Painting or photography

Reprint from the publication. Moscow, 1929. Laszlo Mogoli-Nagi (or Mokhoy-Nad, the real name of Laszlo Weitz, 1895-1946) is an outstanding artist of Jewish-Hungarian origin, one of the largest figures of avant-garde, constructivism, theorist of contemporary art, photography, cinema and design. He was one of the great innovators in contemporary art. He was a friend of A. Rodchenko, drew inspiration in the painting of K. Malevich, V. Kandinsky, El Lisitsky and many other masters. He tried himself in architecture, painting, photographs, cinema, theater, design, etc. In the photograph, the creative paths of L. Mojoy-Nade and A. Rodchenko coincided, two artists walked almost parallel, sometimes one another was in the finds and unimaginable experiments , sometimes they simultaneously and independently came to similar ideas. L. Mokhoy-Nad, in 1937, emigrated to the United States, in Chicago led the design school he created and became one of the founders of contemporary art in America. “Painting or photography” is one of the most important books by L. Mojoy -Eat by the theory of art. It can be called a miracle that it came out in Russian. Already in 1932, the release of such a book would be practically unthinkable. Although L. Mokhoy-Nada was one of the left, in the USSR he was increasingly attributed to theorists of “petty-bourgeois” art. In his book, L. Mokhoy-Nad thinks about the methods of contemporary art, the future of painting and photographs, and the separation of their spheres of influence. The book is illustrated by many reproductions from the pictures of the best photo artists of the world in the style of constructivism, in the work of which almost all ways of developing modern photography were outlined. Including the works of L. Mojoy-Nada are presented