Bauhaus Notes for LIS470 – Visual Communication A review of

Bauhaus Notes for LIS470 – Visual Communication
A review of Bauhaus through its members and their continuing influence in the “modern” world
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Bauhaus Masters:
Josef Albers - Josef Albers was a Bauhaus member from 1920-1933. In 1950 he became
Chair of the Department of Design at Yale University. Robert Rauschenberg is among the artists
who were influenced by Albers.
Josef
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Albers, Figure, 1921
Glass Assemblage mounted on brass sheet, 54.6 x 39.4 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Herbert Bayer - Herbert Bayer, born in Austria, was a Bauhaus member from 1921-1928. From
1925 on he headed the workshop for "Printing and Advertising". In 1938 he immigrated to New
York
Self-portrait:
Bauhaus Typography: http://people.ucsc.edu/~gflores/bauhaus/type.html
Marcel Breuer Born in Hungary, Marcel Breuer (1902 - 1981) was a Bauhaus student for four years, before
starting to lead the Furniture Workshop in 1925. In 1927 he designed the "Wassilly" chair - a
staple in modern home decoration to this day. He joined Gropius at Harvard as a professor in
1937.
Lyonel Feininger - Born in New York, the painter Lyonel Feininger was a Bauhaus instructor
from 1919-1932, leading the Printing workshop for many years. He returned to New York in
1937. Read more and see some of his work:
http://www.artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1998/Articles0598//LFeiningerA.html
Walter Gropius - Walter Gropius was the founder of the Bauhaus School in Dessau. He
became Chair of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in 1937. Among his
students was I.M. Pei.
Gropius built his private residence in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The building, including its original
interior, serves as a museum today. [http://www.spnea.org/visit/homes/gropius.htm#gropius]
Gropius House:
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68 Baker Bridge Road
Lincoln, Mass. 01773
(781) 259-8098
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[compare this staircase to photos of staircases by Maholy-Nagy]
Two Bauhaus Buildings: A Paradigm Shift
by Darlene Brady, R.A.
The Bauhaus School buildings at Weimar and Dessau in Germany capture the dichotomy
of an early 20th century debate about the impact of technology on architecture. The underlying
issue was whether creativity or technology should be the stronger design determinant. It is
interesting to revisit these two famous buildings, by Henry Van de Velde and Walter Gropius
respectively, in light of this debate.
The Bauhaus Manifesto called for a new architecture that made no distinction between
monumental and decorative art. It was a call for buildings imbued with the "architectonic spirit"
as a unified work of art. The complete building, not embellishment, was the ultimate aim of all
the visual arts. Art must not exist in isolation but in cooperation with craft.
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The roots of the manifesto are found in an earlier debate about the impact of technology on
art—a confrontation between "individualism" and "standardization." Referred to as the
Muthesius /Van de Velde debate, it took place during the 1914 Conference in Cologne as part of
the first exhibition of the Deutscher Werkbund.
With the goal of increasing the export of German arts and crafts and their influence abroad,
this debate focused on whether industrial technology or individual inventiveness was the best
determinant of style and quality.
Hermann Muthesius maintained that industrial technology enabled standardization, or type,
which would result in "universally" valid forms. The efficiencies of large-scale business enabled
the mass production of high quality work: time traditionally spent on execution could be devoted
instead to refinement of the product. Implicit in this argument was the belief that the greater
availability of superior work would result in the development of universally good taste.
For Henry Van de Velde, invention was the determinant of "culturally" valid forms. The
individual artist was the best interpreter of the influences and spirit of an epoch. The possibility
of quick results from mass-production and industrial technology did not ensure quality.
Standardization imposed a canon that encouraged imitation and endangered the creative
impulse. To let type determine style placed effect before cause. It would produce work that was
not worth exporting.
The Weimar Lineage
The link between the Werkbund Conference and the Bauhaus School is one of lineage and
philosophy. Van de Velde was the founder and director of the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of
Arts and Crafts in Weimar which became the nucleus of the first Bauhaus School. When Van de
Velde gave up his post as director in 1915 at the beginning of the First World War, he
recommended Walter Gropius as his successor. Gropius united the Weimar School of Fine Art
and the School of Arts and Crafts with a newly affiliated department of architecture.
Officially renamed the Staatliches Bauhaus in 1919, the school was housed in buildings
designed by Van de Velde. The move to Dessau in 1925 offered Gropius the opportunity to
design new buildings for the school.
The esthetics of the respective buildings also reflect the philosophical shift in the
curriculum—from the importance of craft and the workshop tradition in Weimar to the focus in
Dessau on the development of industrial prototypes and a design style only made possible by
modern technology and material.
Both Van de Velde and Gropius embraced the use of technology and art; the distinction
was one of emphasis. Van de Velde used technology to enhance the traditions of craft and
individualism. The Weimar Bauhaus is a tectonic expression of load bearing walls interrupted by
window screens. The glass screens are variations on a theme comprising industrial metal
windows and crafted elements. The articulation and shape expressed architectural hierarchy
and function to announce the distinction between floor levels or the act of climbing stairs.
The Dessau Philosophy
In the Dessau Bauhaus, Gropius used technology to develop architectural prototypes. Strip
windows float in front of load bearing columns—a transparent wall that revealed the new
structural technology as architectural expression. The window is a mask that unifies the
elements and levels of the building. Windows are not used to reveal the stairs but to reflect the
floor level of the landing. The stairs are hidden in the concrete tower.
However, Gropius believed that the architect, not type, should determine the development
of architecture and the concepts of form. He had supported the Van de Velde thesis about
individuality and invention at the 1914 conference.
At the same time, Faguswerk, the model factory complex that Gropius designed with Adolf
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Meyer for the Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne, embraced the spirit of the Muthesius position
regarding modern technology and style. What Gropius envisioned was a collaboration in which
art determined the standards of industry. This belief was the guiding principle of the Bauhaus
Manifesto.
Eight Decades Later
As time has revealed, the opposing positions of Muthesius and Van de Velde have both
come to fruition. As Muthesius predicted, the standards of industry have prevailed over objects
designed for individual requirements. Contrary to the exceptions noted in the press,
standardization in building parts and code issues have become major determining factors in the
design of buildings.
However, the credo of universal forms made possible by standardization also enabled
uniformity—and architecture that can be monotone and sterile. As Van de Velde foresaw,
standardization did impose a canon. Mass production did not ensure quality. In a reversal of the
role that Gropius envisioned for the architect, the standards of industry have determined art.
The Bauhaus attempted to balance the two potentially opposing forces of the machine vs.
the individual. The issue was not whether but how technology should be harnessed. Although
the school was closed in 1933 for political reasons, the "new" Bauhaus programs in Weimar and
Dessau are continuing the effort.
Revisiting the Bauhaus reveals the merits and weaknesses in the roots of a debate that still
has influence, especially as the "new" technology of computing adds another layer to the
discussion. The tension between the logic of technology and the creative process is an ongoing
issue that can benefit from hindsight.
Darlene Brady is a registered architect and contributing editor to ArchitectureWeek. She is author of the forthcoming book Architectonic Color: Its Virtual And Physical
Reality. [http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0830/culture_1-2.html]
[http://www.dessau.de/expo2000pfad/frame_st05.htm]
Bauhaus mit Junkers G38, 1930
Bauhaus today:
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Johannes Itten - Before joining the Bauhaus Itten headed his own art school in Vienna. At the
Bauhaus he designed an innovative introductory course: he let students explore form, color,
rhythm and contrast. Itten's principles were of tremendous influence not only on art education,
but also on Kandinsky and Klee. Opposed to the Bauhaus producing commercial work, a
longstanding conflict with Gropius led Itten to resign in 1923, when Moholy-Nagy took over his
position.
1923:
1997:
1997:
1985:
Wassily Kandinsky - Born in Moscow, the painter Wassily Kandinsky founded, with Franz Marc,
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the "Blaue Reiter" ("Blue Rider") group in Munich, Germany in 1911. He joined the Bauhaus in
1922 to first head the "Murals" workshop. From 1927 until 1933 he taught the increasingly
popular free painting class. Compare the progress of his work [See
http://www.glyphs.com/art/kandinsky/\
Autumn in Bavaria, 1908:
Composition VII (1923, Guggenheim)
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Paul Klee - The Swiss painter Paul Klee joined the Bauhaus in 1921. He headed the
"Bookbinding" workshop during his first year, next the "Glass painting" workshop and taught
courses until 1931, among them weaving and painting.
Hannes Meyer - Hannes Meyer (1889 - 1954), born in Switzerland into a family of architects,
was one of the most important functionalists of the 1920's. In the Bauhaus School he headed
the Department of Architecture. In 1928 Meyer succeeded Gropius as Director of the Bauhaus
School. He held that position for three years. Meyer's role in the Bauhaus has long been
minimized. Especially Gropius falsified Meyer's contribution until the end of his life. It is only
recently that Meyer's work is once again put into proper perspective. Meyer was a Communist
who politicized the School, much to Gropius' and Mies' dismay. Eventually, increasingly active
Communist students made Dessau's municipal government afraid of losing votes which led to
Meyer's dismissal. You can read more about it in this essay that includes mention of Meyer's
role opposite Mies and Gropius and the trio's political battles. Comrades and Citizens: Hannes
Meyer, Ludwig Hilberseimer, and K. Michael Hays. (By Claire Zimmerman, CUNY Graduate
Center.)
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[Die Gewerkschaftsshule in Bernau]
Mies van der Rohe - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was the Director of Bauhaus from 1930 until the
school's closing in 1933. In 1938 he became Director of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of
Technology.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York (MoMA), houses 20,000 of van der Rohe's drawings.
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“MR” Armchair, 1927, MMA, New York
Bauhaus Barcelona-Chair, MR 90, 1929
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http://www.buurman.de/4999/4726.html
Farnsworth House, 14520 River Rd., Plano, IL:
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http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0102/Sep24_01/11.htm
Plans for an office suite in Dessau:
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy Born in Hungary, Moholy-Nagy was, like Muche, a member of "Der Sturm". He joined the
Bauhaus from 1923-1928, taking over for Itten. Besides leading the "Metal" workshop he also
devoted much of his time to typography and photography. He worked in close collaboration with
his wife, photographer Lucia Moholy. Starting in 1937 he led the New Bauhaus in Chicago and
subsequent design schools.
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[Study with pins and ribbons, 1937-38; color print (Vivex process)]
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[Goerz, 1925, Gelatin silver print]
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Baushaus Balconies, 1926 (published as Dessau, 1926), gelatin silver print
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Eifersucht (“Jelousy”), 1927; collage with photographic/photo-mechanical and drawn elements
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Stairway in the Bexhill Seaside Pavillion (published as Bexhill on Sea, 1936)
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Marseille, 1929; gelatin silver print.
INSCRIPTION: verso-(in ink) "Photo L. Moholy=Nagy" "Marseille Port View (Old Harbour) 1929" (in pencil) "An
exciting rythm of repetition obtained by a fleet of boats in the old harbor ('vieux port') of Marseille." "Taken from the
highest point of the 'Pont Transbordeur' (lined out)" "11" "E 1291" (various graphic arts notations)
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A 17, 1923, gelatin silver
[Moholy-Nagy wrote on the back “too much has been cut off at the edges”, “is it possible to focus more critically”]
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Rue Cannebière, Marseille, 1929. Gelatin silver.
Georg Muche
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Oskar Schlemmer
Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) – See the Time magazine article:
http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/lecorbusier.html
L'Esprit Nouveau
Le Corbusier is without doubt the most influential, most admired, and most maligned
architect of the twentieth century. Through his writing and his buildings, he is the main player in
the Modernist story, his visions of homes and cities as innovative as they are influential. Many of
his ideas on urban living became the blueprint for post-war reconstruction, and the many
failures of his would-be imitators led to Le Corbusier being blamed for the problems of western
cities in the 1960s and 1970s.
Like Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, and other architects of his generation, Le Corbusier
had little architectural training. But he did have a strong conviction that the twentieth century
would be an age of progress: an age when engineering and technological advances, and new
ways of living, would change the world for good. Only architecture was failing to embrace the
future, as new buildings continued to ape various historical styles.
In 1908, Le Corbusier went to work with Auguste Perret, the French architect who had
pioneered the use of reinforced concrete, and then Peter Behrens, the German exponent of
'industrial design'. Behrens admired the engineer's ethic of mass production, logical design, and
function over style, and Corbusier brought two of these early influences together in his 'Maison
Dom-Ino' plan of 1915.
This house would be made of reinforced concrete and was intended for mass production,
but was also flexible: none of the walls were load-bearing and so the interior could be rearranged as the occupant wished.
A House Is A Machine For Living In
By 1918, Corbusier's ideas on how architecture should meet the demands of the machine
age led him to develop, in collaboration with the artist Amédée Ozenfant, a new theory: Purism.
Purist rules would lead the architect always to refine and simplify design, dispensing with
ornamentation. Architecture would be as efficient as a factory assembly line. Soon, Le
Corbusier was developing standardised housing 'types' like the 'Immeuble-villa' (made real with
the Pavilion de l'Esprit Nouveau of 1925), and the Maison Citrohan (a play on words suggesting
the building industry should adopt the methods of the mass production automobile industry),
which he hoped would solve the chronic housing problems of industrialised countries.
His radical ideas were given full expression in his 1923 book Vers Une Architecture
("Towards a New Architecture"), an impassioned manifesto which is still the best-selling
architecture book of all time. "A house", Le Corbusier intoned from its pages, "is a machine for
living in."
But despite his love of the machine aesthetic, Le Corbusier was determined that his
architecture would reintroduce nature into people's lives. Victorian cities were chaotic and dark
prisons for many of their inhabitants. Le Corbusier was convinced that a rationally planned city,
using the standardised housing types he had developed, could offer a healthy, humane
alternative.
Urbanisme
The first of his grand urban plans was the Ville Contemporaine of 1922. This proposed city
of three million would be divided into functional zones: twenty-four glass towers in the centre
would form the commercial district, separated from the industrial and residential districts by
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expansive green belts. In 1925, Corbusier's ambitious Plan Voisin for Paris envisioned the
destruction of virtually the entire north bank of the Seine to incorporate a mini version of the Ville
Contemporaine. Understandably, it remained only a plan.
More realistic was the Ville Radieuse (1933-1935), in which long slab blocks were laid out
in parkland and where the housing types were considerably cheaper than the Immeuble-villas
which filled earlier plans. A version of this was built at the Alton West Estate in Roehampton,
England in 1958.
After the Second World War, with Europe's housing problems worse than ever, Le
Corbusier got his chance to put his urban theories into practice. The Unité d'Habitation in
Marseilles (1952) is a synthesis of three decades of Corbusian domestic and urban thinking.
Seventeen stories high and designed to house 1,600 people, the Unite incorporates various
types of apartment, shops, clubs and meeting room, all connected by raised 'streets'. There is
also a hotel and recreation facilities. It is now an immensely popular building, and a coveted
address for Marseille's middle-class professionals today.
When Le Corbusier died in 1965, the backlash against Modernism was gaining
momentum. His theories on urban renewal were plagiarized by local authorities on tight
budgets, which often failed to understand the essential humanism behind Le Corbusier's plans.
Ronan Point was the result. But blaming Le Corbusier as the architect of post-war housing
failure ignores the deep concern for human comfort and health that underpinned his work.
[http://www.open2.net/modernity/4_1.htm]
[Ronan Point: http://www.open2.net/modernity/3_13_frame.htm]
*Unité d’Habitation (Cité radieuse, Marseille)
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[http://www.tu-harburg.de/b/kuehn/lec34.html]
Compare to Boston City Hall:
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Cabrini-Green Housing Projects, Chicago
In class: review http://www.villes-en-france.org/histoire/Corbu13.html for images
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Le Corbusier: Pilgrim Church in Ronchamp:
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Villa Savoyes:
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Questions for class:
1. Is there a language of architecture? Can a building “speak” to a people?
2. Why are buildings designed as they are? What is the role of theory or of schools of
thought?
3. Do these schools exert acknowledged influences or exert some subtle visual
communication of their own, as it were, just by being part of the visual landscape?
4. Do these theories cross from discipline to another or perhaps across all disciplines to the
point of being a shift in the structure of society?
5. What about a people who forget, or are never trained, in the semantics, rules, and use of
a language?
On to the reading about Modernism.
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