Perhaps you’ve heard the name Laszlo Moholy-Nagy but don’t know much about him. Let me tell you his Chicago story. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy was a man of many talents. He was a painter photographer sculptor and designer. But more than that he was a visionary.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy arrived in Chicago in 1937. He came to direct the New Bauhaus. This was an experimental school for art and design. He believed art could help society recover after World War I. He saw technology as the way forward. Chicago fascinated him. He felt it was a place of possibilities.
The New Bauhaus didn’t last long due to money problems. But Laszlo Moholy-Nagy didn’t give up. In 1939 he started the School of Design. It later became the Institute of Design. This school was based on the Bauhaus principles.
Finances were tough at first. Eventually the school joined the Illinois Institute of Technology. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy stayed in charge until he died in 1946. Ironically the GI Bill helped the school become stable that same year.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s journey was remarkable. He served as an artillery officer in World War I. Later he studied law. In 1922 he met Walter Gropius. Gropius was impressed by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s art and ideas. He invited him to teach at the Bauhaus.
At the Bauhaus Laszlo Moholy-Nagy promoted the idea of uniting art and industry. He believed in using technology to improve life. He also thought artists had a duty to address social issues.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy left the Bauhaus in 1928. He moved to Berlin and experimented with photography film and graphic design. He later lived in Amsterdam and London. In 1935 he began creating light space modulators. These were three-dimensional paintings using light and shadows.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s early art showed German Expressionist influence. He met Kurt Schwitters and Paul Klee and explored Dadaism. Russian Constructivism inspired his style and ideas about art’s role in society. He saw the artist as a visionary who could shape the future.
In 1939 Ilya Bolotowsky invited Laszlo Moholy-Nagy to join the American Abstract Artists. He accepted and exhibited his work annually. He considered himself a painter and sculptor.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s time in Chicago was significant. Despite challenges he left a lasting impact on art and design education. He embraced new materials like Plexiglas and founded a school that continues to thrive.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy died in Chicago in 1946. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery. His legacy lives on through his art his writings and the Institute of Design. He remains one of the most influential modern artists to have called Chicago home. He pushed boundaries experimented fearlessly and believed in the power of art to transform society. That’s Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s Chicago story.