László Moholy-Nagy1895-1946

László Moholy-Nagy had a large impact on visual arts today. A Hungarian painter and photographer, his work was shaped by a core belief that art not simply autonomous, but was for greater purpose.

Self portrait 1944

As a professor for the legendary Bauhaus (in Chicago), he worked hard to integrate technology and industry into the arts. Bauhaus was known for its versatility of artists, and László was no exception- he brought new energy and innovation to the fields of photography, typography, sculpture, painting, printmaking, and industrial design.

László is credited for the term “New Vision” as it relates to photography. The basis of New Vision, is the belief that photography holds a whole new way of seeing and perceiving the world around us in which the human eye cannot.

László was always experimenting with light. He created the “Light-Space Modulator” which was made up of glass and metal, with a sliding ball and perforated discs that created light effects for stage performances. It is viewed as a pioneer to kinetic sculpture.

“Light-space Modulator” 1922-30

“The photographer is a manipulator of light; photography is a manipulation of light”

László Moholy-Nagy

Photogram 1938

His major contribution to photography is a process known as “Photogram” in which light sensitive paper is exposed with objects lain on top.

Gelatin silver print photogram 1939

“The photogram can be called the key to photography because every good photograph must possess the same fine gradations between white and black extremes as the photogram.” -László Moholy-Nagy

Photogram 1922

In summary, László Moholy-Nagy was a visionary who was not afraid to expand beyond the borders of what was known. He was an artist, yet innovative; and the arts today are richer because of his influence.

“In photography we must learn to seek, not the “picture”, not the aesthetic of tradition, but the ideal instrument of expression, the self-sufficient vehicle for education.”

-László Moholy-Nagy

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/László_Moholy-Nagy

http://mondo-blogo.blogspot.com/2011/11/get-into-laszlo-moholy-nagy.html

http://designarchives.aiga.org/#/entries/%2Bid%3A12132/_/detail/relevance/asc/0/7/12132/moholy-nagyfotoplastikthe-bauhaus-years/1

http://moholy-nagy.org/about/photo-album/

http://getty.edu/art/gettyguide/