Pure Energy & Neurotic Man,

1940, printed 1980

The two motifs in this photomontage result from two shutter releases: a conventional exposure for the hand of "neurotic man" and the prolonged exposure of a flashlight in motion for the figure of "pure energy." Morgan, best known for her dance photography, used movement to generate photographic images. Her interest in "light energy" as photographic material stemmed from her careful attention to the lighting conditions for her photographs of dancers in motion. Morgan embraced the European avant-garde technique of photomontage and, in 1971, predicted that the proliferation of lifestyles and perspectives in the modern era would make it "harder for the ’one-track’ mind to survive, and photomontage will be increasingly necessary. I see simultaneous-intake, multiple-awareness, and synthesized-comprehension as inevitable, long before the year 2000 A.D."