Exhibition Review: László Moholy-Nagy: Light Play
Die Transformierung 1925 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Written by April-Rose Desalegn
Edited by Jana Massoud
Photo Edited by Lucia Luzzani
In collaboration with The Moholy-Nagy Foundation, Fotografiska New York is proud to present Light Play by art pioneer László Moholy-Nagy, a monumental exhibition that brings together 68 of his photographic works from negatives taken during 1922-1945. Blemished by the horrors of World War II, Moholy-Nagy became influenced by Constructivist ideology - a philosophy that sees art as instrumental in forming good values within society. He carried this social idealism throughout his art-making, imbued with a sense of ethical authority that would see him become one of the most influential artists of all time. Light Play compiles film, black-and-white photography, photograms, and photomontage (or ‘photoplastics’) by the legendary Moholy-Nagy, an exhibition limited only by medium that allows for an eclectic array of work by the transformative artist.
Untitled Photogram [Hands] 1925-1926 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Art critic Peter Schjeldahl called him “relentlessly experimental”, the artist working with urgency across a range of mediums, materials and technologies to fulfill his vision of an improved society. This dogma of idealism makes sense when you find out Moholy-Nagy initially wished to be a poet. A product of his politically turbulent time, it almost seems it was out of the prodigious creator’s hands to see life and art as inextricably linked - instead it was more of an answer to a call. The Hungarian artist’s ethos of experimentation saw fluid movement between art mediums, rendering him prolific in the realms of painting, photography, sculpture, and design. Whilst he was well known for the latter two, Light Play puts forward that some of his most compelling innovations lay in photography, particularly his ‘photograms’ which were experimental camera-less photographs.
As the photographs span over 20 years, we see instances of Moholy-Nagy’s works influenced by constructivism, his brief period of Dadaism, and his later shift to abstraction. Daniel Hug, Moholy-Nagy’s grandson and the director of Art Cologne, states “We are particularly excited in recreating and presenting large format prints Moholy-Nagy originally envisioned nearly one hundred years ago, few of which have survived to today”.
Untitled (Eiffel Tower), 1925-1936 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Untitled (Bauhaus Balconies), 1925-1928 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Moholy-Nagy’s education in Bauhaus and constructivism is most apparent in his black-and white architectural pieces, in which perspective is distorted to playfully undermine the conventions of photography. In Untitled (Eiffel Tower) 1925-1936, image steel bars cut across the frame from all angles, sunlight peeking through the bars to create jagged and geometric metal-mosaics, industrial spider webs making it so that you can’t tell which way is up or down.
Titular to the exhibition named Light Play, Many of the works display Moholy-Nagy’s experimentation with photograms - camera-less images in which the artist would use refined studio methods to paint with light and shadow. Light-sensitive paper was used to catch mind bending, abstract compositions that depict the artist’s nose and hands, Moholy-Nagy casting shadows with his own body, inverting, wielding and manipulating these shapes for stunning results.
Untitled Photogram 1926 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Untitled Photogram [Self-Portrait] 1926 © Estate of László Moholy-Nagy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Light Play by László Moholy-Nagy will be showing at Fotografiska New York from 18 March – 5 June, and will present the most impressive of the artist’s photographic works. Twenty years of experimentation, innovation and social influence will be on display, Moholy-Nagy demonstrating the social utility of art and technology through his groundbreaking image-creation.
To view more information about this exhibit, visit Fotografiska’s website here.
