Introduction
The Bauhaus was the most influential modernist art school of the 20th century as it laid many foundations for design theory and helped us understand the importance of art in relation to society and technology. Although the school was in operation only between 1919 and 1933, it was a major influence in the fields of architecture, graphic design, typography, industrial design and interior design long after it has closed.
Origin of Bauhaus
Technology and social change have long been vital in the evolution of graphic design and its importance in the society. In particular was the Industrial Revolution between 1760 and 1840, which brought about the transformation from agrarian to industrialized societies across Europe and America. Mass production was made possible by new technologies; availability and variety of goods increased and cost of manufacturing decreased, accompanied by the higher standard of living for many people. A consequence of mass production on graphic design was that it led to the demise of the unity between design and production. Craftsmen were replaced by modern technologies, sacrificing artistry for speed and cheaper production.
The Arts and Crafts movement, led by William Morris, was established in the 1860s as a response against the manufacturing of low quality goods due to industrialization. He also felt that the society was degrading as a result of this. The philosophy behind the Art and Crafts movement was that the Industrial Revolution had taken artistry and design away from of the quality of goods produced. The goal was to advocate a return to craftsmanship and enable individual craftsmen to assert their own creative independence. More importantly, the movement wanted to promote mor...
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“Original Creators: The New Vision of László Moholy-Nagy”, The Creators Project, http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/original-creators-the-new-vision-of-l%C3%A1szl%C3%B3-moholy-nagy
Extract from “Malerei, Photographie, Film”, László Moholy-Nagy
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Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, the Bauhaus was a German art school that initiated the combination of art and crafts innovatively to produce goods for everyday use, which influenced and shaped modern life. The Bauhaus value is still effective today since we can still see the impact of the Bauhaus. For example, contemporary furniture are mostly minimalist, which is one of the values from the Bauhaus. This essay will discuss the failure of the Bauhaus in achieving its mass-produce ideal through examining three Bauhaus production, the Wassily Chair, the chess set and Model No. MT49 tea infuser. Through the aspects of artistry and utility, the Bauhaus pursued to generate reasonably priced mass-production by taking the forms and materials into
During the later centuries technology increased vastly to improve different aspects of life. This not only improved the standard of living it also helped improve the industry with the methods to producing more goods. Such as the sewing machines, which impacted industries greatly because it provided quicker production of goods than compared to manual labor. It was physically less strenuous and was more efficient cost wise, which urged many industry owners to opt to machines rather than the traditional mode of labor. This machinery however wasn’t the best for the people who hand crafted their products.
It corresponded to the emulation, which emerged among the lower classes of the postindustrial era, to pretend to have a good taste of art like the upper class. After the Industrial Revolution, the underprivileged, who had previously produced things to fulfill their own daily needs, turned into the working class of the urbans, producing things whose value in daily usage they would never see . This shift from crafting to manufacturing, from formulating to fabricating, and from creative to repetitive triggered a new need among these people. Although they did not have the time or education to enjoy and appreciate fine arts when they were in the countryside, the lower classes felt a new inclination towards art in the factory towns where they had the opportunity to observe that taste in art provided social status. Their desire to own works of art was precluded by their incomes which were no match for the high prices of the art market. With the aid of the mass production technologies and the manufacturing-commercial culture that followed, it became possible to produce multiple copies of artistic works and reduce the prices. This situation not only expanded the scope of art market but also provided the lower class with what they desired –or at least what they thought they desired: affordable art
Cubism was a movement that started in 1908 and ended roughly by the end of the 1920’s and is often synonymous with the works of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, two of the most influential and important of the cubist painters, each coming up with their own first cubist painting near 1908. They tended toward the structural and architectural form of Cubism that was hinted at by post-impressionist Paul Cézanne, whose death would provoke an exhibition of work for future cubists and other modern painters to admire and learn from. On the other hand, near 1912-14, cubism took a different turn with the help of Picasso’s papier collé, (Golding 120, Green Synthesis 88, Gopnik 81). The collages produced by papier collé managed to change analytical cubism,
Industrial Revolution, which took place over much of the nineteenth century, had many advantages. It provided people with tools for a better life; people were no longer dependent on the land for all of their goods. The Industrial Revolution made it possible for people to control nature more than they ever had before. However, now people were dependent on the new machines of the Industrial Age (1). The Revolution brought with it radical changes in the textile and engine worlds; it was a time of reason and innovations. Although it was a time of progress, there were drawbacks to the headway made in the Industrial Revolution. Granted, it provided solutions to the problems of a world without industry. However, it also created problems with its mechanized inventions that provided new ways of killing. Ironically, there was much public faith in these innovations; however, these were the same inventions that killed so many and contributed to a massive loss of faith. These new inventions made their debut in the first world war (2) ).
In the early twentieth century the Modern movement of architecture and industrial design came about. This movement was a reaction to the change within society and the introduction of new technologies. The ever changing world and technology meant artists to evolve alongside the changing world and this kind of ‘industrial revolution’ that was happening. Modernists ideas have seeped into every form of design especially architecture and design. Although most modernists insisted they were not following any style in particular, their work is instantly
William Morris and his influence on the English Arts and Crafts Movement - Susannah Matheson
The Bauhaus was a school in Weimer, Germany. It was founded in 1919 by a German architect named Walter Gropius. The goal behind the Bauhaus was to bring the arts together into a new age of modern art or, as Gropius described, “Architects, sculptors, painters, we must all get back to craft” (Borteh). Gropius expressed this idea in the Proclamation of the Bauhaus, a document by Gropius that stated the Bauhaus was a “utopian craft guild” that combined architecture, sculpture, and painting (Wilson). This idea attracted many highly experienced staff members.
Art Deco and Bauhaus are two of the most influential art styles that influenced modern America today. From the avant-garde decorations and design that is still present in Los Angeles, to the flat roof design and simplicity of houses and shops that can be seen almost anywhere, these two designs are still present in our communities. The two movements do have some comparative similarities, but are also very different in design and concept. One should now be able to distinguish the similarities and differences between Art Deco and
...s such at flowers and plants. This form was mainly embraced during its decline as a movement as it became so popular that it was being watered down and lost its ingenuity and integrity as an art form. this was helped by the first world war as the war required an influx of new technology to fight with. things were further stimulated by the returned growth of the economy which meant that people had more money to spend thus were able to purchase better quality and luxury products. art deco began after as the period of glamour and extravagance which saw the creation and usage of new materials such as metals chrome and platinum, and the increase usage of vibrant paters such as stripes and zigzags used of furniture pieces both movements have greatly influenced their later years even after the second world war up to the 1960s which saw art deco revived for a short while.
One of the most important contributions Bauhaus made to the Modern Movement was changing the way materials are perceived and forming 'a new approach to the teaching and practice of design, which believed that good design served the needs of the ordinary people, of the workers. ' Anscombe
In the late 18th century, many countries were slowly being transformed into industrialized places; cities were getting bigger, industries were growing everywhere and many technologies like steam engines were appearing. This phenomenon called the Industrial Revolution first started in England and then spread to France and Germany. Industrialization helped in the development of society, the economy and at some point, art, but it also left behind a devastated society. In fact, the Industrial Revolution was a great inspiration for artists who lived in that time. For instance, the impressionist French artist Claude Monet painted La Gare de Saint-Lazare (1877) at the beginning of the revolution. Adolph Menzel, a German realist painter, also depicted the revolution with his painting The Iron Rolling Mill (1875) and William Blake, a British romantic artist, wrote a poem named “London” (1794) in which the main theme is the revolution. Although they are all from a different cultural movements, including Impressionism, Realism and Romanticism, they all depict the effects of the industrial revolution with a pessimistic view.
The Bauhaus was a school for art, design and architecture founded in Weimar, Germany with a core objective “to reimagine the material world to reflect the unity of all the arts.” Before the Bauhaus was established, fine arts were seen to hold a higher esteem than craftsmanship The Bauhaus intended to change this feeling about the arts. The Bauhaus wanted to create products that were simple in design which as a result could be easily mass produced. Of all the principles taught at the Bauhaus, form follows function summed up the schools main philosophy. Architecture and design should reflect the new period in history, and adapt to the era of the machine was one founding principal of the Bauhaus school. Students began with a preliminary course that taught the basic Bauhaus theory and then were allowed to enter into specialized workshops. Throughout the years, it moved to Dessau and then Berlin and ending with the closure by Nazi soldiers. As a result of its existence, the Bauhaus had a major impact on art, design, and architecture trends throughout the rest of the century.
...encing and affecting the art movement and its contribution in shaping how art is produced and critiqued based on the standards that it had set.
The Bauhaus became the most famous art institution in the late 19th century, and was established during the formation of the Weimar Republic. Its innovation of art with industry reflected a new era, even though it only lasted until the Nazis came into power in 1933. Nevertheless, it left its own imprint in which new artist that came into the institution learned new crafts and artistic skills that they applied into their own work. This would eventually lead the institution to influence contemporary artist with modern design, style, architecture, and art. The Bauhaus purpose was to implement all the arts together with industry. However, it had to be appealing and pleasing to the eyes. Their aesthetic work had to reflect simple, linear, geometric,