CENTENARY ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAUHAUS
As an enthusiast of graphic design, product design and on a mission to make stylish and modern hand-fans, it is no wonder that the centenary of the Bauhaus Art School has caught my attention, along with the plethora of exhibitions being held around the world to celebrate it.
The Bauhaus Art School was founded in 1919 in Weimar, Germany with a vision that all arts could be unified and reflected in the material world. Artists and designers graduating from this Modernist school were taught to create functional and beautiful objects "with the soul of artworks". In his proclamation of the BAUHAUS in 1919, founder Walter Gropius described creating a utopian craft guild, with students working on craft-based curriculums combining elements from both fine art and design educations placing theoretical and intellectual approaches of high importance. Under the wing of teachers such as László Maholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, erm.. lucky students!!
From 1923 the school began to adopt a more social focus advocating design for the mass media and the slogan “Art into industry” was adopted. From 1927 the focus on architecture, part of its “total art” philosophy and synonymous with the Bauhaus aesthetic, (but in fact up until that time the work of Gropius himself) became of more central importance.
The school was sadly closed in 1933 by its own leadership after pressure from the Nazi Regime.
Many of the centenary events are happening in Germany,
(full listings of ALL events can be found here https://www.bauhaus100.com/programme/)
Highlights include:
Frankfurt Modernism 1919-1933 / Museum Angewandte Kunst / 19 January – 14 April 2019
https://www.museumangewandtekunst.de/en/visit/exhibitions/modernism-in-frankfurt.html
Original Bauhaus / Berlinische Galerie, Berlin/ September 2019 – 27 Jan 2020
In addition, various international institutions are reflecting on the global influence of the Bauhaus, especially on graduates that left Germany at the onset of the second world war and went on to demonstrate and teach the school’s philosophies abroad. These exhibitions include:
Bauhaus : Pioneers of a new world/ Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Netherlands/ 9 February – 26 May 2019
https://www.boijmans.nl/en/exhibitions/bauhaus
Josef Rings and Erich Mendelsohn: New building in Germany and Mandatory Palestine
Bauhaus Center Tel Aviv, 24 January – 30 March 2019
https://www.bauhaus-center.com/gallery-art-exhibition/100-years-bauhaus/
Finally, the Bauhaus Imaginista project, in collaboratation with further international galleries and organisations such as the Goethe Institute, NY and Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery have grouped together to review the far reaching legacies of the BAUHAUS from a contemporary viewpoint, and to ask how can we, in the spirit of the Bauhaus, can re-imagine art and culture as a social project today with questions such as “ How can we imagine the necessary shift from “thinking globally” to being relevant for different cultural contexts? What is gained by thinking and acting across the divide between art and design? How can we make these insights work for art and design institutions today?”
Full listing here: http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/locations
PS. If you're wondering where you've seen the fantastic costume and hand-fan as seen in the blog post front image, it's NOT the Ziggy Stardust costume designed for David Bowie by Kansai Yamamoto but you're close. This is the original costume designed by Oscar Scheller for the Bauhaus Ballet alongside a HOST of other curious and wonderfully imaginative costumes.
Incredible to think nearly 100 years ago.....
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ALSO NOT TO BE MISSED!!!
The V&A exhibition are putting on a fabulous exhibition about hand-fan enthusiast and fashion designer magnifique CHRISTIAN DIOR opening in February. Book your tickets NOW https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/dior-designer-of-dreams
AND THERE'S MORE!! You have the chance to gain a peep into the wonderful and influential world of designers MARY QUANT and TERENCE CONRAN in another exciting exhibition coming soon to London’s Fashion and Textile Museum. More info here. https://www.ftmlondon.org/ftm-exhibitions/swinging-london-a-lifestyle-revolution/
Watch out for more news from KHU KHU coming soon, plus a more detailed look at Christian Dior and a FANS IN FILM entry in anticipation of the upcoming festival and award season. Hello Oscar!
References:
Bauhaus a Blueprint for the Future / Rowan Moore/The Guardian.com/ April '12 ----Bauhaus Ballet / Addison Nugent/ MessyNessyChic.com/ December '18----Timeline of Art History/ Heilbrunn/ Metropolitan Museum of Art.com/ October '16----Timeless Examples of Bauhaus Design/ Elena Martilique/ Widewalls.com/ May '16----Bauhaus exhibitions in 2019 celebrating the school’s centenary/ Harriet Thorpe/ Wallpaper.com/ January '19----Wallpaper article Harriet Thorpe