BLAST, World War I, and Tonal Shifts

The magazine, ''BLAST'', had two editions published on June 20, 1914, and July 15, 1915. Occurring between the release of these editions was the beginning of WWI.  This essay will illustrate the events unfolding between the release of the two editions and analyze how it affected the subject matter in ''BLAST''. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 23, 1914, sparked a war that would draw in all of the superpowers of the 20th century and would span the course of 5 years until the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June of 1919, officially ending WWI. Following the assassination of the archduke, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, the party responsible for the assassination. Following the declaration of war Germany enters WWI by declaring war on France and Russia. Great Britain entered the war shortly after Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. With the superpowers of Europe warring with each other imposed a split of ideologies. The shift in subject of matter of ''BLAST'' from an art movement to a political movement is evidenced by the influence the beginning of WWI had on the second edition of the Magazine. Most notably are the titles listed on the "Contents." page of the magazine. Of the first five titles, three can be easily tied to the war, "War Notes", "Artists and War", and "The Exploitation of Blood". Of the three titles, two use the word "war" in the title.