EM 2 (Telephone Picture)
László Moholy-Nagy
American, born Hungary. 1895–1946
1923
A 1923 porcelain-enamel-on-steel panel by László Moholy-Nagy that pares painting down to a bold black vertical band and two tiny colored crosses to investigate rhythm, balance, and the visual power of industrial materials.
You first notice the severe contrast of a deep black stripe against a quiet white ground, then the eye is drawn to two small cruciform accents—one red-and-yellow near the bottom and a black-and-yellow one higher to the right—that float like punctuation in the emptiness.
Rooted in Bauhaus and Constructivist experiments, this work helped translate modernist ideas about abstraction and machine-age materials into a clear visual grammar that anticipated Minimalism and design-centered art.
Medium
Porcelain enamel on steel
Dimensions
18 3/4 x 11 7/8" (47.5 x 30.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Philip Johnson in memory of Sibyl Moholy-Nagy
Accession
91.1971
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
