NEWS:

Current information for participants. Modelled on Moholy Nagy's designs for 'Everytown', HG Wells' utopian future city in 'The Shape of Things to Come', for the film 'Things to Come' directed by Alexander Korda (London Films, 1936).

 

Nagy's models were only visible for several frames in the final print of the film, however, the models of the city were constructed from various kinds of plastic, and images of the piece remain. It is clear from descriptions and Nagy's modus operandi that the piece was inspired by his Light-Space Modulator and the film which documents its workings, Lichtspiel: Schwarz-Weiss-Grau (Light Display: Black-White-Grey).

(Reconstruction of the Light Modulator, Mike Phillips 1983)

His wife, Sibyl described it as:

"There were no walls, but a skeleton of steel, screened with glass and plastic sheets. The accent was on perforation and contour, an indication of a new reality rather than reality itself."(1)

Nagy describes some of the processes used to create the effects:

"I had the opportunity to use the oddity of oil drops squeezed between glass plates and a great number of other devices as 'special effects' in the motion picture, 'Things to Come', by H.G. Wells, directed by A Korda." (2)

And

"This same set with the revolving cones photographed with multiplying prism, produced so rich a visual result that the editor did not dare to use it." (2)