Work of the Camouflage Class

Directed by László Moholy-Nagy

In December 1941 shortly after the United States entered World War II, Chicago’s mayor, Edward Kelly, appointed Moholy-Nagy to a committee to investigate the possibilities of camouflaging important landmarks and potential targets. György Kepes taught a certified course in camouflage at the school in the fall of 1942. The exercises and solutions were presented in an exhibition that year. The film footage begins with natural examples of camouflage in the animal world and then presents examples of military use in different settings. Various structural solutions, such as painted patterns that confuse contours, textures and hiding buildings and equipment such as train cars and airplanes beneath structures covered by netting are shown.