Contextual and Cultural Referencing in Art and Design: Context that Changed Design

“Bauhaus” ……

Bauhaus, meaning “building house” was a remarkable German educational institution founded in Weimar in 1919. Its founder and director was the architect Walter Gropius.

After the devastating First World War, during which Gropius had become anti-capitalist, Germany was bankrupt. The German younger generation, including Gropius, was enthusiastic though and wanted to make positive changes. Gropius had a vision - he wanted to start a new art movement to make big changes, not only to Germany, but to the world. He considered artists and architects as craftsmen and he wanted to bring them together. When he was a member of the Deutscher Werkbund, he did not believe much in industrial production. He was more in favour of craft ideals. Gropius wanted to bring harmony to the arts.

“Architects, painters, sculptors, we must all return to crafts! For there is no such thing as “professional art”. There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. The artist is an exalted craftsman. By the grace of Heaven and in rare moments of inspiration which transcend the will, art may unconsciously blossom from the labour of his hand, but a base in handicrafts is essential to every artist. It is there that the original source of creativity lies.

Let us therefore create a new guild of craftsmen without the class-distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsmen and artists! Let us desire, conceive, and create the new building of the future together. It will combine architecture, sculpture, and painting in a single form, and will one day rise towards the heavens from the hands of a million workers as the crystalline symbol of a new and coming faith.” — Walter Gropius

Sharon Ross, (2009), Bauhaus: Ninety Years of Inspiration [ONLINE].

Available at: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/02/bauhaus-ninety-years-of-inspiration/

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The students attending the Bauhaus were known as “apprentices” and they used to start with a preliminary one year course to learn the basic principles of design and colour theory. Their tutors were known as “masters”. They were very talented and they came from different trades. Not only did they teach the students, but they also motivated and inspired them. After completing the preliminary course, students used to train at the Bauhaus workshops (located in two buildings) in at least one craft. The students were made up of artists, architects, potters, weavers, sculptors and designers. Students were taught the importance of essential geometric forms such as the circle, square and cone.

Sharon Ross, (2009), Principles of Teaching at Bauhaus [ONLINE].

Available at: http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/image001.jpg

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The picture below shows some of the best masters at the Bauhaus.

From left to right: Josef Albers, Hinnerk Scheper, Georg Muche, László Moholy-Nagy, Herbert Bayer, Joost Schmidt, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Vassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Gunta Stölzl and Oskar Schlemmer.

Sharon Ross, (2009), Bauhaus and The Master Instructors [ONLINE].

Available at: http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/image001.jpg

[Accessed 17 November 13]

Bauhaus became the centre of modern design at that time. Gropius wanted their products to be practical and affordable. Similarly to De Stijl, the Bauhaus style was simple, geometric and very refined. In fact, De Stijl had a great influence on the Bauhaus and Theo van Doesburg (the leader of De Stijl) used to lecture at Weimar too.

The Bauhaus, Where "Form Follows Function"

Arch Daily, (2012), Infographic: The Bauhaus, Where Form Follows Function [ONLINE].

Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/225792/the-bauhaus/

[Accessed 17 November 13]

One of the artists that Gropius appointed to be responsible for the preliminary course during the first years of the institution was Johannes Itten. Although this person was charismatic and his beliefs were in accordance with those of Gropius, his teaching methods were very strange, involving meditation and ritual. This weakened the authority and reputation of Gropius and caused conflicts between them and the students. Itten left Bauhaus in December 1922.

The successors of Itten, Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy had a different approach. They were in favour of industrial production, rather than individual creations. In fact, they started to organise factory visits for the students.

Bauhaus Exhibition Poster 1923

GDS 120 - Graphic Design I, (2011), Bauhaus Exhibition Poster 1923 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://amuellergds120.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-6-joost-schmidt.html

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The exhibition held in 1923 in Weimar not only displayed work by Bauhaus, but also featured some De Stijl designs, for example the red/blue chair (1918-1923) of Gerrit Rietveld that I mentioned earlier on. This exhibition also revealed a modern typography used by Bauhaus which, without any doubt, was inspired by De Stijl and the Russian Constructivism.

In the meantime, Bauhaus was getting a lot of political opposition in Weimar and, in 1925, Gropius was forced to move Bauhaus School to Dessau. Bauhaus was regarded as communist and was not welcome anymore in Weimar. They feared that it could cause a revolution. On the other hand, Dessau was ruled by Social Democrats and had a liberal mayor. This industrial city offered Bauhaus financial help to continue with its work and keep up its successes. A new building for Bauhaus was constructed and by that time Gropius started to believe that an industrial approach to design had to be adopted. This was a turning point for the School – from crafts to industrial beliefs. So from then onwards, the Bauhaus designs were to be created for industrial production.

Bauhaus, Dessau (1925-26)

A Digital Archive of American Architecture, (1998), Gropius: Bauhaus, Dessau, 1925-26 [ONLINE].

Available at: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/gropius/bauhaus01.jpg

[Accessed 17 November 13]

In November 1925, Gropius’ dream - to set up a limited company to promote and sell the School’s designs - came true. A catalogue designed by Herbert Bayer for Bauhaus GmbH was produced. It showed the products of Bauhaus. The sales were not of a success though, most probably for two reasons - the appearance of the products was unpleasant and most of the products were unsuitable for industrial production. So, on the contrary of what Gropius was hoping for, the income from the sales was low.

Gropius did not wish to direct the School any longer because he wanted to spend more time designing. After some time, Hannes Meyer, a Swiss architect, became the new Director of Bauhaus. The School changed its name to “Hochschule für Gestaltung”. During the time of Meyer, until July 1930, changes took place in the Bauhaus’ approach to design – it became more scientific. Apart from this, the School turned into a site for political activities. Meyer was a communist and allowed a group of students to teach Marxism. The Dessau authorities were not pleased, especially when they found out that Meyer had funded a strike of miners. They ended up firing Meyer.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whom Gropius had wanted to succeed him before Hannes Meyer came into the scene, took over the directorship of the School. He did not want politics to be part of the curriculum so he closed the School down and re-opened it with a new statute. The students, except those who were close to Meyer, were asked to apply again. Together with his partner Lily Reich, Mies van der Rohe introduced a new programme “Bau und Ausbau”, meaning “building and development”. Bauhaus was transformed into a school of architecture. Only products suitable for industrial production were created at its applied art workshops.

History Journal, (2013), Mies Van Der Rohe vs Ornament and Crime vs From Bauhaus to Our House [ONLINE]. Available at: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWrmXboyLca08OyRiajCEhF3cDxDEU-qz0ojQTFZukCUSFCaO5YQ8BViNmLyyNaPPXuiDWWKUnnjaPOcZLeBOaE9hpp4uLjndGJBVO4q7MzUkuabLWJofG3YRga4u9oLVj-jtpCq9cI40/s1600/less+is+more.png

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In October 1931, the National Socialists took power in Dessau as well and in August 1932 they closed the Bauhaus School.

Mies set up Bauhaus again, but this time as a private school in Berlin. However, after a short time, the National Socialists came to power in this city too and after the Nazi Government raided the school, because they claimed that it was a communist centre, it was closed down on 19^th July 1933. The ideals of Bauhaus did not end there though because the staff emigrated all over the world and continued teaching. For example Mies and Walter Gropius emigrated to the United States of America.

Bauhaus had a good reputation and was considered as the most important design institution of the 20^th century. Its approach to design influenced industrial design practice and it provided the underlying principles of the Modern Movement.

Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) - Bauhaus Architect and Furniture Designer