Moholy-Nagy Retrospective Reveals Interdisciplinary Vision Across Three Major Museums
The exhibition titled 'Moholy-Nagy: Future Present' presented more than 300 pieces by László Moholy-Nagy at three venues: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (May 27 - September 7, 2016), Art Institute of Chicago (October 2, 2016 - January 3, 2017), and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (February 12 - June 18, 2017). It traced his career from the post-WWI years of 1919-1920, emphasizing his connection to the Constructivist movement, the introduction of the term 'photogram' in 1925, and his 1922 essay 'Production-Reproduction.' The display included a recreation of 'Room of the Present' and his creations like 'Telephone Pictures.' After leaving Germany in 1933, he led the New Bauhaus in Chicago, concluding with his later works before his passing in 1946.
Key facts
- Exhibition featured over 300 works spanning painting, photography, film, sculpture, graphics, and design
- Traveled to Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (May 27-September 7, 2016), Art Institute of Chicago (October 2, 2016-January 3, 2017), and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (February 12-June 18, 2017)
- Moholy-Nagy coined the term 'photogram' in 1925 for cameraless photographic images
- Included recreation of never-realized 1930 multimedia environment 'Room of the Present' with kinetic 'Light Prop for an Electric Stage'
- Featured 1923 'Telephone Pictures' (Construction in Enamel series) ordered from an enamel sign company
- Artist fled Germany in 1933, arriving in Chicago in 1937 to direct New Bauhaus at Walter Paepcke's invitation
- Chicago presentation included special gallery of student work from New Bauhaus/Institute of Design
- Artist died from leukemia in 1946 after creating final biomorphic paintings and Plexiglas sculptures
Entities
Artists
- László Moholy-Nagy
- El Lissitzky
- Susan Snodgrass
- Olivier Lugon
- Elizabeth Siegel
- Walter Paepcke
Institutions
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Bauhaus
- New Bauhaus
- Institute of Design
- MA (Today)
- Hungarian avant-garde group
- Paul Theobald
- Thames and Hudson
- Duke University Press
Locations
- Chicago
- United States
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Hungary
- Germany
- Netherlands
- London
- United Kingdom
- Berlin
- Marseille
- American Midwest