Laszlo Maholy-Nagy

Figure 1 Untitled (1922-30) With modernism a new approach to design came: design for life. The shape of an object is defined by the work it has to do; it is no longer a profession to design, but an attitude. Moholy thought that artists should no longer use their artistic talents producing paintings and sculptures for the elite but rather propagate it towards producing useful objects for the masses. His photograms were one of the greatest visual experiences of the new age incorporating space form and light. It doesn’t matter which way or other you view his photograms, they don’t lose their beauty of surrealism. The obsession for play of light inspired his very works. His ethos incorporated the unity of art and technology as many modernists believed. “Photogram experiments are of fundamental importance for the amateur and professional photographer alike. They impart richer and more important knowledge about the sense behind the photographic process than do photographs taken, mostly with little awareness and often mechanically, with a camera. One has little awareness and often mechanically, with a camera. One has total command of the light effects, organising them in a way one deems correct, without regard for the dependency and fortuity of the objects.” 1928 page 103. The most important thing in photography is light, without light the subject is dark, the eye and camera need illumination to be able to capture the essence of the subject. Photography is capturing light; Moholy is about capturing light in a different form. He captures the kinetic energy of the light and object, its spatial awareness, its abstractness, a method normal photography can’t achieve. The geometric complexity of the designs and shapes created by shadow and light convey the dynamic possibilities of both machine and camera. Photographic paper is his canvas and light is his paint. Figure 2 Untitled (1925-28) A Lightplay: Black White Grey [Youtube clip online] Pres. Moholy-Nagy. (1930) 6 mins At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0x730uP2yI (Accessed on 13.05.14) Books Read: Wittenborn, George (1947) The New Vision and Abstract of an Artist. E.L. Hildreth and Co. Brattleboro, Vermont. Klinkhardt & Biermann (1930) 60 fotos: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Editeurs, Berlin W10 Heyne, Renate (2009) Moholy-Nagy The Photograms. Hatje Cantz Verlag. Theobald, Paul (1946) Moholy: Vision in Motion. Paul Theobald Publisher.