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.
Collection 1940s–1970s
409
Abstract Lens
409
Abstract Lens

- MoMA, Floor 4, 409 The David Geffen Wing
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Gertrudes Altschul Untitled c. 1953
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Geraldo de Barros Abstraction (Abstração) 1949
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Geraldo de Barros Fotoforma 1952–53
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Robert Breer REcreation 1956
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Harry Callahan Tree, Chicago 1956
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Harry Callahan Eleanor 1947
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Gaspar Gasparian Abstract (Abstrato) 1953
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Heinz Hajek-Halke Embrace 1947-51
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Hiroshi Hamaya Composition December 1953
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Tosh Matsumoto Untitled c. 1950
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Marie Menken Arabesque for Kenneth Anger 1961
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Ray K. Metzker Chicago 1958
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Lennart Olson Project for a Mural 1960
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Shigeru Onishi Untitled c. 1955
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Shigeru Onishi Untitled c. 1955
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Gen Otsuka Snow Fantasy 1953
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Otto Piene Untitled 1959
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Arthur Siegel Untitled c.1947
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Arthur Siegel, Institute of Design Untitled instructional card c. 1946
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Aldo Augusto de Souza Lima Vertigo (Vertigem) 1949
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Otto Steinert Face of a Dancer 1952
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Hiroji Yamada Flock of Gray Starlings c. 1956
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Kō Yanome Pattern number 1 c. 1950
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Kō Yanome Pattern number 2 c. 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
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Yasuhiro Ishimoto Untitled from the series Chicago 1950
Artists
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Gertrudes Altschul
Brazilian, born Germany. 1904–19622 exhibitions, 10 works online -
Geraldo de Barros
Brazilian, 1923–19985 exhibitions, 6 works online -
Robert Breer
American, 1926–201114 exhibitions, 7 works online -
Kilian Breier
German, born 19311 exhibition, 1 work online -
Harry Callahan
American, 1912–199949 exhibitions, 244 works online - There are 26 artists in this collection gallery online.
Installation images
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