INSIDE CREATIVE VORTEX
Saree Series Peach by Brinda Pamulapati,
8 x 10 inches Mixed Media-Saree and acrylic on clay board
Artists seek inspiration for their paintings from a variety of sources, including immediate surroundings and imagination. Industrialized objects such as automobiles, high-rise buildings with hard edges, harsh lines, bold colors and sharp angles were a main inspiration for artists that were a part of the Vorticism movement. The movement was an artistic reaction resulting from the increase in progress that was being witnessed in their culture. The artists’ works were highlighting the happenings of their own urban environment.
Vorticism was a short movement that lasted only for a few years, from 1914 to 1920, when World War I began and brought the movement to an end. Additionally, the undertaking was emerging in Britain during the same time as Futurism was gaining popularity in Italy. Both movements found inspiration in the simple shapes of the industrialized cityscape and depicted the dynamism, energy and movement of modern life.
Wyndham Lewis, Workshop c. 1914-15
Vorticism was first founded by Wyndham Lewis, who focused on depicting the speed, movement, business and emotionlessness of urban life. He created complex geometrical figures that evoked both dynamism and stillness. Lewis was tired of what he saw as the pretentions of the British art world and sought to pave a way for work that better reflected the modern and ever-changing world.
To me, Vorticism represents the energy of the artist after absorbing all the immediate visual scenes that we are presented with. This intake results in a passionate and creative blast of ideas filled with energy and movement that are translated onto the canvas. In my recent solo art exhibition, “Revitalization” at Venvi Art Gallery, my new abstract paintings were more inclined to this style of vorticism. Like the Vorticists’ works, they convey dynamic shapes and scenes but instead of the urban environment, they emerge from my imagination and the vortex of desire and knowledge inside.
Crossing the Bridge by Brinda Pamulapati,
18 x 24 inches Acrylic on canvas
This internal and external creative process has resulted in a series aimed at breadth ranging from mixed media using Indian saree in abstract style to energetic abstractions.
Brinda Pamulapati, owner/managing director, of Venvi Art Gallery in Tallahassee, can be reached at (850) 322-0965 or visit www.VenviArtGallery.com