Alexandra Griffith Winton
Independent Scholar
The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 in the city of Weimar by German
architect Walter Gropius (1883–1969). Its core objective was a radical
concept: to reimagine the material world to reflect the unity of all the
arts. Gropius explained this vision for a union of art and design in the
Proclamation of the Bauhaus (1919), which described a utopian craft
guild combining architecture, sculpture, and painting into a single
creative expression. Gropius developed a craft-based curriculum that
would turn out artisans and designers capable of creating useful and
beautiful objects appropriate to this new system of living.
The Bauhaus combined elements of both fine arts and design
education. The curriculum commenced with a preliminary course that
immersed the students, who came from a diverse range of social and
educational backgrounds, in the study of materials, color theory, and
formal relationships in preparation for more specialized studies. This
preliminary course was often taught by visual artists, including Paul
Klee (1987.455.16), Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944), and Josef Albers
(59.160), among others.
Following their immersion in Bauhaus theory, students entered
specialized workshops, which included metalworking, cabinetmaking,
weaving, pottery, typography, and wall painting. Although Gropius' initial
aim was a unification of the arts through craft, aspects of this approach
proved financially impractical. While maintaining the emphasis on craft,
he repositioned the goals of the Bauhaus in 1923, stressing the
importance of designing for mass production. It was at this time that the
school adopted the slogan "Art into Industry."
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In 1925, the Bauhaus moved from Weimar to Dessau, where Gropius
designed a new building to house the school. This building contained
many features that later became hallmarks of modernist architecture,
including steel-frame construction, a glass curtain wall, and an
asymmetrical, pinwheel plan, throughout which Gropius distributed
studio, classroom, and administrative space for maximum efficiency and
spatial logic.
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The cabinetmaking workshop was one of the most popular at the
Bauhaus. Under the direction of Marcel Breuer (1983.366) from 1924 to
1928, this studio reconceived the very essence of furniture, often
seeking to dematerialize conventional forms such as chairs to their
minimal existence. Breuer theorized that eventually chairs would
become obsolete, replaced by supportive columns or air. Inspired by the
extruded steel tubes of his bicycle, he experimented with metal
furniture, ultimately creating lightweight, mass-producible metal chairs.
Some of these chairs were deployed in the theater of the Dessau
building.
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The textile workshop, especially under the direction of designer and
weaver Gunta Stölzl (1897–1983), created abstract textiles suitable for
use in Bauhaus environments. Students studied color theory and design
as well as the technical aspects of weaving. Stölzl encouraged
experimentation with unorthodox materials, including cellophane,
fiberglass, and metal. Fabrics from the weaving workshop were
commercially successful, providing vital and much needed funds to the
Bauhaus. The studio's textiles, along with architectural wall painting,
adorned the interiors of Bauhaus buildings, providing polychromatic yet
abstract visual interest to these somewhat severe spaces. While the
weaving studio was primarily comprised of women, this was in part due
to the fact that they were discouraged from participating in other areas.
The workshop trained a number of prominent textile artists, including
Anni Albers (1899–1994), who continued to create and write about
modernist textiles throughout her life.
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Metalworking was another popular workshop at the Bauhaus and, along
with the cabinetmaking studio, was the most successful in developing
design prototypes for mass production. In this studio, designers such as
Marianne Brandt (2000.63a-c), Wilhelm Wagenfeld (1986.412.1-16),
and Christian Dell (1893–1974) created beautiful, modern items such as
lighting fixtures and tableware. Occasionally, these objects were used in
the Bauhaus campus itself; light fixtures designed in the metalwork
shop illuminated the Bauhaus building and some faculty housing.
Brandt was the first woman to attend the metalworking studio, and
replaced László Moholy-Nagy (1987.1100.158) as studio director in
1928. Many of her designs became iconic expressions of the Bauhaus
aesthetic. Her sculptural and geometric silver and ebony teapot
(2000.63a-c), while never mass-produced, reflects both the influence of
her mentor, Moholy-Nagy, and the Bauhaus emphasis on industrial
forms. It was designed with careful attention to functionality and ease of
use, from the nondrip spout to the heat-resistant ebony handle.
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The typography workshop, while not initially a priority of the Bauhaus,
became increasingly important under figures like Moholy-Nagy and the
graphic designer Herbert Bayer (2001.392). At the Bauhaus, typography
was conceived as both an empirical means of communication and an
artistic expression, with visual clarity stressed above all. Concurrently,
typography became increasingly connected to corporate identity and
advertising. The promotional materials prepared for the Bauhaus at the
workshop, with their use of sans serif typefaces and the incorporation of
photography as a key graphic element, served as visual symbols of the
avant-garde institution.
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Gropius stepped down as director of the Bauhaus in 1928, succeeded
by the architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954). Meyer maintained the
emphasis on mass-producible design and eliminated parts of the
curriculum he felt were overly formalist in nature. Additionally, he
stressed the social function of architecture and design, favoring concern
for the public good rather than private luxury. Advertising and
photography continued to gain prominence under his leadership.
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Under pressure from an increasingly right-wing municipal government,
Meyer resigned as director of the Bauhaus in 1930. He was replaced by
architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1980.351). Mies once again
reconfigured the curriculum, with an increased emphasis on
architecture. Lily Reich (1885–1947), who collaborated with Mies on a
number of his private commissions, assumed control of the new interior
design department. Other departments included weaving, photography,
the fine arts, and building. The increasingly unstable political situation in
Germany, combined with the perilous financial condition of the
Bauhaus, caused Mies to relocate the school to Berlin in 1930, where it
operated on a reduced scale. He ultimately shuttered the Bauhaus in
1933.
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During the turbulent and often dangerous years of World War II, many
of the key figures of the Bauhaus emigrated to the United States, where
their work and their teaching philosophies influenced generations of
young architects and designers. Marcel Breuer and Joseph Albers
taught at Yale, Walter Gropius went to Harvard, and Moholy-Nagy
established the New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1937.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm
The Bauhaus was a school whose approach to design and the combination
of fine art and arts and crafts proved to be a major influence on the
development of graphic design as well as much of 20th century modern
art. Founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany in 1919, the school
moved to Dessau in 1924 and then was forced to close its doors, under
pressure from the Nazi political party, in 1933. The school favored
simplified forms, rationality, functionality and the idea that mass
production could live in harmony with the artistic spirit of individuality.
Along with Gropius, and many other artists and teachers, both Laszlo
Moholy-Nagy and Herbert Bayer made significant contributions to the
development of graphic design. Among its many contributions to the
development of design, the Bauhaus taught typography as part of its
curriculum and was instrumental in the development of sans-serif
typography, which they favored for its simplified geometric forms and as
an alternative to the heavily ornate German standard of blackletter
typography.
http://www.designishistory.com/1920/the-bauhaus/
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672693/watch-the-history-of-the-bauhaus-in2-minutes#6 / images describe
Among the first of design schools, The Bauhaus was
focused on subjects including architecture,
industrial design, graphic design, fine art,
photography and new media, and became the centre
of one of the most influential movements of design
history.
The school was first opened in 1919 by architect
Walter Gropius, and over the years existed in three
different German cities: Weimar (1919-1925),
Dessau (1925-1932) and Berlin (1932-1933). The
Bauhaus was unique at the time because it asked
how the 'modernisation process could be mastered
by means of design'.
Gropius realised machines offered a great
opportunity to mass-produce appealing and
practical products. The Bauhaus vision was to
embrace the new technological developments
unifying art, craft, and technology. It was primarily
focused on clean geometric forms and balanced
visual compositions.
The results were both beautiful and simplistic, from
the modern 'Barcelona Chair' designed by Ludwig
Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich to abstracted
line-form paintings by Wassily Kandinsky. Each
practice was examined, explored and experimented
further by both the students and encouraging
tutors. ( the chair pic)
Futuristic designs for the real world were being
considered with various mediums including wood,
metal and glass. Graphic designers such as MoholyNagy, avid user of red and experimental layouts, set
strong design trends. He was not shy to augment
the typography by standing it vertically or
diagonally on the page - as designers, we know this
is a difficult technique to implement. ( typo)
Closure
Political pressure and constant scrutiny by the Nazi
movement (which strongly opposed modernism in
favour of classicism) continued to cast a shadow
over the school. In 1928 Gropius resigned and was
then succeeded by Hannes Meyer. The school
carried on with practice as usual.
In the 1930s the Bauhaus received criticism from
the Nazi writers Wilhelm Frick and Alfred
Rosenberg, labeling the Bauhaus 'un-German' - not
agreeing with the modernistic styles the school was
predominately based on. The writers characterised
the Bauhaus as a front for Communists, Russians,
and social liberals. Further pressure from the Nazi
régime forced the Bauhaus to close on April 11,
1933.
With many design movements, the outcomes look
out-dated over the years. In contrast, the Bauhaus
philosophy has had a constant influence on all
forms of design. Most major cities incorporate
design elements from this 94-year-old theory 'form
follows function' - such as white walls, clean lines
and glass - which came from a school that only
existed for fourteen years.
http://www.creativebloq.com/design/easy-guide-design-movements-bauhaus8134146
THE BAUHAUS MOVEMENT, GERMANY:
1919 to 1933
Written by Brian Kievning
INTRODUCTION
The German word Bauhaus essentially means “House of Building or Building
School”. This simple name historically has come to mean much more than that. For
some, the Bauhaus is synonymous with the greater term modernism. For others, the
Bauhaus is a type of font or an architectural design style. For the design student, the
Bauhaus Movement is considered one of the most important design movements in the
twentieth century. In light of all the different understandings of what the Bauhaus is,
there is something more important, the ideologies and methods that were taught there.
These methods are often overlooked and relegated only to what students and members
of the Bauhaus created as a result of their teaching rather then how they were
educated. Burton Wasserman stated in a paper about the Bauhaus that, “above all, the
Bauhaus was a place where powerful ideas and creative action were vigorously
generated by talented and lively people” (Wasserman, 1969, p. 19). Wasserman also
wrote that, “Since the Bauhaus proved to be so remarkably relevant to the present,
hardly any post high school art program is in existence today which does not reflect
the influence of Bauhaus theory and practice” (Wasserman, 1969, p. 19). For many
the Bauhaus is considered an art-related movement and school, however upon a closer
inspection of the methods and the principles that the Bauhaus was founded on, one
will find that the Bauhaus Movement relates not only to the historical roots of
technology education and design education, but that these methods are increasingly
more relevant today. In fact, they are relevant to the technology educator that exists
within a modern world driven by machines that design the products we use. The
technology educator will also find that the multidisciplinary education like that of the
Bauhaus will provide their students with an invaluable educational experience needed
to succeed in an ever-changing world.
TWO GOALS
The Bauhaus concentrated on two main goals above all others. The first goal was
aesthetic synthesis. This means the integration of all branches of art and craft under
the primacy of architecture. The second goal according to Wick, from Teaching at the
Bauhaus, was a synthesis of aesthetic production around the needs of a broad segment
of the population. The opposite would have been designing for a proletariat or
socially privileged section of the population (Wick, 2000, p. 52). Under Gropius it
was stated that every student must learn a craft with the goal of architecture as the
vehicle to a unified school. This merger of technology was to create the University of
Design. It is important to note that during this time the protagonists for this change
were architects: Bartning, Behrens, Fischer, Gropius, Schumacher and Riemerschmid.
It was felt that the separation of architecture from painting, sculpture, and arts and
craft was a disadvantage for all disciplines including architecture and the artistic
disciplines. Essentially architecture would unite all disciplines to educate students to
serve the greater populations of society using industry and the tools of production.
These same goals are found in technology education, and impact the roles of the
architect, engineer and industrial designer.
http://bckievning.iweb.bsu.edu/Site/Historical_Movement.html
The greatest practical achievements at the Bauhaus were probably in
interior, product, and graphic design. For example, Marcel Breuer
created many furniture designs at the Bauhaus that have become
classics, including the first tubular-steel chair. He said that, unlike
heavily upholstered furniture, his simple, machine-made chairs were
"airy, penetrable," and easy to move. Though initially women were to be
given equal status at the Bauhaus, Gropius grew alarmed at the number
of women applicants and restricted them primanly to weaving, a skill
deemed suitable for female students. Gunta Stölz and Anni Albers were
major innovators in the area of textile design at the school's weaving
workshop. In ceramic and metal design, a new vocabulary of simple,
functional shapes was established. The courses in display and
typographic design under Bayer, Moholy-Nagy, Tschichold, and others
revolutionized the field of type. Bauhaus designs have passed so
completely into the visual language of the twentieth century that it is
now difficult to appreciate how revolutionary they were on first
appearance. Certain designs, such as Breuer's tubular chair and his
basic table and cabinet designs, Gropius's designs for standard unit
furniture, and designs by other faculty members and students for stools,
stacking chairs, dinnerware, lighting fixtures, textiles, and typography so
appealed to popular tastes that they are still manufactured today.
Gropius resigned his position in 1928 and named as his successor
Hannes Meyer, a Marxist who placed less emphasis on aesthetics and
creativity than on rational, functional, and socially responsible design.
Meyer was forced to leave the Bauhaus in 1930, and Mies van der
Rohe (Gropius's first choice in 1928) assumed the directorship. Mies's
work as an architect is discussed below. Inevitably, activities at the
Bauhaus aroused the suspicions of the reactionary political forces that
finally brought about its closing in 1933.
( cabinet )
http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/art-history-practical