vortographArticle Free Pass vortograph, the first completely
abstract kind of photograph, it is composed of kaleidoscopic
repetitions of forms achieved by photographing objects through a
triangular arrangement of three mirrors. Alvin Langdon Coburn, a
member of the Photo-Secession group and a pioneer in
nonobjective photography, invented vortography in 1917 and
remained the principal advocate and practitioner of the
technique. Coburn’s experiments with the technique lasted only a
short while. The name is a reference to the Vorticist group of
British writers and painters. The fractured planes and complex
space characteristic of vortography reflect the Vorticists’ as
well as Coburn’s own interest in Cubism. What made you want to
look up "vortograph"? Please share what surprised you most...