Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918-1945 (Hardcover)

by Matthew S. Witkovsky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A brilliantly illustrated survey of modernist photography in Central Europe, published in association with the National Gallery of Art.

In the 1920s and 1930s, photography became an immense phenomenon across Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Poland. Through magazines and books, in advertisements and at exhibitions, from amateur clubs to avant-garde schools, photographs emerged as a key vehicle of modern consciousness.

This book and the exhibition it accompanies present the work of approximately one hundred individuals whose creations exemplify the potential of photography in Central Europe between the two World Wars. Foto brings together for the first time works by recognized masters such as the Russian El Lissitzky, the Hungarian László Moholy-Nagy, and the German Hannah Hóch—all of whom developed their photographic ideas in Germany—with contemporaries like Karel Teige and Jaromír Funke (Czechoslovakia), Kazimierz Podsadecki (Poland), Károly Escher (Hungary), and Trude Fleischmann (Austria), who are less well known today.

Organized thematically, the book explores topics from photomontage and war to gender identity, modern living, and the spread of Surrealism. It shows the shared experience of modernity in the region, whereby recently founded nations and dismantled empires alike sought their place within the new world order established in the aftermath of World War I.

The illustrations, drawn from more than seventy collections in America and abroad, include several previously unpublished works as well as many others never before available in high-quality reproductions. 230 illustrations in color, tritone, & duotone.

About the Author
Matthew S. Witkovsky, assistant curator of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, is the main author of the book and organizer of the exhibition. Included are a foreword by noted literary historian Peter Demetz, biographical information on the artists, and an extensive bibliography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; illustrated edition edition (June 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500543372
• ISBN-13: 978-0500543375
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,511 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avant-garde and popular culture, October 10, 2007

By	G. Domenech Umbert "Solaris" (Barcelona) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The previous reviewer does not justice to this beautiful book. It is not only about collage, as it is simplistically described, but about how photography was established as a modern art form. It shows how it was used creatively in Central Europe. There are some wonderful findings of lesser known artists as well as more familiar names, and most of them look incredibly contemporary (young artists and designers, have a look!!).
The edition is gorgeous, with excellent reproductions, clear typography and elegant layout. Contains a very useful bibliography. Absolutely recommendable.

4 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Drowning in Detail, August 23, 2007

By	Flash Gordon (Chapel Hill ,NC) - See all my reviews

Huge amount of information about every single photographer regardless of major significance.Dig through that, and much interesting stuff. But the fixation on MODERNITY is typical curatorial nonsense. It is about "Collage and its Variations in Central Europe".