The exhibition draws on the collections of the MFAH and the Menil Collection in Houston; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and private collectors.

The timing of Utopia/Dystopia: Construction and Destruction in Photography and Collage celebrates Houston's FotoFest 2012 Biennial (March 16–April 29). An illustrated catalogue, published by the MFAH and distributed by Yale University Press, accompanies the exhibition.

This publication features approximately forty-five exemplary works by artists such as Herbert Bayer, John Heartfield, Hannah Höch, Arata Isozaki, El Lissitzky, Carter Mull, László Moholy-Nagy, Vik Muniz, Man Ray, Okanoue Toshiko, and many others. Also included are essays that offer new ways of thinking about photography's uses and implications.