significant impact on the nature of the publication. We have observed that the war drained the magazine of most of its unique energy and replaced it with more a informative portrayal of the articles. However, the abstract style endorsed by the original Vorticists was still preserved in at least one aspect of the second issue: the cover.
The themes used in the magazine were directly taken from the social effects of the time. We observed differences as the initial issue utilized most of its abstract nature in the words while the second issue used it in the cover and reverted to a more traditional layout for the text. 

The use of the word "war" was found to demonstrate to increase of war in the daily life of the people. "Art" demonstrated the continuous concentration on the original intent of the magazine through both issues. Also, "man" stays fairly constant and demonstrates how the authors consistently humanize the art included in the publication. 

Additionally, we ponder what content, visuals, etc. would encompass ''BLAST'' had the war and the tensions that preceded it had not occurred in the same time frame as the journals' publication. Since Vorticism was a nearly direct response to the war that was brewing, we wonder two things:

'''1. Would the first issue of ''BLAST'' have had such a strong expression of Vorticism?'''

'''2. Would the nature of the 2nd issue have still changed, or would it have been a near duplicate of the original?'''