The Rise And Fall Of The Bauhaus

10 Pages 2575 Words

the English movement of Arts and Crafts. It was, however, more open to machine production; but at the same time it had almost a missionary character. The openness to the industrialized society still was one of the mainstays of Werkbund's success. Nevertheless, there was no real breakthrough before World War I. Deutsches Werkbund arranged a large fair in Cologne in 1914. Instead of new ideas there were many variants of old solutions.
After World War I industrial art was no longer an individualistic phenomenon. Goals for the activities were set collectively inside industrial art and at the same time there was an endeavor to give new arguments for the necessity of a change. Naturally, the opposing forces had also been strengthened by the upheavals caused by the First World War. On the other hand, quite unpredicted forces were turned free. Thus the twenties were full of contrasts, both fruitful and destructive. The move from abundance to poverty, especially in the subdued Germany struggling with great economical problems, created a new kind of consciousness. To begin with, it appeared in the late expressionistic emotional manifestations and before long also in a formal simplicity. Bauhaus was a reaction to these social changes. Social starting points and new esthetic goals were not easy to combine with the new human being. The result was sometimes a Puritanism that emphasized orthagonal qualities. On the othe!
r hand, smooth, tensely stretched or softly flowing forms could be combined with brilliant, pure colors. After the mid 1920s a certain hygienic freshness also filled the furnished rooms, and all kinds of abundance had to step aside. No wonder that the shining tubular steel was implemented as a furniture material. The education of art proper and applied arts had to be reformed. One must have the courage to tackle the problems of technicality and machination. By the mid 1920s Gropius had defined more exactly the starting points of mo...