László Moholy-Nagy
Diagram of Forces

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Artist László Moholy-Nagy (American, born Hungary, 1895–1946)American, born Hungary, 1895–1946

CultureAmerican

Titles

Diagram of Forces

Date1938–1943

MediumGelatin silver print, photogram

DimensionsImage: 7 15/16 × 9 15/16 in. (20.2 × 25.2 cm)
Sheet: 7 15/16 × 9 15/16 in. (20.2 × 25.2 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the S. I. Morris Photography Endowment

Object number84.238

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionOne of the most influential avant-garde artists of the twentieth century, László Moholy-Nagy worked extensively with photography first at the Bauhaus in Germany and later at the Institute of Design in Chicago. He championed ‘New Vision’ photography that employed unexpected vantage points and experimental printing processes (such as photomontage and photograms) to redefine relationships with the visible world. Moholy-Nagy’s notes on the verso explain that, to make this photogram, “a light sensitive paper was made wet, squashed and exposed to light. The result is a ‘diagram of forces’ projected on the flat sheet.” Taking its own material base, the sheet of photographic paper, as its subject, this cameraless image explores the three-dimensionality of space on two-dimensional support.
ProvenanceWilliam Larson
Exhibition History"Photograms," John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan,WI, 26 May - 11 August 1985 (LN:85.21)

"Evocative Presence: Twentieth Century Photographs in the Museum Collection", The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston February 27 - May 1, 1988

"The Art of Photography," Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo Japan,Sezon Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan, Mar 3 - Apr 1 1990(LN:90.6)

"Moholy-Nagy," IVAM Centre Julio Gonzales, Valencia, Spain, 11 Feb - Apr 7, 1991, Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany, Apr 21 - June 16, 1991,
Centre de la Vieille Charite des Musees de Marseilles, Marseille, France
July 5 - Sep 15, 1991(LN:91.15)

“The Will to Architecture,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, April 1–July 6, 2014.

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

A light sensitive paper/ was made wet, squashed / exposed to light. / The result is a 'diagram / of forces' projected on / the flat sheet. / by L. Moholy=Nagy / [arrow] for the cut maker: / please print it / hard so that / you get some / white M [circled]

Catalogue raisonnéMoholy-Nagy: The Photograms, 2009, fgm 307

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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