In 1933, The Nazi Party took over Germany and shut down the Bauhaus school of design in Germany. Moholy-Nagy and many of his fellow Bauhaus Masters emigrated to the United States and brought their movement with them. In Chicago, László Moholy-Nagy starting a new chapter in the Bauhaus’ history and founded USA’s most influential midcentury school of design, The New Bauhaus.
"It is not the person ignorant of writing but the one ignorant of photography who will be the illiterate of the future."
-László Moholy-Nagy
Over the last two years, a team of filmmakers channeled their passion for architecture, art, and design into the production of an in-depth examination of Maholy’s art and vision for the future of design. The film, titled “The New Bauhaus,” utilizes specialized access to archives at the Moholy-Nagy Foundation and Maholy’s surviving daughter Hattula.
Moholy’s new Chicago school went through many iterations before becoming successful. The film offers its viewers an intimate journey through Moholy’s life, his artistic experimentation across a variety of medium, and his teachings.
“The New Bauhaus” is directed by Alysa Nahmias holds a degree in architecture and won an Independent Spirit Award for her debut feature film, Unfinished Spaces. Producer Erin Wright is the Director of Artist Initiatives at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Producer and Cinematographer Petter Ringbom ran a thriving design firm before moving to filmmaking and starting the production company Opendox together with their executive producer, Marquise Stillwell.
“László Moholy-Nagy was arguably the most versatile artist of the 20th century.”
- Elizabeth Siegel, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago
The project’s funding has already reached its goal on Kickstarter, allowing the team to continue to cultivate footage for the film’s release in mid-2019.
