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A Memory of L Moholy-Nagy

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Contains nudity

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A Memory of L Moholy-Nagy

1 Jan 1990
Sound
15m

An animated portrait of the Bauhaus artist, made by an animator who knew him.

John Halas’ animated portrait of the celebrated Hungarian artist László Moholy-Nagy has unique insight – the filmmaker actually knew him. The overview of Moholy-Nagy touches on a whole range of artistic practice – painting, sculpture, typography, film. But it ends with an artists’ impression of what Moholy-Nagy might have created if he had a computer at his fingertips. Accurate or not, think for a second of how the digital landscape has developed since this film was made.

The Mühely was a Bauhaus inspired workshop in Budapest, and as a Hungarian, Moholy-Nagy was a frequent guest lecturer. The 18-year-old John Halas joined the Mühely as an unpaid assistant and breathed in the creativity, following Moholy-Nagy to London in 1935 where he helped mount the artist’s Cork Street exhibition mentioned in the film. It was all experience that John drew on when he co-founded Halas & Batchelor Cartoon Films in 1940 with his British wife Joy Batchelor, revolutionising Britain’s animation industry.

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From the collection

Halas & Batchelor

Celebrating the vital and varied work of the pioneering British animation studio

Halas & Batchelor Cartoon Films were a defining force in British animation for more than five decades. Founded in 1940 by the Hungarian-born John Halas and Watford-born Joy Batchelor, the company progressed from producing cinema advertisements to creating vital public information films during and after the Second World War, before producing Britain's first animated feature film, Animal Farm, in 1954.

Whether working in advertising, children's television or independent short films, Halas and Batchelor championed animation as both a commercial enterprise and an art form. Though more than the story of John and Joy, their vision, advocacy and innovation helped shape the careers of generations of artists and practitioners, while bringing a broad range animated storytelling to audiences on screens both large and small.