In his seminal 1933 essay A New Instrument of Vision, László Moholy-Nagy wrote “the photogram, or camera-less record of forms produced by light, which embodies the unique nature of the photographic process, is the real key to photography.” Made by placing objects on top of light-sensitive photographic paper, he saw the photogram as a distinctive embodiment of the photographic process, emphasizing its significance in redefining photography in the world of fine art. Over the course of his career, Moholy-Nagy would become renowned for forging a new visual, photographic language at a time when the intersection between art, science, and industry was rapidly evolving. He first came across this technique in 1922, when the photogram – or, as he called them, light compositions – was being “used not only for playful amateur photography but also for serious scientific photography” (Moholy-Nagy: The Photograms: Catalogue Raisonné, p. 17). Around this time, x-rays had become increasingly prevalent in medicine and which, similar to the photogram, harness radiation to inscribe the presence of an object directly onto a light-sensitive surface. The idea of being able to capture the inside of the human body fascinated Moholy-Nagy, who believed the x-ray to be “one of the greatest visual experiences of the new age” (ibid p. 19). Even though the process is as old as photography itself, the rediscovery of the photogram by artists like Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray was driven by an urge to explore new avenues of artistic expression. The present lot was made at a pivotal time in Moholy-Nagy’s career, just a year after he left the Bauhaus to work on his own in Berlin. This departure marked a new chapter in his work that was rich in experiment and led him to work across mediums as a stage designer, a filmmaker, a window display artist, among others. His exploration during this period would inform his work in unforeseen ways, pushing him to expand upon what he previously thought photography was capable of. Under Moholy-Nagy’s vision, everyday objects are elevated to the level of fine art. In the present lot, he employs items of different shapes, sizes, and textures to create a highly graphic composition that distorts the original objects altogether. This unique work is signed and annotated ‘original’ by the artist on the verso. Purchased at auction in 1994, it has remained in the same private collection for over thirty years.