New books celebrate the Bauhaus centenary and its legacy

I attended an art and design foundation course much like the famous Vorkurs run by Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy, a year-long requirement for all new Bauhaus students before they could progress to study in a specific workshop. In a similar way to how the Bauhauslers ran the famous art school a century ago, mine was a place that taught experimentation and encouraged abstraction, tasking us to find our own unique solutions. And it happened to be the finest year of my formal education. The specialist art school that proceeded, failed entirely to capture my imagination, lacking the free spirit, the magical weirdness of that original school. So, I left my paints, clay, tools and camera, and took up writing.

‘To have the gift of imagination is more important than all technology,’ wrote Gropius, reflecting the spiritual origin of the school he founded. And as the Bauhaus celebrates 100, a series of publications aim to explore the enduring legacy of this modest art school founded in 1919 in the quiet town of Weimar. Some are assessing the impact of the Bauhaus post 1933, as Bauhauslers emigrated to England and America and beyond. Others have re-published some of the original Bauhaus journals and documents. Together they tell a compelling story of the most famous school of design – a place of collective dialogues, progressive ideology, imagination and creative madness.

The Bauhaus was formed in response to the crisis and devastation following the first world war. It represented a collective voice desperate to forge a new world order. It was and remains so much more than an art school – it represents a significant cultural movement. The Bauhauslers championed the power of imagination and freedom of expression. They believed strongly in bringing the art of craft to industry, embracing architecture and sculpture and painting in one unity. They explored utopian ideas, celebrated the avant-garde and encouraged free love and creative madness – sometimes to the extreme. And long after they were forced to shut down, pressured by the Nazis who saw the progressive ways a threat after assuming power in 1933, as émigrés in London and Paris and New York, their dissident voices continued to be heard.

The first of the series of books takes us back in time for insight into the teachings, ideas and philosophies of the Bauhaus when it was alive with discussion in Weimar, Dessau and then Berlin. Lars Müller has collaborated with Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung for ‘Bauhaus Journals 1926-1931’ with edited voices of the key figures of the modern movement in art and design. Josef Albers, Walter Gropius, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy, Oskar Schlemmer, Herbert Bayer, Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gerrit Rietveld – all feature in this stimulating publication.

They address developments in and around the Bauhaus, the methods and focal points of their own teaching, and current projects of students and masters. The exact replica of all individual issues is accompanied by a commentary booklet including an overview of the content, an English translation of all texts, and a scholarly essay to place the journal in its historical context.

Accompanying this are four beautifully-republished journals from the ‘Bauhausbücher’ series, all in their original design. ‘International Architecture’ was the first to start the series with the school founder Gropius offering an illustrative lesson on the theories of the modern architecture movement of the mid-1920s. In ‘Pedagogical Sketchbook’ artist Klee expresses key aspects of the Bauhaus’ guiding philosophies, writing of his desire to reunite artistic design and craft in a tone that moves between the seeming objectivity of the diagram, the rhetoric of science and mathematics, and an abstract intuition.

Third in the series by Lars Müller is ‘New Design’ by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. He begins with a philosophical foray describing art as a figurative expression of human existence, questioning the prevailing hierarchy between painting and architecture, observing the future of his movement, neoplasticism – abstract painting which used only horizontal and vertical lines and primary colours. Lastly, ‘Painting, Photography, Film’ by Moholy-Nagy argues for photography and filmmaking to be recognised as a means of artistic design on the same level as painting. With some fascinating illustrations, the Hungarian makes the case for a functional transformation within the visual arts and for the further development of photographic design options.

All this was before 1933. With the closure of the Bauhaus school, most of its prominent members left Germany in search for new homes, and new schools to teach. They took with them their ideologies, which in turn evolved and changed with their new destinations. Two books explore this post-Bauhaus journey.

‘Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain’ by Batsford narrates the brilliant story of the giants of the international modern movement – Gropius, Moholy-Nagy, Breuer – and their brief émigré life in Hampstead, London before they moved to America. The story centres around the Isokon, the building by architect Wells Coats, where they lived and where they collectively pioneered concepts of minimal and shared living. Isokon’s apartments, restaurant and bar became a creative hub for writers and artists and designers in the 1930s and 40s. Authors Leyla Daybelge and Magnus Englund paint a colourful portrait of the notorious dinners here, as the Bauhauslers party and discuss advancing the world alongside local creatives – Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Peter and Alison Smithson, even Agatha Christie was a guest here.

Thames & Hudson’s ‘Bauhaus Goes West’ also explores the cultural exchange between these émigrés and their new adopted homelands. The general idea is that England wasn’t receptive to the avant-garde in 1933 – possibly a concept backed by the fact that there are few early projects of significance made here. Much like what we learn in the Isokon, author Alan Powers also challenges this notion, suggesting there was a provocative dialogue between the Bauhauslers and local young leaders of opinion here, namely Nicholas Pevsner and Herbert Read. The book follows their journey onto America, where the Bauhaus titans really flourish. Gropius prospers at the Harvard architecture school, Breuer gets to design great monumental buildings, Moholy-Nagy sets up a new Bauhaus school in Chicago, as husband and wife team Anni and Josef Albers shine at the brilliant liberal Black Mountain College in North Carolina.

We will never know if the Bauhaus would have such an ongoing impact on generations of creatives had the school not been forced to close in 1933. Yet what’s clear is that the discussions initiated in this small school of art and design in Weimar in 1919 evolved and enriched through a broader, international dialogue with artists and designers and philosophers and writers from London to Paris, New York, Tel Aviv and beyond. What is also clear is that the creative community could benefit from revisiting these journals, reading some of the ideas being weaved at a time that also was in the midst of crisis. As we navigate a new world, assessing how we can design for a more efficient and fairer world, we should tap into the spirit of this progressive movement – this school of thought.

Nargess Banks

All images are strictly © Lars Müller. From the  ‘Bauhaus Journals 1926 – 1931’, edited and published Lars Müller and Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung; and the re-published journals from the ‘Bauhausbücher’ series (1926-1931)

Design Talks | The Textile Building | 29a Chatham Place | London | E9 6FJ | UK
Design Talks is published by Spinach Design
All rights and labelled images are covered by ©

 

Book review: FuturBalla, Life Light Speed

I have long been intrigued by the Italian futurists. Radical in its early days, the movement was fascinated by progress, speed, modernity. When researching The Life Negroni, we travelled around Italy in search of arts and ideas, of elements that make this classic cocktail so timeless and so special. We soon realised how interlinked the Negroni is with this creative movement when we came across the rich futurist archives at the homes of Campari and Martini in Milan and Piedmont – private collections bursting with rare and unseen works of art. So, I was hugely excited to receive a book dedicated to the work of one of the pioneers of this movement Giacomo Ballà.

FuturBalla: Life Light Speed is edited by Ester Coen and published by Skira

His inventive and innovative style helped forge a fundamental link between Italian art and the classic avant-garde. Ballà was born into an exciting historical time for Italy, in Turin in 1875. His family soon moved to the new capital Rome where the young artist developed his original style rich in glowing streaks, bold contrasts of light and dark, a daring perspective and a love of detail.

Ballà was fascinated by the power and speed, the machine age and in particular cars which he saw as characteristics of modernity. In his studies between 1912 and 1924 entitled Iridescent Interpenetrations, Ballà began embracing futurism through the colourful synthesis of individual elements of light, and in Line of Speed and Abstract Speed The Car (both 1913) he explores movement and dynamism in a rapidly evolving society. Abstract Speed The Car hangs in the Tate Modern in London and is well worth visiting.

FuturBalla: Life Light Speed presents the work and life of Ballà. This is the most complete monograph on the artist presenting works from public and private collections, Tate Modern and Estorick Collection in London, Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and the Israel Museum of Jerusalem. The 200 colour illustrations here are supported by insightful essays by the editor, the art historia Ester Coen and contributors Vincenzo Barone, Zelda De Lillo and Luca Francesco Ticini.

FuturBalla: Life Light Speed is edited by Ester Coen and published by Skira

Nargess Banks

Design Talks | The Textile Building | 29a Chatham Place | London | E9 6FJ | UK
Design Talks is published by Spinach Design
All rights and labelled images are covered by ©

La Vita Campari tells the story of Campari

Davide Campari was a fascinating character. In the early years of the 20th century the company heir set out to explore the potentials of art and ideas in creating a strong, global brand. Eschewing conventions, he joined Milan’s artistic circles, becoming intimately linked with the avant-garde who helped create product design such as the brilliant Campari Soda bottle, daring poster art and advertising – design that were hugely radical for their time and remain fresh today.

Federico Fellini made mini films for Campari; Marcello Nizzoli, Leonetto Cappiello, Bruno Munari, the Italian Futurists and, in particular, the brilliant Fortunato Depero all worked with the company in creating art work – Munari’s 1963 Declinazione grafica del nome Campari now hangs in the MoMA, New York. Today, Campari continues to endorse the arts, most recently working with The Great Beauty director Paolo Sorrentino for the Campari film The Killer in Red.

La Vita Campari tells the story of this pioneering brand. Written by me and created by Spinach with Campari, it is about a company immersed in arts and ideas – one with a unique vision to use great design, branding, advertising (and an intriguing product) to help build a global brand.

For the book, the team went to Milan, the city in which Campari was born and remains so closely linked. They took on-location photography capturing Campari in its ideal setting, within a city that is at once beautiful and brutal. At the studio in London, Spinach photographed the classic Campari cocktails – Milano Torino, Americano, Negroni, Boulevardier, Negroni Sbagliato, Milanese G&T and Campari Tonic. Elsewhere, original poster art and advertising from Galleria Campari offer a glimpse into a brand immersed in the creative world.

La Vita Campari was launched this month at Campari Creates as part of Design Junction and London Design Festival.

Nargess Banks

Design Talks | The Textile Building | 29a Chatham Place | London | E9 6FJ | UK
Design Talks is published by Spinach Design
All rights and labelled images are covered by ©

Exploring the dark, cute and magical world of Yuko Higuchi

‘Magical Colouring Museum’ is a beautifully-illustrated picture book of sorts – cute, dark, surreal, funny, frightening at times. ‘Cats and Other Creatures’ features 24 stand-alone illustrations. Published by Laurence King, together they explore the imaginative world of the celebrated, cult Tokyo artist Yuko Higuchi.

Higuchi is the voice behind the kawaii trend, sketching whimsical illustrations of anthropomorphised characters that fuse cute picture-book style illustrations with dark and surreal elements. In her imaginative universe, cats look like ogres and foxes transform into astronauts. So, I caught up with the artist to see what inspires her wonderfully magical and at times dark world.

Your characters are at once cute and dark. What inspires you?

I can’t pin-point what would be considered cute and what would be dark in my artwork. But, I can tell you that I draw what I love (creatures, etc.) spontaneously.

What attracts you to kawaii?

I am not conscious of creating things that are kawaii. I think that the more intentionally you seek out kawaii, the more intentional your artwork becomes. And in the end, it will just look deliberate or calculated. I don’t have a high opinion on these kinds of kawaii.

Do you base your characters on reality?

Not all of them. I usually just draw as ideas pop into my head, much like how children scribble. Some of my drawings are imaginary characters, and in some cases I base those characters on reality. But, I also add a touch of my imagination to them when I draw.

And the surreal storylines, are these based on real or imaginary events?

I draw from things that pop up in my head. Sometimes an actual event can ignite my storyline, but often my imagination takes over and the story develops as I draw.

What medium do you work in?

I use pens, pencils, hemp paper and watercolours.

Your books can be appreciated by both children and adults. Who do you have in mind when creating?

When I create a book, I don’t have any target age range. Although, honestly, I feel that more adults like my books than children.

Nargess Banks

Design Talks | The Textile Building | 29a Chatham Place | London | E9 6FJ | UK
Design Talks is published by Spinach Design
All rights and labelled images are covered by ©

Residents: Inside the iconic Barbican estate

The Barbican, that twentieth century utopian vision, and one of the most documented housing projects in the world, is taking us for an intimate tour. A select group of its residence are letting us glimpse into their homes and hear their thoughts – all of which is documented in an intriguing new book Residents: Inside the Iconic Barbican Estate.

Here photographer Anton Rodriguez – himself a resident – has captured the interiors of 22 homes for an alternative view of this iconic brutalist estate. We visit the homes of an interesting collection of people, mainly creatives, who have made the Barbican their home, and hear their stories, and their interactions with a building that feels so pivotal to their lives.

This Grade II listed mixed-use residential and arts complex is a monument to the highpoint of modernism – to a time when London urban planners had more compelling visions than simply building luxury apartments for the elite. Constructed in the 1960s and 70s in an inner city area once devastated by World War II bombings, the Barbican was conceived as an urban village of sorts to help form strong communities.

As a piece of architecture, it is a fascinating contrast of hard and soft. The thick slabs of vertical and horizontal concrete encourage a mesmerising graphical play of light, artfully captured by Rodriguez’s lens in the book.

Today over half the world’s population live in cities, predicted to grow to some 75 per cent by 2050 as rural residents are forced to flock to city centres for work. As urban growth explodes, the Barbican vision could not be more relevant.

Residents: Inside the Iconic Barbican Estate is published by the Barbican

Nargess Banks

Design Talks | The Textile Building | 29a Chatham Place | London | E9 6FJ | UK
Design Talks is published by Spinach Design
All rights and labelled images are covered by ©