Modernist Magazines and Digital Humanities

The first issue of The Tyro is a short one so must have been read cover to cover when first published. When reading it on a computer, however, the small print causes one to have to magnify to the point of seeing only small sections of each page. I tried browsing through the magazine while looking at it showing the full page and noticed that I paused for the more interesting titles. "The Romantic Englishman, The Comic Spirit and the Function of Critism" by T.S. Eliot caught my eye. The gist of what Eliot is saying in the essay is that the audience of characters in the Romantic Period could not take it seriously or they would realize the performance or piece was actually a critism of themselves. Knowing now that Eliot was not only a writer but also a widely published critic, it is fun to see a piece of his work in this little magazine.

The title that by far is the most eye catching in the whole magazine is "Cafe Cannibale" by John Adams. Wikipedia only lists one poet by the name of John Adams and he was dead almost 200 years before this magazine was published. Both presidents that were named John Adams were dead before this was published as well, but obviously the name of the author struck me or I would not have searched for it. After the title and the author, the poem sucks you in in a similar fashion to the woman that is the subject. The poem seems to be a shorter version of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by (once again) T.S. Eliot. The man in the poem is drawn to this woman yet completely uncomfortable with her. The pressure to continually keep her entertained seems to be eating him alive. In lines 6-9 the speaker describes the womans laughter as something primitive that she "raptoursly giv[es] herself altogether to" and "becomes an orgiastic figure of abandon." The language of the poem invites it to be read over and over again. The hyperbolic description of the man's discomfort is at first laughable, but becomes more open to empathy with each read. I could be biased because I liked "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" so much and I see a lot of it in this poem, but this poem is my favorite find for the semester.

Unlike its Vorticist predecessor, Blast, Wyndham Lewis's second short-lived magazine, The Tyro, concerns itself less with aesthetic/theoretical didacticism than it does with critical analyses of modernist issues, particularly in art. The ostensible aim in publishing such articles is to disprove the prevailing belief, observed by Lewis, that "Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism, and all the rest of that revolutionary phase of art, is dead" (No. 2, page 3).  In the second (and final) issue of The Tyro, published in 1922, authors O. Raymond Drey and Jessie Dismorr each make a case for the continued relevance of modern art: Drey, by deconstructing the complicated and often bemused societal attitudes toward modernism, and Dismorr by cataloguing the recent crop of modern artists working out of Russia, whose emerging bodies of vital, experimental work in painting, sculpture and costume disproved the notion that modernism was dead.

      Drey's article, "Abstract Art and Some Analogies," primarily addresses the belief that, lacking function, abstract art is useless. He counters this idea with the contention that, though its function is unusual, it serves a function nevertheless.  Unlike those objects with aesthetic value related to the direct relationship between form and function, as in the beauty of a yacht's hull or "the cambered wings of an aeroplane," the aesthetic value of the abstract is not related to productivity (14).  Rather, the effect of abstract art is "on the mind and imagination of the spectator who is sensitive to formal design" (14).  Drey also addresses the detractors of the abstract, who cannot imagine its use, describing them as those viewers who  "are the least sensitive to the prodigal confusion of abstract forms in the midst of which they move and have their being" (14-15).   In other words, the abstract work is nothing more or less than the pure expression of the world in which it was created, a product of political, social, economic, global and local influences.  Further, far from being irrelevant or useless, this kind of art is only appreciable by the viewer with an acute sensitivity/susceptibility to the emotionality of pure form, rather than to meanings conveyed through narratives or poetic allusion (15).  

     Drey goes on to address other factors which may contribute to the unpopularity of the modern or abstract work, contending that its authors hinder the skeptic's ability to apprehend meaning by attempting to associate the work with "recognisable objects" (15).  A piece entitled "A Portrait of Madame X," for example may perplex the viewer who seeks to identify the conventional form of a woman within the abstract picture.  Such complicating titles are alienating, not only in the creation of distance between the viewer and the work's possible meanings, but by inspiring in the viewer feelings of frustration at not being able to understand a kind of inside "joke" (16).  Further, applying recognizable titles to abstract pieces dilutes the potency of the art itself.  As Drey puts it, "Those who are naturally impervious to the music of form, and those others who misprize it unless combined with a more complex form of appeal, are not to be won by explanation."  That is to say, the abstract is sensed or experienced and should not be intellectualized in order to be understood.

     For her part, Jessie Dismorr seeks to validate the work of modern and abstract artists by highlighting the various efforts of working artists in Russia.  Dismorr's piece, "Some Russian Artists," is an interesting artifact of criticism, as it contemporarily reviews the work of a few artists whose work would prove to be important well after the modernist period.  She hails the futurist Natalia Goncharova whose work spanned various mediums such as painting and costume design, for her "daring" juxtaposition of "chromes and majentas," as well as for employing "cubist devices" in her work with costumes (19).  Dismorr also interestingly places Chagal among the Russian artists, calling him/his work "a curious vessel of the national [Russian] spirit" (19).

     Although Drey's and Dismorr's respective approaches to the subject of modernist art are quite different (the former writes critical theory, while the latter writes art criticism), both pieces demonstrate The Tyro's dedication to affirming and promoting modernist art well after a skeptical public had begun to dismiss it.  Each piece proves that, despite contemporary skepticism, the importance and meanings of such art were still being widely discussed and considered; as such, The Tyro itself is a fantastic artifact of an emerging strain of art criticism and theory from a period of great innovation and creativity.

Tyro, Wyndham Lewis' Post War, and in many ways Post Vorticist, answer to Blast magazine opens in much the same fashion as it’s predecessor. This time, however, in the case of the second issue, it has advertising. To a large extent one can take this to be symbolic of the changes in the content and layout of this new magazine. It was more corporate. It was more tame. It was less angry. It was less poetic.

Without the involvement of Ezra Pound, the Tyro was primarily a magazine about art, rather than politics and poetry. The first issue began with Editorial notes that indicated the shifted focus of the magazine: “To be a rallying spot for those painters, or persons interesting in painting, in this country.” Lewis believed that after the Great War England was on the precipice of a Renaissance “much greater than the Italian Renaissance.” Given the size and length of World War I, and the effect it had on the general countenance of Europeans, Lewis suggested that what the Vorticists were able to accomplish before and during the war was only the beginning. In reality, Vorticism had been on its way out for the seven years in between Blast and Tyro, and there was no English Renaissance in sight. This post war Vorticist art was different. Less Futurist, less Cubist, and less Abstract. It was more classical and more realistic. It focused more on the human form, and was less conceptual.  It was less abrasive, and more pleasing to the eye. Pieces like Family and Lady Seated at Table might never have graced the pages of Blast. Certainly Tyro saw similarly abstract drawings, like Gunwalloe, but Lewis’ own art seemed almost uncharacteristic of his original Vorticist creations. In a post war Europe the coarse vexation of Vorticism was no longer feasible. The movement was at a stand still and it would need to widen its scope to achieve the kind of modern Renaissance it hoped to see. It included advertising. It included clay figures. It included short stories. And even after all that Vorticism is just a footnote of Modernism rather than the definition of the camp.
 

Rehana Afzal, Hilda Ronquillo, Eli Shoshani

           

       Tyro (1921-22) was Wyndham Lewis's post-war attempt to reincarnate Blast and reignite conversation about avant-garde ideals for a London audience.  The editor faced a number of obstacles in pulling off this second-act: 1. Ezra Pound, notable contributor to Blast, had become the European Editor of The Little Review 2. There was a declining interest in the avant-garde in London  3. Mainstay contributors to Blast, T.E. Hulme and Gaudier-Brzeska, had died in WWI. (Lewis himself had served in the Great War, and considered it a monumental waste of time, fueling his desire to return to his former productivity.)                                                      

          With its cover page, Tyro positions itself as a Review Of The Arts Of Painting Sculpture And Design (note the caption’s lack of punctuation and the cover's sans serif type of varying sizes, similar to that of Blast's). Launched in conjunction with Wyndham Lewis’s first major solo art exhibit, “Tyros and Portraits,” it was a publication by artists for artists--and not to be understood except by an artist.  Pound (of all people!) chided Lewis for this elitist approach.  Lewis needed to attract readers, not rely on a select coterie.  Otherwise "we may regard our work as a private luxury, having no aims but our own pleasure.  = You can't expect people to pay you for enjoying yourself," Pound wrote in a letter to Lewis.    

            Notable Tyro contributors were T.S. Eliot and Wyndham Lewis whose articles open the magazine prominently.  Other contributors largely consisted of members of the Rebel Arts Center and Group X.   Lewis sent out a rallying call "to those painters for whom 'painting' signifies not a lucrative or sentimental calling, but a constant and perpetually renewed effort” (1:2) (i.e. I can't pay you guys). 

            

    Publisher Information:

THE EGOIST PRESS, *(aptly named) 2, ROBERT STREET, ADELPH1. TO BE PRODUCED AT INTERVALS OF TWO OR THREE MONTHS. *(signalling its tentative nature)

PUBLISHED AT 1s. 6d, subscription for 4 numbers, 6s. 6d, with postage. *(only two issues were actually published in total)

Printed by Bradley & Son, Ltd., Little Crown Yard, Mill Lane,Reading.

 

                Tyro's most immediate problem was financial.  Lewis claimed he would use his inheritance money to split the funding costs with contributing author Sidney Schiff (who agreed to back the paper anonymously so that contributors wouldn't expect to be paid).  However, citing financial difficulties, Lewis reneged on his promise; but Tyro was published regardless.    

            The periodical's financial difficulties are reflected in direct appeals to readers. Originally, Lewis claimed that the periodical would be produced at intervals of two to three months, but in the opening note admitted the appearance of the Tyro will be "spasmodic" (1:2). Since they had expanded the journal (the second issue was 6 times as long as the first--made possible by ads, which were completely absent from Issue #1) but cut down the number of issues, Lewis wrote that in good faith the terms of subscription should be considered fulfilled (2:3) with fewer issues.

            On a basic level, Tyro was a doomed enterprise because the tyros did not connect with their audience.  What is a tyro?  The tyro ('tiro' in Medieval Latin: 'beginning soldier'/'recruit') was a symbol of an uncertain post-war society composed of novices, their teeth jutting out in a barbaric, tentative smile.  They were not only esoteric but off-putting.  Ironically, Pound whose highbrow work had been viciously mocked, attempted to steer Wyndham Lewis in a mainstream direction.  Lewis seemed to grow aware that the tyros were alienating readership. Indeed, Lewis promises the appearance of ten tyros in the following issue, but no tyros appear other than the one on the cover. 

Eventually, Lewis himself admitted that the Tyros "were not easy to like."

            Compare the two tyros on the covers: the Tyro of issue #2 is marginalized, reduced, almost boxed out of existence, where the first issue's Tyro had confrontationally leered out at the title.  The second issue now takes on a more subdued and less polemical tone, but too late to win over the public.

        

            After two issues, Lewis took 600 copies on a trip to Paris and gave an inscribed copy to James Joyce in an effort to to pump life into Tyro but neither tactic helped save the publication.  Lewis acknowledged defeat, admitting in Tyro 2 that the magazine hadn't changed much in the art world.  It had failed to reconstitute a dialogue about art and innovation for the post-war era.  The periodical folded by default, with Lewis never publishing another issue. 

            Even afterwards, Lewis chose to "go down with his ship," stubbornly remaining commited to an elitist view promulgated by Blast.  He further isolated himself and wrote critically of his contributors to Tyro--those authors like Schiff who had written for free, and even provided financing!    

 

 Tyro: Attitudes, Politics, Aesthetics

In examining The Tyro, one can immediately sense the difference between this periodical and that of The New Age. Wyndham Lewis has sought to make a favorable argument towards Abstract Art. The overall manifestos are not that of critical begrudging men seeking to demean anything “modern”. Rather, the articles and reviews (save for a surprisingly cynical T.S Elliot) are positive, and painstakingly try to explain why the new art movement should be valued and acknowledged.                                                                                                           

The name Tyro (a beginner or learner in anything; one who has mastered the rudiments only of any branch or knowledge) may be a play against the way Wyndham approaches his ideals of Art appreciation. He attacks any notion that Abstract art is elementary and without aesthetic, and his contributors sing his praises (and that of fellow artists) as well.

In Issue 1 (there were only two issues), there is a sufficient amount of art supplements which are considered modern. Besides the Tyros, which Wyndham presents with a brief history and a tongue in cheek introduction, there are sketchings and drawings by a variety of artists including Wyndham himself. In fact, as the second issue immerses Wyndham is responsible for the bulk of the artwork, accompanied with a few massive essays as well.

The political climate in this issue is one of aggression, both towards the elitist attitude of the English, and organized religion as well. There is one fascinating manifesto by Raymond Drey who speaks of “Emotional Aesthetics” and its role in the art world.  Drey states, “We must consider how far emotion enters at all into the making of works of art”. (Drey 10)   He infers that art that is seen as elementary is done so because it appears to be created out of an impulsive and irrational moment; free from structure. Nevertheless, he maintains that this method does not render an artist without talent. Drey states: “Work that is done in a very short space of time may be the cumulative result of the experience of years…Every fine work of art pre-supposes a period of contemplation…the slowness or rapidity with which the idea is developed to its ultimate form depends on the temperament of the particular artist.” (10)

Unlike the mixed reviews of multiple patrons in The New Age, Wyndham presents firm supporters who share his vision and ideas.

Issue 2, was a great deal denser and included many more works of art displaying everything from Cubist-like drawings to Dobson’s sculptures. I was concerned more with the massive amount of text explaining the movement of modern art and its colossal relevance to art history.

Wyndham, (who not surprisingly includes many of his own works) defends in great detail the “standards of modern art”. Wyndham says “suppose we say that Vorticism and Cubism is at an end. What do you expect is going to be there in its place?”

In other words, there have been great works before this movement and there will be great works after it, so to state that photographic like paintings are the only way to self expression, would be to place Art in a labeled criteria which is impossible.

Raymond Drey who also writes for the second issue says: “Abstract pictorial art is only the invention of our own time in the sense that never in the past has painting depended solely on the appeal of pure form.”

Wyndham, in yet another lengthy manifesto (this time on plastic art) compares art to philosophy because of all the different degrees of arguments that have arisen because of it. Also because like philosophy, rather than trying to ascertain an answer, philosophers and artists alike are more concerned with the question or piece at hand and the discussions that stem from it. The constant attempts to rate art based on method infuriate Wyndham, he states: “In art there are no laws, as there are in science. There is the general law to sharpen your taste and intelligence in every way you can.” He speaks of the future of art as grim, if society continues to view the art world through traditional lenses.

In conclusion Wyndham’s arrangement, in terms of aesthetics, is far more pleasing than previous periodicals reviewed. His focus and intent to persuade the masses is evident. As the editor, clearly his editorial policies would serve to express and deliver his ideas which would make it somewhat bias, yet less hypocritical (in my opinion) than The New Age, which seemed like closet conservatives wearing progressive masks.

 

Tyro in Context

In understanding the importance of the “The Tyro” it was important to read about the specific time frame. I picked the first issue, which appeared in 1921. In so doing, I was able to analyze the works present within the journal from a perspective very much similar to the analysis of Rayonnism. The journal was very unique as it concerned itself mainly with art and painting. Unlike the “New Age Journal,” which was quite substantial and methodical in its presentation, “The Tyro” was a collective presentation of paintings, poems, and satires although its modalities of expression and it originated in London.

The majority of the journal was written by Wyndham Lewis, a major part of the Vorticist movement, which originated in London after the era of cubism. This new style of art, which lasted relatively short period of time was very much similar to Rayonnism, where it tried to externalize the emotions, feelings, perceptions, and realities of the mechanistic society through painting. The movement had a great influence on the magazine, which appeared years after the movement had ceased to be prominent. The first issue contained a series of poems, and included some great paintings, which upon examination fully reify the stances of the movement in discussion. In addressing the newness or the avant-garde nature of the magazine, the Tyro concerned itself with elemental, the raw essence of art, which shifted after World War I as various paradigms within the artistic world saw a renaissance while others died down. Some of the highlights include Cubism, Rayonnism, and Dadaism.

The magazine came at a time of prosperity in the U.S., as historically the 1920s were referred to as the roaring twenties, it was a period of post- war growth and that greatly impacted how the public perceived the magazine and how the magazine chose to sustain itself. The magazine did not go past two issues as Lewis noted that it would see increases in the number of volumes based directly on the perception and need for more input.

I specifically focused on the painting on page 5, as that concerned itself with the evolution of the industrial man. Somehow, the look of sheer greed on the man’s face personifies the roaring twenties, as many individuals amassed a great deal of profit during that decade. However, the face also goes along with the changes brought forth by the industrial revolution where it represents the rise of the entrepreneur. In a similar vein, the painting on page 7 shows two men meeting one another. In this case also there is a connection between the men. Artistically the style of both men is the same, however, these caricatures of real individuals really offer a new way to see how individuals interacted with one another. These two paintings can be seen as a way to represent the tyros during this great period of change. As the movement concerned itself with gauging the impact of the industrial revolution and the WWI, it focused on the elementals, the avant-garde. The paintings were not subtle, as seen through the aforementioned analysis, but they were very much the product of social, political, and economical forces which exerted a great deal of influence on the artist.

Lewis’s painting of a woman seating at a table (pg. 11) sheds light on another facet of society. Where the woman looks perfectly healthy, here eyes are not there. It seems as if this could be related to the women’s suffrage movement, as even after the historic right to vote, women were still oppressed in society due to the existence and entrenched beliefs in socio-political, religious and economic norms. Also, the woman’s features are greatly exaggerated and thus appear to be animated. The over all effect is that it is very difficult to tell how the women sees herself or society, because she does not have eye sight. Also, the women can be a caricature of lower class immigrant women, but lacked financial means of self-advancement.

The first issue of the magazine did not focus on a great deal of issues; it just addressed the realm of artistic expression as Lewis himself stated in the introduction, “…The object of this paper- to be a rallying point for those painters, or persons interested in this country…” (pg. 2). Currently, the journal can be accessed at the following locations:      

National Library of Australia http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM04612.html- Cornell Library

Project Muse- http://muse.jhu.edu/

These sources continue to draw the attention of those interested in the growth of modernism and change in the art movement.

 *Note: If you have a hankering to get your hands on a copy of The Tyro in book format, it is available in many libraries such as NYPL, Cornell, Wesleyan, Boston U., Harvard, Suny Buffalo, and Oxford if you are ever in the neighborhood.