Photogram 1923

This is a photogram by László Moholy-Nagy, who worked with light and shadow to make images without a camera. It’s all about process, and how light interacts with objects to create forms. I love the way the shapes overlap and play with each other, it’s not a still life, more a still-life happening. The contrast between the solid black shapes and the ghostly outlines is so evocative. There’s a circle at the bottom which is very textured, like sand, which creates a kind of base, or foundation on which the more geometric objects seem to float. Then there's those crisp, sharp-edged rectangles clustered toward the top. Moholy-Nagy was interested in the Bauhaus and Constructivism, and you can see those influences here. But, the way the elements are so dynamic reminds me of the work of Man Ray, particularly his Rayographs. For both artists, art embraces ambiguity, welcoming multiple interpretations over fixed or definitive meanings.