Between the two world wars, there was a brief flowering of independence in the parts of central Europe not controlled by Germany or Russia. Then things got real bad for a long time. The time and place provided us with some of the most innovative photography of the last century according to the organizers of Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945,” at the Guggenheim Museum. I have always liked Laszlo Moholy-Nagy’s work and I hope I can get to New York to see this exhibit before it closes on Jan. 13, 2008. It includes works for many others, less well known. There is an enticing description in the New York Times, Views of Tumult Between Two Wars. It included a slide show of ten images from the exhibit.
There is a sad edge to the show as “many of the images mesmerize as the tips of exotic icebergs — surviving evidence of talent, bodies of work and life stories that may never be fully known.” Watching the Ken Burn’s series of World War Two gives another layer of context to the work.
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