Bauhaus

Bauhaus is a German word originating in the two words “bauen” (to build) and “haus” (house). Originally called the Staatliches Bauhaus Weimar, the name was coined by Walter Gropius for the art school that he founded when the fine and applied arts schools in Weimar were merged in 1919.

The Bauhaus movement provided the methodological basis for design education in the 20th century. This movement was the origin of modern typography and developed a design style, which incorporated ‘new’ materials, such as concrete, glass and steel, and avoided ornament. Bauhaus was an educational institute of considerable force, both in its ideas and in the concentration of important figures among its staff and students.

The Bauhaus origins lay in the growing belief that reform in art education was vital for economic reasons. German was less rich in raw materials than the USA or Britain and relied more on the expertise of its work force and its ability to export sophisticated and high-quality goods. Designers were needed and only a new kind of art education could meet this need. Walter Gropius suggested the re-establishment of the School of Arts and Crafts in the small town of Weimar after WWI. The major ideological basis was that artists should be trained to work in the industry.

The Bauhaus schooling began with a six-month basic course under Johannes Itten, which explored form and materials. Following this course was a simultaneous education in a craft under a craftsman and in formal problems under an artist, with a third stage in the study of architecture and building. Teachers included Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Georg Muche, and Gerhard Marcks.

During the Weimar period, the school was dominated by the mystical approach of Itten and by Expressionist tendencies. The teaching and criticism of Theo van Doesburg introduced the influence of De Stijl, signaling a departure from Expressionism and a move towards a vindication of Gropius’s original project to unite art and industry.

Bauhaus did not always enjoy a successful public image. Its journal, Bauhaus, and books did not sell well; many of its product designs remained at prototypes and its worker housing program suffered severe administrational problems. Although by the 1927 Stuttgart Exhibition, a particular Bauhas style was perceived. With Hannes Meyer as director, the Bauhaus saw considerable commercial success.

But the school suffered from growing harassment from the National Socialists, as the Bauhaus ideology and aesthetic was being seen as Socialist, internationalist and Jewish. In 1933, the Nazis closed down the school. Many of its refugee staff moved to the USA.

Bauhaus-Archiv Museum of Design
Artchive:Bauhaus

The ABC's of Bauhaus, The Bauhaus and Design Theory by Ellen Lupton and J. Abbott Miller
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Design Discourse: History, Theory, Criticism by Victor Margolin