Walter Gropius “The Theory and Organization of the Bauhaus” 1923. Trans. H. Bayer. reprinted in Art in Theory: 1900-2000. ed. Harrison and Wood pp. 309-314
“The dominant spirit of our epoch is already recognizable although its form is not yet clearly defined. The old dualistic world-concept which envisaged the ego in opposition to the universe is rapidly losing ground. In its place is rising the idea of a universal unity in which all opposing forces exist in a state of absolute balance. This dawning recognition of the essential oneness of all things and their appearances endows creative effort with a fundamental inner meaning. No longer can anything exist in isolation. We perceive every form as the embodiment of an idea, every piece of work as a manifestation of our inner-most selves. only work which is the product of inner compulsion can have spiritual meaning. Mechanized work is lifeless, proper only to the lifeless machine. So long, however, as machine-economy remains an end in itself rather than a means of freeing the intellect from the burden of mechanical labor, the individual will remain enslaved and society will remain disordered” p. 309
“The objective of all creative effort in the visual arts is to give form to space … but what is space, and how can it be understood and given a form
.. although we may achieve an awareness of the infinite we can give form to space only with finite means. We become aware of space through hour undivided Ego, through the simultaneous activity of soul, mind and body. A like concentration of all our forces is necessary to give it form. Through his intuition, through his metaphysical powers, man discovers the immaterial space of inward vision and inspiration. this conception of space demands realization in the material world, a realization which is accomplished by the brain and hands” p. 311
“The guiding principle of the Bauhaus was therefore the idea of creating a new unity through the welding together of many ‘arts’ and movements: a unity having its basis in Man himself and significant only as a living organism
Human achievement depends on the proper coordination of all the creative faculties. it is not enough to school one or another of them separately: they must all be thoroughly trained at the same time. The character of the Bauhaus teachings derive from the realization of this” p. 311
“The Bauhaus is consciously formulating a new coordination of the means of construction and expression. Without this, its ultimate aim would be impossible. For collaboration in a group is not to be obtained solely by correlating the abilities and talents of various individuals. Only an apparent unity can be achieved if many helpers carry out the designs of a single person. In fact, the individual’s labor within the group should exist as his own independent accomplishment. Real unity can be achieved only by coherent restatement of the formal theme, by repetition of its integral proportions in all parts of the work. Thus everyone engaged in the work must understand the origin and meaning of the principle theme” p. 313
“Modern painting, breaking through old conventions, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world. But when, in the future, artists who sense new creative values have had practical training in the industrial world, they will themselves possess the means for realizing those values immediately. They will compel industry to serve their idea and industry will seek out and utilize their comprehensive training” p. 314
I wanted to post these notes on Bauhaus because it goes another step further in advancing some of the strands of Marxist theory running through some previous posts, and I think puts a useful spin on those ideas by focusing artistic production on physical objects and the built environment. Starting with the assumption that industrial production implicates all members of a society in production either as laborers or consumers, the Bauhaus sought to create a rational, popular design that was connected to a broad-based education program that empowered everyone to think about design.
The Bauhaus provides a few ways to think about efficacy
Effective art is realized in our physical environment and is part of our lives generally, rather than as just ‘art’ or an abstract idea.
Effective art must contribute to a general social uplift because of the mutual implication of all people together in collective labor – particularly in industrial production.
Gropius on the Bauhaus
Walter Gropius “The Theory and Organization of the Bauhaus” 1923. Trans. H. Bayer. reprinted in Art in Theory: 1900-2000. ed. Harrison and Wood pp. 309-314
“The dominant spirit of our epoch is already recognizable although its form is not yet clearly defined. The old dualistic world-concept which envisaged the ego in opposition to the universe is rapidly losing ground. In its place is rising the idea of a universal unity in which all opposing forces exist in a state of absolute balance. This dawning recognition of the essential oneness of all things and their appearances endows creative effort with a fundamental inner meaning. No longer can anything exist in isolation. We perceive every form as the embodiment of an idea, every piece of work as a manifestation of our inner-most selves. only work which is the product of inner compulsion can have spiritual meaning. Mechanized work is lifeless, proper only to the lifeless machine. So long, however, as machine-economy remains an end in itself rather than a means of freeing the intellect from the burden of mechanical labor, the individual will remain enslaved and society will remain disordered” p. 309
“The objective of all creative effort in the visual arts is to give form to space … but what is space, and how can it be understood and given a form .. although we may achieve an awareness of the infinite we can give form to space only with finite means. We become aware of space through hour undivided Ego, through the simultaneous activity of soul, mind and body. A like concentration of all our forces is necessary to give it form. Through his intuition, through his metaphysical powers, man discovers the immaterial space of inward vision and inspiration. this conception of space demands realization in the material world, a realization which is accomplished by the brain and hands” p. 311
“The guiding principle of the Bauhaus was therefore the idea of creating a new unity through the welding together of many ‘arts’ and movements: a unity having its basis in Man himself and significant only as a living organism Human achievement depends on the proper coordination of all the creative faculties. it is not enough to school one or another of them separately: they must all be thoroughly trained at the same time. The character of the Bauhaus teachings derive from the realization of this” p. 311
“The Bauhaus is consciously formulating a new coordination of the means of construction and expression. Without this, its ultimate aim would be impossible. For collaboration in a group is not to be obtained solely by correlating the abilities and talents of various individuals. Only an apparent unity can be achieved if many helpers carry out the designs of a single person. In fact, the individual’s labor within the group should exist as his own independent accomplishment. Real unity can be achieved only by coherent restatement of the formal theme, by repetition of its integral proportions in all parts of the work. Thus everyone engaged in the work must understand the origin and meaning of the principle theme” p. 313
“Modern painting, breaking through old conventions, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world. But when, in the future, artists who sense new creative values have had practical training in the industrial world, they will themselves possess the means for realizing those values immediately. They will compel industry to serve their idea and industry will seek out and utilize their comprehensive training” p. 314
I wanted to post these notes on Bauhaus because it goes another step further in advancing some of the strands of Marxist theory running through some previous posts, and I think puts a useful spin on those ideas by focusing artistic production on physical objects and the built environment. Starting with the assumption that industrial production implicates all members of a society in production either as laborers or consumers, the Bauhaus sought to create a rational, popular design that was connected to a broad-based education program that empowered everyone to think about design.
The Bauhaus provides a few ways to think about efficacy
Effective art is realized in our physical environment and is part of our lives generally, rather than as just ‘art’ or an abstract idea.
Effective art must contribute to a general social uplift because of the mutual implication of all people together in collective labor – particularly in industrial production.