Moholy-Nagy and Me

Last blog, I wrote about the Bauhaus School but there was a particular professor who I did not include. His name was Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946).

Moholy-Nagy was a painter , lithographer, photographer, sculptor, print maker, industrial designer... and the list of his accomplishments goes on. As a Bauhaus School professor, he promoted the marrying of art with industry. This philosophy is reflected in his work.

I came across Moholy-Nagy' works while I was at the university. He had made a series of paintings in a style described as "constructivism" and I was curious about his method.

For all the simplicity of his geometric designs, he created a complex sense of space and floating objects. He succeeded in moving art away from traditional perspective and I wanted to figure out how he did it.

It does seem that oil paints and school terms don't work together very well. Each application of paint had to dry before the next. The process was slow going and I barely finished before the finals. However, the experience left me with a deep appreciation for the precision and planning in Moholy-Nagy's works.
(Below left sides are Moholy-Nagy paintings and my small efforts are on the right.)