Bauhaus

The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in Weimar as an art school. According to the type and design of it was then something completely new. The historic Bauhaus represents today the most influential educational institution in the field of architecture, art and design Represents the Bauhaus existed from 1919 to 1933 and is today considered the home of the avant-garde of classical modernism in all areas of fine and applied art. The response of the Bauhaus continues to this day and major force in shaping the image of German designs abroad.

General

The Bauhaus in Weimar was created by the union of the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Arts Weimar, founded by Henry van de Velde 1907 Grand Ducal Saxon School of Applied Arts in Weimar. It became the direct precursor of the Bauhaus, which then began its work in van de Velde's school buildings. In 1925 the company moved to Dessau - from 1926 in the building of the Bauhaus Dessau. 1932 the Bauhaus had to move to Berlin and was closed in 1933.

The influence of the Bauhaus was so significant that colloquially the term Bauhaus is often equated with modernity in architecture and design. Art History, however, it is problematic to isolate the Bauhaus style and the developments in Germany and to use as a Bauhaus style concept, as an architectural style or furniture style. The designs and works of teachers and students at the Bauhaus therefore be seen as part of transnational, longer-term trends and is filed under concepts such as Functionalism, Modernism, New Objectivity, International style, modern construction.

In the Bauhaus, the traditionally separate areas of the visual arts, the applied arts and the performing arts on the basis of the concept have been joined together, which in turn had strong impact on painting, performing arts and music.

Basic idea

The original intentions of Henry van de Velde and Walter Gropius were the art to emancipate themselves from the industrialization and revive the arts and crafts. So they made a counter-proposal to the aesthetics of historicism, copied serially through industrial mass production in the arts and crafts developed ornaments. The term "art " is not the then avant-garde was called, but the formal language of contemporary designers for production in the style of past eras. With the return to the craft the design intention was associated with it, experimentally and manually develop a new form language, which is the industrial manufacturing process requirements.

A model of the Bauhaus was to combine the architecture as a work of art with the other arts. Therefore, the Bauhaus in the founding manifesto of 1919 also announced: " The ultimate aim of all creative activity is building ." In the course of development, however, resulted particularly today's industrial and graphic design from these ideas. In architecture, the modular construction has prevailed not only in industrial plants, but also in creating favorable living space, for example, in satellite towns of mega cities.

The " Bauhaus " was intended by the founder Walter Gropius as a joint venture in which the distinction between artists and craftsmen should be repealed. Through their work, the staff of the Bauhaus wanted to eliminate social differences and contribute to the understanding between peoples. In intention and results were so diverse similarities and connections with the Deutscher Werkbund, founded in 1907, its member Walter Gropius was until 1933.

" The ultimate aim of all creative activity is a building! [ ... ] Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all return to crafts! [ ... ] The artist is an exalted craftsman. "

History

Prehistory

Predecessor organization of the Bauhaus was in 1902 by Henry van de Velde founded " crafts seminar " and the somewhat later than educational institution designed " Commercial Art Institute ", which commenced teaching in 1907. It is undisputed that already van de Velde, a significant number of those methods and principles established, for the later Bauhaus has become famous. The Belgian architect drew his inspiration, among others, Japanese interior design of the Edo period.

1919 to 1925 - Weimar

The Bauhaus in Weimar was taken on April 12, 1919 from the union of the Grand Ducal Saxon Academy of Fine Arts in Weimar and the Weimar Arts and Crafts School closed in 1915.

As a teacher could Gropius major artists such as Lyonel Feininger, Johannes Itten, Josef Albers, Paul Klee ( from 1921), Wassily Kandinsky ( 1922 ) and Oskar Schlemmer (from 1921) to win for the Bauhaus. Teaching at the Bauhaus consisted of the preliminary course and the work in the workshops. The workshops were of the artists who called themselves masters of the form and directed the master craftsmen. Initially, romantic reversion mixed in pre-industrial modes of production with modern design approaches. Projects of the Bauhaus, such as the " Sommerfeld House " were still characterized very expressionistic in this phase. In 1923, the constructivist, László Moholy -Nagy as the successor of the painter Johannes Itten, who stood for holistic lebensreformerische ideas. By way of example, and formative for training in art and design schools around the world to this day, is the common prep course, at the value on a versatile and comprehensive training of students was laid. 1920 was founded by Adolf Meyer, a department of architecture to life, a systematic training of architects, it was still missing at the Bauhaus. The model house " Am Horn " in Weimar in 1923, the first project that was consistent, minted in architecture and furnishings of the New Objectivity movement, and in particular of the Dutch pretended direction " De Stijl". In public, these buildings were considered "cold", " sparse " and " machine ".

In the period of the Weimar Republic teachers, students and admirers of Bauhaus were regarded as "left" and " internationalist ". Politically right parties opposed the Bauhaus from the beginning. After the balance of power after the state elections in Thuringia had changed in February 1924, the government cut under Richard Leutheußer ( DVP ) the budget by 50%. Then other cities offered the teachers and students as new locations (eg the mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, who then but the Cologne factory schools founded ). Set financially and politically by the Thuringian government under pressure of Masters decided in 1925 to move to Dessau. There, the aircraft manufacturer Hugo Junkers offered a promotion, also prevailed in this industrial city of a stable social democratic and liberal -oriented majority. The use of the name Bauhaus Gropius at the new location has earned it in court, who remained in Weimar after 1925, was not allowed to use the name of the institution. Many teachers left then the Bauhaus, including the architect Adolf Meyer, who went to New Frankfurt project, and the graphic designer Karl Peter Röhl, who moved to the Städel School in Frankfurt.

1925-1932 - Dessau

In 1925 the company moved to Dessau. There, the first furniture arising from the new material steel pipe and - by Marcel Breuer ( who owns the rights to the " cantilever " ), Mart Stam and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed - the first cantilever chair. Collaboration with the industry began.

On December 4, 1926, the new, designed by Walter Gropius Bauhaus building was inaugurated. The fully glazed workshop wing on the street side was particularly impressive, as is the same set up and also designed by Gropius ' Masters' Houses ", which functioned as residences and as the Bauhaus building consistent and exemplary developed ideas of living and working united.

On April 1, 1928 Gropius resigned as director. At his suggestion the Swiss architect Hannes Meyer, the new director who is not only the motto of "people's necessities, not luxuries " spent on the Bauhaus, but also cooperation with the industry intensified and a focus on the subject architecture has been caused. Meyer remained until his dismissal by the Lord Mayor of Dessau on August 1, 1930 Director.

From 1930 to 1933, the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe led the Bauhaus. On July 19, 1933, the Bauhaus disbanded. Many of its members emigrated, contributing to the international dissemination of the ideas of the Bauhaus.

1945 the building of the Bauhaus in Dessau was partially destroyed. It was only in 1976 reconstructed.

1932-1933 - Berlin

1931 the NSDAP became the municipal elections in Dessau. 1932 the Bauhaus had to move for the second time, this time to Berlin- Lankwitz; but a short time later, in 1933, the institution of the Nazis was finally forced to dissolve itself.

Aftereffect

From the 1930s, built emigrated Jewish Bauhaus architect in Tel Aviv, more than 4,000 buildings. This White City has since 2003 the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tel Aviv has the largest concentration of buildings in the Bauhaus style world.

Some of the protagonists of the Bauhaus, such as Josef Albers, Walter Gropius, László Moholy -Nagy and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who emigrated in the subsequent period in the U.S., where - with a special emphasis in the Black Mountain College - soon the influence of the Bauhaus teaching and design concept is clear. Especially in the architecture, but also in product and communication design, methods and theorems of the Bauhaus prevailed quickly.

László Moholy -Nagy himself introduced the concept of the Bauhaus in 1937 in exile in America as the New Bauhaus in Chicago on. Originally Walter Gropius should be its director, however this reputation as a professor of " Graduate School of Design " Harvard University was followed and then recommended Moholy -Nagy.

After the end of World War II was in 1953 in Ulm Hochschule für Gestaltung ( Ulm School of Design ), which was first passed by the Bauhaus graduates Max Bill and designed along the lines of the Bauhaus and a similar factual style further led and amongst the new influences of the Swiss typography in their commercial printing and graphics omnibus.

Only in the early 1970s came a set of furniture and household objects as a licensed re-editions on the market that are shaping the idea of a unified Bauhaus style to this day.

In 1996, the Bauhaus building in Dessau, which from the " Bauhaus Dessau - Center of Design " since 1986 has been used, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is now home to the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, founded in 1994.

2008 was built in Tel Aviv 's White City, a Bauhaus Museum.

Structure of the program

The studies at the Bauhaus was divided into three sections. The pre-apprenticeship consisted of half a year form Lessons and exercises. After the recording was made in the factory gauge. It was possible to choose between various training workshops. The third section consisted of Baulehre. This consisted of the employees in the construction with condition -dependent life. As a conclusion, a master craftsman of the Chamber of Crafts and a special talent and the Bauhaus was awarded. Some of the students of the Bauhaus worked after her training as a master on the Bauhaus.

Factory Teaching: The teaching work took place in the workshops. Here the students were familiarized with the basic material properties and important principles of product design.

The education of an artist should not in classes of professors ( as in academies ) take place, but in handicraft dealing with the objects.

The senior teachers in the workshops were not called " professors ", but " master of form ". You got each a foreman supportive available which dominated the basics of the craft.

Other artists of the Bauhaus

  • Herbert Bayer
  • Max Bill
  • Laszlo Moholy -Nagy
  • Marianne Brandt
  • Marcel Breuer
  • Towards Bredendieck
  • Emil Bartoschek
  • Heinrich Brocksieper
  • Alma Buscher
  • Friedl Dicker- Brandeis
  • Alfred Ehrhardt
  • T. Lux Feininger
  • Emil Bert Hartwig
  • Otto Hofmann
  • Kurt Kranz
  • Jean Leppien
  • Adolf Meyer
  • Farkas Molnár
  • Heinrich Neuy
  • Margaretha Reichardt (see also: Stedten at the Gera )
  • Paul Renner ( typographer, creator of Futura )
  • Bernhard Rotterdam
  • Carl Schneider
  • Thilo Schoder
  • Ré Soupault
  • Wilhelm Wagenfeld
  • Fritz Winter

The term " Bauhaus "

The term is used in the present for many things that have nothing to do with the training center. For example, low-budget properties are advertised with meager equipment with the term " Bauhaus - style ". This is wrong as a tribute to the Bauhaus, on the one hand, the Bauhaus continued for a quality to luxurious materials, on the other hand, it rejected the " style" concept. At best, the term is used as a substitute for the term functionalism.

Numerous contemporary, everyday items are attributed to enrichment intention of the Bauhaus or individuals of the Bauhaus. This extends to contemporary clumsy forgeries, such as the stamping of documents with a stamp with Bauhaus design.

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