Playing with light, chemicals, exposures, and framing, the artists in this gallery investigated the experimental qualities of photography and film during the period following World War II. Many of them featured in international publications and shows—including at MoMA—that celebrated photography’s capacity for abstraction and expressive innovation. One such platform was Subjektive Fotografie (Subjective Photography), an influential touring exhibition series initiated by self-taught photographer Otto Steinert in Germany in the 1950s. The artists represented hailed from Germany, Brazil, Japan, Sweden, and the United States, among other places. Aiming to capture what Steinert called “the visual experience of [the] times,” these artists rejected “commonplace and merely ‘beautiful’ pictures . . . in favor of experiments and fresh solutions,” and explored a wide range of photographic approaches and processes.
- MoMA, Floor 4, 409 The David Geffen Wing
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Gertrudes Altschul Untitled c. 1952 -
Geraldo de Barros Fotoforma, São Paulo 1949 -
Geraldo de Barros Abstraction, São Paulo 1949 -
Robert Breer REcreation 1956 -
Harry Callahan Tree, Chicago 1956 -
Harry Callahan Eleanor 1947
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Heinz Hajek-Halke Embrace 1947-51 -
Hiroshi Hamaya Composition December 1953 -
Tosh Matsumoto Untitled c. 1950 -
Marie Menken Arabesque for Kenneth Anger 1961
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Ray K. Metzker Chicago 1958 -
Lennart Olson Project for a Mural 1960 -
Shigeru Onishi Untitled c. 1955 -
Shigeru Onishi Untitled c. 1955 -
Gen Otsuka Snow Fantasy 1953 -
Otto Piene Untitled 1959 -
Arthur Siegel Untitled c.1947 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946 -
Aldo Augusto de Souza Lima Vertigo (Vertigem) 1950 -
Otto Steinert Face of a Dancer 1952 -
Hiroji Yamada Flock of Gray Starlings c. 1956 -
Kō Yanome Pattern number 2 c. 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950 -
Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
Installation images
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