Outline

Moholy-Nagy has bequeathed to us a wealth of art works and writings, which embrace the whole range of the visual arts.
We might call the scope of his contribution “Leonardian” so versatile and colorful has it been.

―― Walter Gropius, Architect

László Moholy-Nagy is an artist who worked in a broad range of media rivaling that of even Leonardo da Vinci and eventually succeeded in bringing new vision to 20^th-century art.

Amidst the uncertainties and turmoil brought on by the emergence of socialism and the two World Wars in the first half of the 20^th century, Moholy-Nagy would follow an artistic career that led him from his native Hungary to Austria, then Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain and finally to the United States, in an ongoing quest of creative experimentation in search of a fusion of art and technology that would continue to produce new artistic value.

Working in the media of painting, photography, sculpture, graphic design, stage art and film, he consistently employed innovative ideas that produced a unique artistic realm of light and motion. 
Besides his work as an artist employing multiple media, Moholy-Nagy also distinguished himself as an educator, first at the Bauhaus school of arts in Germany and eventually as the director of the New Bauhaus school founded in the Chicago. In this capacity he was influential in implanting new theories of art and a new philosophy of arts education among artists of the next generation.

Thanks to a generous lending of valuable works from the family collection of The Moholy-Nagy Foundation and other domestic and foreign collections, this exhibition is able to present Japan's first full-scale retrospective of Moholy-Nagy's artistic career. The roughly 270 works in this exhibition, many of which are being shown publicly for the first time, include drawings and Constructivist works from the artist's early years in Hungary, the kinetic sculpture Light Space Modulator that would become one of his representative works, “Photograms” produced without using a camera and colorful paintings from the artist's late years in America.

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Programs

Special Gallery Talk

“Behind the Birth of Modern Design: The Unknown World of Moholy-Nagy”
Toshino Iguchi (Professor, Saitama University)
Sept. 17 (Sat.) 14:00－15:00

Prof. Iguchi, who served as supervisor for this exhibition, will speak about the appeal of Moholy-Nagy's art. This is a rare opportunity to hear fascinating stories about the art works in the galleries from Prof. Iguchi, a researcher of 20^th century avant-garde art of Central Europe who has studied in Hungary.

First 60 persons / gather at Entrance Hall

Lecture

The Typography of Moholy-Nagy: Discoveries in Communications
Masayuki Yamamoto (Associate Professor, Tama Art University)
Oct. 15 (Sat.) 14:00－15:00

Associate Professor Yamamoto speaks about the unique aspects of the typography developed by Moholy-Nagy and other artists of the Bauhaus and its influence on contemporary graphic design.

First 60 persons / tickets distributed at the Museum reception desk from 12:00
 

Gallery Talks by Museum Curator

Oct. 9 (Sun.) , Nov. 3 (Thur.) 14:00－15:00
First 60 persons / gather at Entrance Hall
 

Guided Tours

Daily except Sept. 17, Oct. 9, Oct. 15, Nov. 3 at 14:00－15:00
Hear explanations of the works of the permanent collection and the Moholy-Nagy exhibition by the Museum's guide staff.
Gather at First 60 persons / gather at Entrance Hall
 

Audio giude

Listen to commentary on the Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso and Rothko works of the permanent collection as well as the works in the Moholy-Nagy exhibition.
500 yen per headset
 

Workshop “Capturing Shadows”

Sept. 24 (Sat.) 10:30－16:00

Venue: Nature Trail and Museum lecture room / For: elementary school age children and older / limit: 25 people / reservations needed / Fee: 1,000 yen (besides Museum admission)

Join photographer Shunya Asami in making your own "Photogram," the art form invented by Moholy-Nagy. 
Participants will enjoy an autumn walk along the Museum's Nature trail and "capture" interesting shadows you find there. After making your "Photogram" everyone will view the Moholy-Nagy exhibition and enjoy the interactive gallery talk.

Annex Gallery Event

“Visual Laboratory with ‘FOLK notebooks’
creator and the DRAWING AND MANUAL studio”
Oct. 12 (Wed.) – 16 (Sun.) 9:30－17:00

Venue: Annex Gallery on the museum grounds / admission free

Notebook artisan Shunsuke Kurosawa of the 'FOLK notebooks' workshop and the graphic design and video art studio 'DRAWING AND MANUAL' create a laboratory where visitors can enjoy playing with interactive devices that use written characters and words as creative materials. Here, visitors can order and purchase their own semi-custom-made notebooks and see them created on the spot.