Arts paper by Szpura, Beata
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy – Innovator of the Avant Garde; His Artistic Journey Towards the Light
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
Laslo Moholy- Nagy (1895-1946) was a major creative force among the 20th century artistic avant garde- first in Europe and later in the USA. He is famous for constant experimenting with new media-using photomontages, photograms, collages, oil painting, film and shadow- casting kinetic sculpture. First exposed to modernism in Berlin, he was influenced by Dada, Surrealism, Cubism and especially Russian Constructivism. The paper explores light as a crucial element in his oeuvre. It is mainly based on the recent retrospective exhibition that took place at the Guggenheim Musuem in New York City. Moholy Nagy's fascination with light and its spacial effects shows his two and three-dimensional work crated throughout his life, whether it is in the imaginative, geometric transparencies of his paintings and designs, or in the reflective, shadow- casting surfaces of his plexiglass and alumnium sculptures. Especially in the last phase of his life, the artist’s creative exploration seems to be at its boldest phase. He works with thick plexiglass which he heats in the oven and bends into exuberant, flowing forms. Exposed to the rays of his beloved light, they cast complex shadows and become almost animated entities. This work is a precursor to contemporary artists like Donald Judd, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Christian Boltanski, Pipilotti Rist.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Beata Szpura is a fine artist, illustrator and an art educator.
Her editorial illustrations appeared in New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, New Yorker and other national publications. She has also illustrated several book covers for Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Beata teaches painting and color theory at Parsons the New School for Design in Manhattan and painting and drawing at Queensborough Community College. She has been exhibiting her oil paintings, collages and watercolors in New York and in Europe. She is a member of College Art Association and an elected board member of the Allied Artists of America. She lives in Woodside, NY.
website: bszpura.com