Post 4
The Bauhaus
What is Bauhaus? The Bauhaus may have been one of the most
influential design schools because of how principles developed at the school have
and continue to impact art, design and architecture. The Bauhaus was first established at Weimar
and lasted from 1919 to 1924 and due to conflicts with the Thuringian
government moved to Dessau in 1925 until it closed its doors in 1933 due to
rise of the Nazi regime. The following
will explore the history of the Bauhaus and its rise to be one of the most
influential movements in art and design and its influence in contemporary works
such as Dan Friedman’s Typografische
Monatsblatter and the White City located in Israel.
Founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus’ goal was to
form a unity between artist and craftsman. As Gropius had stated:
The old schools of art were unable
to produce this unity… They must be merged once more with the
workshop…Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all return to the crafts! For
art is not a ‘profession.’ There is no
essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. (206)
Gropius aimed at a union between an academy and a craft
school. There was shift at the Bauhaus from the principles of Expressionism to
a more structured based art and design. In Meggs’
History of Graphic Design, Philip Meggs agrees saying, “The Bauhaus was
evolving from a concern for medievalism, expressionism and handicraft toward an
emphasis on rationalism and designing for the machine” (327). Hunter adds
saying that the Bauhaus did not aim at creating a particular style but aimed at
incorporating technology to open new possibilities.
The Bauhaus may have become one of the most influential
design schools because of Gropius’ idea of merging art and crafts, fine arts
and applied arts. By merging fine and applied arts, ideas of form color and
space were integrated into the students’ vocabulary. Another element that may
have aided the Bauhaus was its diverse faculty which individually influenced the
students with their unique style. Examples would include Kandinsky and his
paintings with geometric forms, El Lissitzky with his influence of Russian
Constructivism. Others included, Josef Albers and Moholy-Nagy and their
objective and rational methods and their use of modern technology such as
photography.
The influence of the Bauhaus on design can be seen in such works
as Dan Friedman’s TM Magazine cover, Typografische
Monatsblatter. In Dan Friedman’s magazine cover design, letterforms appear
as objects in motion moving in urban setting. Influences of the Bauhaus can be
seen in Friedman’s choice of sans-serif typography which the students of the
Bauhaus used. Friedman’s use of photography can be traced back to the Bauhaus
and their experimentation of type and image because of the influence of
Moholy-Nagy’s objective and rational methods.
In regards to Bauhaus-inspired architecture, an example
could be the White City of Tel-Aviv located in Israel. The White City consists of 4,000 buildings all
containing influences of the Bauhaus. Construction
of the buildings goes back to the 1930s, which were built by German Jewish
architects who fled Nazi persecution.
The influence of the Bauhaus can be seen in the architects’ chose of
functionality and use of inexpensive building materials, and the absence of
decorative elements. The buildings were also designed with the area’s arid
climate in mind. White and light colors were used on the architecture because
of how they reflect heat. The Bauhaus’ use of large areas of glass was replaced
with small windows which limited the heat and glare; and balconies were added, each
shaded by the one above it, so residents could enjoy the breeze. The Bauhaus will continue to be influential
because of its emphasis on functionality over decorative elements.
Works Cited
Meggs, Philips B., and Alston W. Purvi. Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. 5th Ed Hoboken, New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print
Hunter, Sam. Modern
Art. 3rd Ed., Pearson Prentice Hall, New York. 2004 Print
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