Image: Moholy-Nagy, Self-Portrait with Hand, 1929
Image: North Texas State Teachers College
Image: Moholy-Nagy / Wathieu
The Present Age
Moholy-Nagy and visual experiments in Texas
I'm hosting a series of four art talks in the high desert exploring bleeding-edge artistic ideas and technique.
For The Present Age, I examine László Moholy-Nagy's philosophy and his focus on how he integrated scientific tools into art, expanding perception in new ways.
My talk narrows to a curious historical moment: Moholy-Nagy's visit to a women's college in Denton, Texas in 1942. This visit sparked the creation of the first studio art program in Texas's public university system and catalyzed early modern art throughout the region.
Pulling from his writing and letters, I point to Moholy-Nagy's perspectives on art education and trace his influence on Texas modernism and women artists. I also share personal reflections from viewing his work in Budapest and Los Angeles, and follow the thread to his collaboration with György Kepes at MIT and the founding of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies.
My title for the talk, The Present Age, carries a double meaning, referencing both our current moment and the journal Jelenkor ("The Present Age") that Moholy-Nagy worked with while recovering from war injuries in 1917. I make the case that this connection invites us to consider how today's expanding visual sensing technologies, such as drones, telescopes, and satellite imaging, echo earlier artistic explorations of perception and expanded human sensing capabilities.
Join me for this salon-style presentation at Murray Hall, and share the invitation with others who might be interested. Please email me for the date, time, and directions.