The literal translation is “house of
construction”. Founded in 1919 in Weimar by the, Berlin born,
architect Walter Gropius (1883-1969). Bauhaus was a movement based on
the school dedicated to simplistic art. As a movement the
architecture, graphics, photography and fine art were very simple,
bold and geometric. From a design point of view, the idea was to
create a 'universal aesthetic', an international style that would be
suitable for any country notwithstanding their cultural traditions or
religion. To manufacture objects and buildings with basic designs
that would be easy and effective to mass produce. These objects
should be function over aesthetics and fulfil the demands of society.
As a school, it was the most
influential design educational institution of the 20th
century. They approached to teaching with art's involvement with
technology and society. To this day Bauhaus has had a huge artistic
impact in USA and Europe as one of the leading figures of modernism.
Gropius' idea was to unite art with
crafts therefor having the students learn wall painting,
cabinetmaking, typography, weaving, pottery and metalworking, but was
later more important the design and mass production, although there
was still focus on fine art.
The school was very well known for it's staff, included artists were; Kandinsky, László Moholy-Nagy, Josef Albers, Paul Klee, Itten, architects; Mies van der Rohe & Gropius and designer Marcel Breuer. People who shaped the beginning of what today we call 'modern art'.
![]() |
Marcel Breuer |
![]() |
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy |
![]() |
Walter Gropius |
Due to the socio-political controversy
of Bauhaus, they was forced to move from Weimar to Dessau in 1925
where they struck with new interiors, buildings and furniture
committed to functionalism with modern patterns and material, these
abstract forms could be found in the typographic advertising of
Herbert Bayer.
The school's controversy only grew with time and lost
the city's support, forcing them to move to Berlin. By 1993, when the
Nazi government closed the school entirely, Bauhaus was
internationally recognised, particularly in the United States.
Gropius and Annie & Josef Albers went to teach at Harvard and
Yale, respectively, where the continued to influence America with the
Bauhaus philosophy, Moholy-Nagy emigrated to USA, also, and founded
the Chicago Institute of Design.
No comments:
Post a Comment