The
Bauhaus didn’t just come to be, but rather progressed from other previous
movements that lead to it. For instance, the Arts and Crafts movement together
with Constructivism, De Stijl and Deutsche Werkbund were the founding movements
which lead to the Bauhaus Movement. I already discussed these said movements
individually about their foundations and principles. Now we are going to see
how each contributed to make the Bauhaus Movement possible.
Being
modern means making use of new technologies and techniques, as did the
Impressionists at that time. With regards to design, the fact that we went
through the Industrial Revolution and mass production, makes it modern.
Therefore anything which is new and innovative is by definition modern!
The
Bauhaus was founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius in 1919, by uniting the Weimar
Art Acadamy and Henry van de Velde’s schoolof Industrial design. Its name meant
literally building house. It was initially moved to Dessau then to Berlin but
it was eventually closed down in 1933 by the Nazis. Later the Bauhaus moved to
America but it did not last long there. “The Bauhaus’ attempts to gather all
artistic creation into a single entity – the reunification of all the artistic
handwork disciplines – sculpture, painting, the applied arts, and crafts – as
indissoluble elements of the new art building.” Walter Gropius. (Thomas Hauffe Design a concise history page 75). By following this belief, the Bauhaus
developed an entirely new organisational and architectural structure. Another
quote from their manifesto was that “the complete building is the ultimate aim
of all visual arts” in which they believed in the equality between artists and
craftsman. The designers got their inspirations from:
Henry
van de Velde,
William Morris from the Arts and Crafts Movement,
Expressionist
paintings,
De Stijl,
Constructivism, and especially the technology of machines.
Henry
van de Velde Bloemenwerf Armchair. It is very simple in design without
excessive decoration.
In
1922 Theo van Doesburg, the founder of the De Stijl movement conducted a course
close to the Bauhaus. Doesburg was completely against the artistic approach the
Bauhaus was taking, so he introduced the clear, constructivist forms of the De
Stijl movements to the students there. After this introduction this influence
broadened in 1922.
This
influence can be clearly seen in Marcel Breuer chair 1923. Breuer was a great
admirer of the De Stijl movement and we are going to see more famous chairs
created by him in the style of Rietveld between 1921 and 1929.
Reitveld
Red and Blue Chair.
Other examples of Marcel Breuer are:
Arm
Chair B35, 1928-1929.
Cesca
Side Chair (model B32) 1928
Club
Chair (B3) 1927-1928
It
can be seen that the design is becoming less decorative even from the previous
ones. He is making use of tubular steel in which it is bent to create the legs
and frame as a whole and as a one entity.
Later
Social idealism joins commercial reality in which art meets the industry. They
are exploiting new technologies. There was function with the fixation and
rationality.
During
this movement we have Walter Gropius who is very important and like Frank Lloyd
Wright did, he is going to work on the fact that a building is considered as a
whole. To him construction is an important social, symbolic and intellectual
endeavour.
The
Gropius House was built for Gropius
family after he had moved from Germany to America. This house was the first of
its kind in America and had a great impact on people, so much so that they were
describing it as “the new Industrial Style”. It was innovative, asymmetric and
simplistic compared to the Victorian houses found at the time. It was so even
on the inside since it is considered as a whole. Yet it has a dramatic feel to
it, for instance in the dining room there is a spotlight recessed in the
ceiling which only covers the diameter of the table while leaving the diners in
the dark. Also the interior keeps to the Bauhaus principles which Gropius had
founded. He makes use of simple forms as well as simple lines making the whole
building simplistic.
It
is such an innovative house that today we are trying to go back to this simplicity
instead of all the Pop colours and ideas we had in the 90’s era. In fact today
we are going through this transition from that chaotic way of life to the
simplistic yet with a hint of fun.
“We will always be modern, our design always essential”
(Frames, Issue 89. Page 047) such designs are still being produced today.
These
Lammhults Chairs, Series S70 are looking back at the Bauhaus designs such as
the Arm Chair B35 as well as the Cesca Side Chair (model B32). As quoted from
the Lammhults site itself “Bo Lindenkrantz and Börge Lindau brought their
playful, colourful and joyful attitude to Lammhults.”
Bonluxat. UN. Henry van de Velde Bloemenwerf Armchair.
[online] Available at: http://www.bonluxat.com/a/Henry_van_de_Velde_Bloemenwerf_Armchair.html
[Accessed on 15th November 2013]
Simon Glynn 1999 (updated 2004). Walter Gropius House,
Lincoln MA. [online] Available at: http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/gropiushouse/
[Accessed on 15th November
2013]
Hauffer T. 1998.design a concise history.
London. Laurence King Publishing.
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