Bauhaus
A Puzzling OrderAnni Albers used her art to introduce order and clarity into an otherwise unstable and chaotic world. She grew up in Berlin during World War I and in 1933 was forced to leave Germany for the US after the Nazis came to power and closed the Bauhaus where she and her husband, Josef Albers, were teaching. She had joined the Bauhaus as a student in 1922. There she studied weaving and is best known for her woven art, produced over a weaving career of almost fifty years. Anni Albers, Knoll Textiles, Bauhaus, pattern |
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Functional SculptureUtilitarian object? Small-scale abstract sculpture? Both. When I first had the opportunity to investigate this lamp close up, I was struck by the way it’s form, composed of the simplest geometric shapes—circle, sphere, cylinder, cube, seemed to articulate a perfect balance between the functional and the artistic. Piano lamp, Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, W. H. Gispen, De Stijl, Bauhaus |
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A Modern Flat FloralA limited yet dynamic color palette breathes life into the flat color motifs of this screen-printed woven linen textile by Ruth Hildegard Geyer-Raack. Ruth Hildegard Geyer-Raack, Josef Hillerbrand, Bauhaus, Deutsche Werkstatten |
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Pulsating LifeGunta (Aldegunde) Stölzl is known for her weaving and teaching at the Bauhaus. Her compelling textile designs, which play on line and color, appeal as independent artworks in themselves. Gunta (Aldegunde) Stölzl, Bauhaus, textile design, drawing, watercolor, World War I, Germany, Color |
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Studied Beauty: Textile Panel by Ethel SteinCooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is fortunate to have in its collection three textiles designed and woven by Ethel Stein, a preeminent twentieth and twenty-first century American artist and weaver. Stein’s early design influences include studying in the 1940s with the Bauhaus artist and designer, Josef Albers (1888-1976) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Albers . Ethel Stein, ikat, damask, Josef Albers, Bauhaus, weaver |
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TanzstudioIn 1931 when he designed this poster, the Swiss artist, designer, and architect Max Bill had already completed several years of study at the Bauhaus under the guidance of artistic luminaries Oskar Schlemmer, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky. Bill had returned to Switzerland in 1929, and it was while living in Z&uu Max Bill, poster, graphic design, dance, Käthe Wulff, Mariette von Meyenburg, Bauhaus, Rudolf von Laban, Oskar Schlemmer |
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A Chair for the American FamilyIn 1951, Danish architect and designer Finn Juhl brought Danish Modernism to forefront of American consciousness. He did so with his interior for the “Good Design” Exhibition in Chicago, as well his design for the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York, which he completed the following year. However, Juhl’s sculptural forms, praised as the height of modern design, were not only placed on display in prominent American arenas but were also integrated into American homes, bringing European design to the average American consumer. Finn Juhl, Danish Modernism, America, mass production, chair, Kaare Klint, Bauhaus, Baker Modern, Niels Vodder |
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Radio City Music Hall: A Celebration of American Modern DesignDonald Deskey, Radio City Music Hall, Industrial Design, Bauhaus, Samuel Rothafel, rococo, carpet design, entertainment, drawing, Great Depression, New York City |
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Exodus“Work? It’s just serious play,” Saul Bass remarked in a 1993 interview. Indeed, Saul Bass’s marvelous career, which spanned from the 1930s until his death in 1996, is defined by his trademark wit, humor, and playfulness. Whether it was in movie posters, billboards, brand identities, or packaging design, Bass always injected his work with a delightful energy and intelligence, quite remarkable given the distilled simplicity of his work. Saul Bass, poster, graphic design, Arts Students League, Bauhaus, Paul Rand, Alvin Lustig, New York City, film, Judaism |
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Beautiful LadiesAdmirers of this exquisite tapestry fragment woven in medieval Spain fondly refer to it as "the Drinking Ladies"—an apt description for the two pairs of beautifully-robed women who lift their cups and bottle in salutation. The Drinking Ladies communicates the pleasures of female companionship amid the sumptuous environment of the wealthier classes. This was the time when the Alhambra was in its greatest splendor, with every surface of the royal residence covered in elaborate decoration. tapestry, slit tapestry, Anni Albers, textiles, weaving, spain, Alhambra, Bauhaus |
