About

At the New Bauhaus, when Kepes began teaching the Light Workshop, he introduced his students to the study of two-dimensional forms using photographic materials and light modulators. He was assisted by Henry Holmes Smith, an accomplished Chicago based photographer who, by 1936, was experimenting with abstract color imagery using the dye-transfer process. Kepes introduced the idea of forming cameraless images using photo-sensitive material without engaging the mechanical precision of optical instruments. He called this work “photogenics” (light producing) rather than the universally used term “photogram” (light writing) associated with Moholy. This technique was used as an important teaching tool to introduce the student to a visual application of photography materials toward graphics and non-representational imagery.