Last spring/summer I apprenticed with a German sculptor just outside of Munich and since then have taken a liking to German things, people, history, but mostly language!...and design. (But not to worry I do not bow to the Bauhaus and it's design exclusively)
Upon reading Mathusius' 'Aims of the Werkbund' I became interested in their timeline and wanted ot look at some of their desings from all of the different eras they lived through. They were around from 1907-34 (says the Maathusius article) but I also read they reoganized after WW11 as well. I am interested in how their design aesthetic, so consistent with its aim, changed throughout the years. Initially government funded to create a national German industrial standard of aesthetic, through to WW1, the Weimar period, starting the Bauhaus, rubbing the Nationalist Socialist party the wrong way, and then reconvening after the war the amount of progress and devestation it existed in is quite spectacular. 'Vom Sofakissen zum Städtebau ' was the motto of the Werkbund translating to 'from sofcushions to city buildings'. (Identity and German Architecture: Views of a German Architect - M Hackel)
So here are some photos of Werkbund designs throughout the ages.
(There is also a Werkbund archive online http://www.museumderdinge.de/
Their 'Ding of the month' is quite funny especially the english translations. It is a little hard to navigate around sometimes I find.)
This is a pavillion designed by Bruna Taut in 1914 for the Cologne Werkbund Exhibition.Although the exterior had modern qualities like the use of glass and geometrical shapes I still find it quite derivitive of Greek design from supporting columns, text on cement, cascades of stairs.
This is the Wedding tower designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich in 1908 (created to commemorate the marriage of Ernst Ludwig and Princess Eleonara of Solms).
This is a chair designed by Lilly Reich and Miles van der Rohe in 1929. I found that many sources online only mentioned van der Rohe's name on many of Reich and Rohe's collaborative designs. This design is interesting because it uses industrial material (metal) infused its design along with leather.
Thanks for these photos! It's a nice variety to get a sense of the scope of work.
ReplyDeleteI think I am most intrigue by the quality of collaboration that the werkbund represents. 12 artists and 12 business firms with a joint goal of putting Germany on the world stage -- product manufacturers and design professionals coming together to give Germany a competitive advantage. And, it worked!
I wonder what made it work so well? So many collaborative efforts fail. Why did this pne succeed so spectacularly? Was it the clear and ambitious goal? Was it the cohesion of the design vision? I would love to learn more about the process that led to these results.
I also think about possibilities for us in contemporary times in Canada when we export our raw materials in great abundance (e.g., lumber) only to import furniture from other nations makde with our wood. What type of collaborative opportunities are there for Canada? Trade missions seem plentiful whereas true collaboration not as plentiful.
This is definitely an area I'd like to look into further. Suggestions welcome!
Jacqueline