Umbo's aesthetic

Abstract

Umbo, one of the most stylistically influential photographers in Europe during the 1920s, followed a singular path that went beyond New Objectivity and Constructivism. In his photography he merged the stylistic elements of the ‘New Vision’ with the expressive aesthetic of Johannes Itten, his teacher at the Weimar Bauhaus. Unlike Albert Renger-Patzsch and László Moholy-Nagy, Umbo adhered to a romantic, poetic understanding of art. He took from Itten the idea that artistic perception of the world exists not in seeing alone but in three ‘movements’: seeing, feeling and recognising. Umbo therefore acknowledged in his work above all emotional need, a subject banned by ‘New Photography’ on the grounds of inconsistency with scientific accuracy and objectivity. In contrast to much ‘New Vision’ photography, optical means of expression do not become independent in Umbo's images, but serve in the formation of ideas, feelings or daydreams.