moholy nagy made photography manifestly modern 913
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How did Moholy-Nagy make photography made manifestly modern?
A typical Laszlo Moholy-Nagy photograph might feature hard diagonals or contrasting geometric
shapes, often under harsh lighting that cast dramatic shadows within the photo. Moholy is known
for using many radical techniques within his arts, which venture from constructivism to
modernism to surrealism. In his time, he faced much opposition because of this; however, not
only did he continue developing his methods, he is viewed as one of the foremost advocates of
modernism in the twentieth century. His greatest influence in photography may not have been his
work or struggles, but his time spent spreading his principles as a teacher later in his life.
Although, Moholy started his artwork with a brief period of militarism, he quickly discovered his
own style. He ignored lines of distinction between photographic and graphic expression. He
ignored the traditional dependence of photography on the forms of painting. He ignored the role
and purpose of photography as seen by the masses. Moholy understood a camera to be a modern
graphic tool that allowed him to capture and convey different aspects of reality to his viewers. He
tried to give his viewers a different perspective of casual subjects by photographing them from
different viewpoints, such as bird's-eye and worm's-eye views. He also framed his photos in a
non-traditional style. He often used diagonal composition to give a photo a different focus or to
point out a certain aspect of the photo that may have otherwise been overlooked by his viewers.
He often utilized foreground and background effects, placing objects in places that they were not
typically placed. He found this was another effective method of drawing attention to a certain
point in a photo. Because Moholy sought to show society as it was aesthetically, he utilized these
radical compositions to convey the messages that were also considered radical.
Moholy's endeavors are very reflective of his ideals and the aesthetic quality is evident in most all
of his photos. He didn't have the political incentive that many artist of this time did. He believed
that, because art is rooted in society, an artist has an obligation to address social issues; he is a
visionary for the society and he provides forms that convey ideas necessary for social advance and
reform. As he aged, he viewed art on increasingly social and revolutionary terms. This is can be
seen by comparing his later work to his first works. The subject matter in his early work in
militarism may be considered traditional and not controversial for the time; however, most of his
later work was focused on what was considered modern subjects. For example, he took a positive
view of technology, photographing much "machine aesthetic" and abstract photos of the industrial
age. He liked technology as a subject because it directly represented the social change in society
that came with industrialization. The camera itself was also associated with technology because it
was becoming more mechanical and technologically advanced. Technology was making
photography faster and more practical. What better subject to photograph, than the industry that
was rapidly improving the very quality of that photograph.
Moholy is also famous for his combination of photographical techniques. He spent a lot of time
on the subject of lighting, even writing on this subject. He referred to the forms produced by light
as "abstract seeing." Harsh lighting and shadows, double exposures, under and over exposures,
photograms, variation of exposure times (producing rapid or slow seeing) and contrast are all
prominent in his experiments with lighting. He advocated photomontage (which he never referred
to as collages) as a way of "simultaneous seeing," which he often used to convey social messages.
He achieved "intensified seeing" by means of filter variation, such as using infrared film.
Depending on the filter and technique, if the photo was substantially changed, he called it
"distorted seeing." Moholy also viewed radiography (x-rays) as a creative form of photography,
which he actually utilized. All of Moholy's definitions of seeing can be looked up in his text, A
New Instrument of Vision (1932), under the light varieties of photographic vision.
Moholy was Hungarian but with the upset and war in Europe, he was first forced through a series
of moves and eventually landed in Chicago. His work was well known in the US because his
publications in Cahier d'Arts, his displays at exhibitions in New York and his writings. Many of
his photos catered to American ideals because America was an industrializing nation, looking to
its future. He started the New Bauhaus, an experimental school of art and design in Chicago.
After it failed, he took a teaching position at the Chicago Institute of Design, where he pushed the
idea of improving the modern world by designing beautiful functional objects. This idea is
manifest in many American products today.
As an artist, theorist and teacher, Moholy influenced the world of photography from its bulky,
slow beginning to the fast, practical mobility of today's everyday camera. He kept style and
technique up to speed with the technological advancement. His experimentation with light lead to
the development of techniques that are now considered advanced and professional methods in
photography. His modernist ideals spread into the modern day and are obviously manifest in
today's American industrial design and commercial advertisement. Although, it is still questioned
as to whether or not photography is a true form of art, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy is in part responsible
for it being a modern form of art.
