THE BAUHAUS: Weimar, Dessau, Berlin, Chicago

by Hans M. Wingler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 1969

This monumental volume constitutes, in effect, a portable archive of the institution/idea from its antecedents through its most direct descendants. An introductory ""origin and history"" recounts the internal tensions and external pressures that shaped this unique attempt to apply craft techniques to industrial technology, and to approach both via a fundamental grounding in art. The actual procedure -- the preliminary course, the workshops, the product development work -- emerges to an extent in the succeeding and most significant section, that containing a vast array of documents, annotated by the author, which are presented chronologically and include also many of an administrative or, on the other hand, a personal nature. The balance -- two-thirds of the book -- consists primarily of work accomplished in the various areas (metal, weaving, wood, etc) plus photographs of the school and its leading personalities. Surprisingly much of the illustrative material is duplicated in the much smaller, less imposing format of Bauhaus 1918-1928, edited by luminaries Gropius, his wife Ilse and Herbert Bayer, which can be considered the ""official"" history; it also features a more compact and orderly presentation of course content and aims. But while noting disagreements, it fails to define them either ideologically or practically. And, while it extends past the titular time span (and includes Bauhaus-inspired work omitted here), it ends at the date of first publication, 1938. In any case, Wingler's volume has the makings of the book that is still to come, an integrated analytical history, and, surrounding the reader/viewer with tangible evidence, it makes him a putative participant.

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: MIT Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION