With this background of Wyndham Lewis in mind, this presentation will focus on three points: First, using the design of Blast, the journal of Vorticism, we will examine the concept of ‘Vortex’, in which Lewis found ‘a strange synthesis of cultures and times’ (Lewis 1929: 56). In Blast, Lewis and other Vorticists attempted to express the human consciousness emerging in the new city through innovative design as a critique of the environment in contemporary society. Next, we will see how this abstract concept is developed with concreteness through The Caliph’s Design. Thirdly, I will consider his idea of cultural community, bearing in mind that ‘a village’ has received a great deal of attention in Wyndham Lewis’s studies. This concept was later to influence the ‘global village’ of Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), a leading figure in communication theory. Ultimately, I will reveal the inner workings of Lewis's ‘universalism’, noting that ‘a village’ was an idea that anticipated internet culture-society in the late 20th century and beyond.
