Photography and Cinema

‘continuoussequenceofpages’.^4 ThesameyearLászlóMoholy-Nagy

arrivedattheBauhausinGermanyintentonusingthepagetosynthesize

variousartisticideas.Bothwereavidconsumersofprintedmatter.Much

oftheireducationderivedfromtheirappetitesforillustratedbooks,jour-

nalsandperiodicals.Moholy-Nagy’sfirstbookPainting, Photography, Film

( 1925 ),emergedfromthatformativeexperience.Muchofitisgivenover

topresentingtheimagesandvisualconceptsoftheburgeoningvisual

culturearoundhim:x-rays,animationcells,filmstills,cameraless

photograms,photomontages,sportsphotography,scientificpictures,

pressphotosandanonymoussnapshots.(Thiswasthekindofdiversity

hecuratedforthecentraldisplayattheFilm und Fotoexhibitionin 1929 .)

HereMoholy-Nagyselectsandjuxtaposes.Aclose-upofgroovesona

phonographicrecordisreproducednexttoanightshotoflighttrailsfrom

carsandtrams.Adancercaughtinmid-airappearsbesidearacingbike

snappedasittakesafastcorner.Painting, Photography, Filmwasavisual

primer,halfradicalmanifestoandhalftrainingmanualforthenewvisual

environment.Itproposedtheeditingofexistingimagesasanartisticact

initself,acreativeandnecessaryresponsetothetimes.Tobemodernwas

toknowwhatcouldbedonewiththeimagesaroundyou.^5

The 1920 sand’ 30 sgaverisetothefirstgenerationofpeopleto

consumeimagesinagreatnumberonadailybasis.Professionalimage

organizersemergedinvariousfields:pictureeditorsworkingforpopular

andavant-gardepublications,filmeditors,andnewtypesofarthistorian

setloosebyphotographicreproduction.Twosignificantprojectsofart

historytookshapeatthistimeandbothwereindebtedtocinematic

assembly.TheiconologistAbyWarburg’sMnemosyne Atlas( 1924 – 9 )

comprised 79 largepanelsofimagesfromallmannerofsources–news

clippings,postcards,photographs,advertisementstornfrommagazines,

mapsanddrawings.Warburgconstantlyrearrangedthem,lookingacross

thehistoryofpicturesforaffinityingestures,compositions,motifsand

style.Morethandetectivework,hisprojectwasactivelycreative.Aswith

avant-gardefilmmontagewhatmatteredweretheconceptsandassocia-

tionsgeneratedbybringingimagestogetherinpursuitofideasthat

transcendedanyoneofthem.^6 Inthemid- 1930 sAndréMalrauxbeganto

formulatewhatbecameLe Musée imaginaire(The Museum Without Walls), 63