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»Untitled« is one of a series of works which Hungarian-born László Moholy-Nagy termed “photograms.” In 1922 the Bauhaus teacher began experimenting with objects which he placed on photographic paper, exposing them to generate an abstract play of forms.

Using this method, Moholy-Nagy created a form of light art, without the aid of a camera, but he was not the only one pursuing such experiments. At around the same time, the German painter Christian Schad (1894–1982) and the French Surrealist Man Ray (1890–1976) were also producing similar light pictures, which they called “Schadographs” or “Rayograms.”

Moholy-Nagy made an intensive exploration of this imaging technique throughout his life, always giving priority to the light design itself. The exposed materials—paper and cardboard, strips of cloth, film reels, or glasses—were rarely recognizable, with abstract forms dominating. Through their concentration on flowing shades and fine gray scales, his photograms generate a bodiless light space.

For Moholy-Nagy, this space was devoid of associations. Instead, the manipulation of light as a “material” was paramount, a preoccupation which also finds expression in his paintings, films, and stage works.