Bauhaus Model

“Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” will be the central exhibition during Berlin’s cultural summer – Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin / Museum für Gestaltung, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and Klassik Stiftung Weimar will open anniversary exhibition on 21 July 2009 For the first time, the three German Bauhaus institutions are uniting to present a comprehensive exhibition about the Bauhaus, the most influential school for art, design and architecture of the 20th century. Numerous, to a large extent widely unknown objects will make “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” a unique exhibition that will dominate Berlin’s cultural summer. The primary supporter of the exhibition, which honours the ninetieth anniversary of the foundation of the State Bauhaus in Weimar, is the national Kulturstiftung (Culture Foundation). “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” will be shown from 22 July until 4 October 2009 in the Martin-Gropius-Bau. “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” recounts the story of the Bauhaus in a comprehensive presentation of the works of its masters and students as well as the most important school issues. Inter-disciplinary, experimental teaching, the concept of practice-oriented workshops, the pursuit of answers to social questions, the propagation of timeless aesthetics as well as experimentation with new procedures and materials in architecture and design were the school’s most important concerns. The exhibition focuses on the comprehensive significance of the Bauhaus in regard to the development and internationalisation of modernity and goes beyond, examining its world-wide, lasting impact on architecture and design up until the present day. While previous exhibitions on the Bauhaus were grouped according to its workshops, “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” chooses the perspective of the history of its development. The curators of the three participating Bauhaus institutions go on to pursue the issues of the further development, reception and current significance of the Bauhaus. While the portrayal of the historical Bauhaus will be presented in the 18 ground floor gallery rooms of the Martin-Gropius-Bau, the view of the post-Bauhaus era is located in the spacious “Lichthof” (Lighted Courtyard). Influenced by Johannes Itten’s “Farbkreis” (colour circle), the exhibition architects, chezweitz & roseapple, allocate individual shades of colours to the Bauhaus’ stages of development. The early works of the Bauhaus masters are highlights. They document why Feininger, Klee, Kandinsky et al were summoned to the school as masters. Works by masters and students created during their sojourn at the Bauhus demonstrate the fast-paced creative development of the school. Among other objects, the “Gropius Folder” can be seen, which was presented to the director of the Bauhaus as a birthday gift in 1924. The visitor will be amazed by the “African Chair”, created and constructed by Marcel Breuer and the weaving artist Gunta Stölzl in 1921. For eighty years it was assumed to have been lost, and is quite contradictory to Breuer’s wide reputation as the designer of the steel tube furniture. Breuer’s first “Club chair” from 1926 can also be seen, as well as Johannes Itten’s four-metre-high “Tower of Fire” from 1920. The “Draft of a socialist city” by Reinhold Rossig and the “Bauhaus Dress” by Lis Vogler from 1928 are exemplary representatives of the unknown works that originated in the workshops. The exhibition “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” will be flanked by an extensive programme. Along with many cultural events in Berlin, Dessau and Weimar, the focus will be on an international conference on the subject of migration: How and with which means did the Bauhaus spread throughout the world after it was closed down, and who were the protagonists? Parallel to the exhibition, a summer school will offer international students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Bauhaus at the original venues. With the academic guidance of staff members, the collections of the three Bauhaus institutions will be made accessible to the participants. The conference and the summer school will be made possible by the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin. The cooperation partner of the exhibition “Bauhaus. A Conceptual Model” is the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which will celebrate its 80th birthday with the exhibition “bauhaus 1919–1933: workshops for modernity” directly following the Berlin presentation. www.modell-bauhaus.de http://bauhaus2009.itsrv.de/cms/website.php