Abstracted Light: Experimental Photography

Exhibition in the PST ART: Art & Science Collide series
Black-and-white photo of a translucent white vortex spiraling in the center of the image.

Vortex (detail), 1933, Edward W. Quigley. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum

Abstract imagery incorporating experimental lighting effects was of great interest to avant-garde photographers from the 1920s to the 1950s. This exhibition features photographs by international artists devoted to the practice, including László Moholy-Nagy, Francis Bruguière, Man Ray, Tōyō Miyatake, Asahachi Kono, and Jaromír Funke. The selection of works demonstrates the dynamic interplay between still photography, experimental film, and the dazzling time-based artworks by Thomas Wilfred called “Lumia instruments.”

This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exhibición se presenta en inglés y en español.

Aug 20–Nov 24, 2024

Getty Center

Museum West Pavilion, Lower Level

This is a past exhibition.

About PST ART

Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returns in September 2024, presenting over 70 exhibitions from organizations across the region exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art.

Selected Works

  • Untitled

    About 1948, Noboru Ueki. Hand-colored gelatin silver print. Getty Museum. © Estate of Noboru Ueki, courtesy MEM, Tokyo

    An artistic photograph of colorful and curvy abstract shapes.

  • Untitled

    1927-29, Jaromír Funke. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum

  • Vortex

    1933, Edward W. Quigley. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum

    Black-and-white photo of a translucent white vortex spiraling in the center of the image.

  • Pure Energy and Neurotic Man

    1940-41, Barbara Morgan. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum. Reproduced courtesy of the Barbara and Willard Morgan Photographs and Papers, UCLA Department of Special Collections

  • Car Light Study #7

    1939, Nathan Lerner. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum, Purchased in part with funds provided by an anonymous donor in memory of James N. Wood. © Estate of Nathan Lerner

    A photograph of light waves against a black background.

  • Untitled (Abstraction)

    About 1950, Hy Hirsh. Chromogenic print. Getty Museum, Gift of Deborah Bell. © Estate of Hy Hirsh

    A black image with lines of bright colors zig zagging throughout the image.

  • Perpetual Motion

    1931, Asahachi Kono. Gelatin silver print. Getty Museum

  • Multidimensional, Opus 79

    1932, Thomas Wilfred. Metal, glass, electrical and lighting elements, and a frosted-glass screen in a painted wood cabinet. Carol and Eugene Epstein Collection. Image courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery

  • Film still from Rhythm in Light

    1934, Mary Ellen Bute. Digital transfer of 35 mm film. Digital transfer courtesy Center for Visual Music, Los Angeles. Image © Center for Visual Music, Los Angeles

Series Information

Exhibition Resources

  1. Abstracted Light: Experimental Photography Gallery Text

    PDF

  2. What Is a Lumia Instrument?

    Video

    Artist Thomas Wilfred created compositions of sculptured light with a device he called a “Lumia Instrument.” Watch to experience this (...)

  3. PST x Getty x Smarthistory: Avant-garde Light Explosures

    Video

    What would it be like to create art using light? Join experts as they investigate a 1920s avant-garde photographers’ great interest (...)

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