Philosophy and changing philosophy of bauhaus

The Bauhaus:

started in Weimar, Germany in 1919 - Director: Walter Gropius

moved to Dessau, Germany in 1925 - Director: Hannes Meyer

moved to Berlin, Germany in 1932 - Director: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

closed in 1933

(each move had a different director and each director had a different philosophy)



The Bauhaus was an Art, Design and Architecture School.



1. Philosophies of Weimar Bauhaus: The Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius, devised the curriculum. He wanted to break down the barriers between craftsmanship, architecture and industrial production. he brought people together that wouldn't normally work together and removed all boundaries between their disciplines. All students learned together and learned from each other. They were exposed to a vast range of materials and skills and were encouraged to find new and improved ways of designing everyday items.


"The Bauhaus became the centre of new thinking. Functionality and simplicity were combined with aesthetics, to produce a purer form of design. Previously, Art Nouveau had been about creating ornate, complicated, decorative products. The Bauhaus reduced the complexity of design to simplicity, functionality and an pure form of aesthetics." http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/bauhaus1.html



History

- WW1 ended in 1918

- Previously it had been a dictatorship under Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Reichstag (Parliament) could not make laws and could not appoint the Government, that was the Kaiser's job.

- However, WW1 changed everything when Germany was defeated. The Government fell apart, the Navy rebelled causing food riots and Germany had to sign the Armistice in November 1918. Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to Holland.

- Soon after, during the political chaos, the members of the Reichstag met in the small town of Weimar, near Berlin. They decided to set up a new democratic government in February 1919, which was a Republic, meaning it didn't have a King. This is why we refer to it as the "Weimar Republic".

- The Weimar Republic was a good democracy because it had a Bill of Rights to protect the freedoms of the people and it gave the vote to all men and women over the age of 21 (equality). They elected MPs in line with the wishes of the people and let the people elect the Reichstag, which appointed the government and made the laws. Frederick Ebert was the President of the Republic, and he was also elected by the people.

- Lots of German people didn't like the new Democracy and they found themselves being attacked from both sides, left wing and right woing politicians.

- Communists (left-wing) hayted the new government, they didn't waqntdemcracy

- Many right wing germans (Nationalists) refused to belive that they had lost the war, it was the governemtntbhat surrendered, not the army.

- Proportional representation turned out to be a disaster too. It led to the election of many tiny parties, all of whom squabbled amongst each other, so no government could get a majority in the Reichstag – so it could never pass the laws it wanted. http://www.johndclare.net/Basics_Germany.htm



2. Philosophies of Dessau Bauhaus: Hannes Meyer

"Hannes Meyer moved away from artistic intuition towards building theory. He separated the sciences from the arts and introduced new subjects related to technology, natural science and the humanities. He also reorganised the workshops to meet the requirements of industry and an equal social ideal. The Bauhaus now aspired to two educational objectives: to educate the production or construction engineer and the artist. Instead of Gropius’s “exploration of the principles of design”, Meyer called on the students to base their designs strictly on the given requirements and to study the “life processes” of the future users. He promoted the expansion of the workshops on a cooperative basis and set up vertical brigades that united the students of various academic years in the implementation of projects such as the ADGB school building. The curriculum now included photography (in a photography workshop which was part of the advertising department) and lessons in urban planning.

Meyer’s continued critique of the direction in which the Bauhaus had developed caused increasing tensions with Walter Gropius, who had lost nothing of his power base even after his resignation. In addition, the Bauhaus’s students became increasingly politicised and radicalised as the communist influence grew. Because Meyer did not prohibit these tendencies in his role as director, Gropius ultimately pleaded to have Meyers fired in order to protect the school from political repercussions. On 1st August 1930, Meyer was dismissed summarily by the city of Dessau due to “Communist machinations”. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who had also been recommended by Gropius, became his successor as director." http://bauhaus-online.de/en/atlas/personen/hannes-meyer



3. Philosophies of Berlin Bauhaus: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

"Both the school and the city of Dessau had hoped that Mies van der Rohe’s authority would have a calming influence on the school’s radicalised student body. However, because of the balance of power in Dessau, which was dominated by the National Socialists, even Mies van der Rohe was unable to maintain the school’s location. He attempted to continue the school’s teaching activities in Berlin until its enforced closure in 1932.

In 1930, Mies van der Rohe became the director of the Bauhaus Dessau and began his academic teaching activities. In his brief period at the Bauhaus, Mies van der Rohe was compelled to make more and more concessions to the political circumstances: Pressured by the risk of closure, the curriculum became more conventional, the experimental work was reduced, the workshops were combined and the preliminary course was eliminated. The duration of the studies was shortened and the tuition fees increased. The students’ studios remained closed and the Bauhaus GmbH was dissolved.

The Bauhaus Dessau was closed in 1932 by a newly elected city council with a National Socialist majority. After complex negotiations in relation to the dissolution of the city of Dessau’s financial obligations towards the Bauhaus and its personnel – including the accrued revenues for licensing contracts such as those with the Kandem lamp company and the Rasch wallpaper factory – Mies van der Rohe attempted to continue to lead the school as a private institute, based in an empty telephone factory in Berlin-Steglitz." http://bauhaus-online.de/en/atlas/personen/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe