Bauhaus

Weaving: This shop was where most of the women studied even if they entered the Bauhaus wanting to explore a different department. There was little interest in letting women “experiment” in workshops that were said to be much better suited for men. On a different note it made sense for women to go into textiles because it was the one industry that would hire them as artists once they left the Bauhaus. At first a variety of crafts were practiced then it switched solely to weaving where the students produced cushions, blankets, fabric for clothing, knotted carpets and wall hangings. Basic knowledge about patterns and color was instilled in the pupils by artists such as Paul Klee, Johannes Itten and Georg Munche. Experimentation with various non traditional fibers such cellophane and rayon lead to spins off of traditional weaving. Steel yarn was established for the famous tubular steel chairs.

Examples of work done in the Bauhaus weaving workshops:

Gunta Stolzl, 1923 - Hedwig Jungnik, 1921- Lore Leudesdorff, 1923

Metal: Here traditional metal work techniques were taught. Straightforward objects were reduced to elementary forms a basic concept of the Bauhaus. Everything from lamp models to chairs was produced in this workshop. Function was the underlying goal along with the Bauhaus approach to design. Large lighting manufactures eventually took some of the models into serial production making this one of the most successful Bauhaus workshops.

Furniture: No workshop made as much impact on the public as the cabinet-making workshop. Long lasting, cheap, aesthetically pleasing and well suited for industrial production were all goals of the furniture workshop. The first piece that embodied the goals was the Lattice Chair at Weimar followed by the Tubular Steel Chair at Dessau. These tubular steel chairs became the new living style and the new direction of the Bauhaus.

Images of Bauhaus chairs

Pottery: The pottery workshop was only open at the Weimar school. In Dessau the program was not reestablished. At Weimar the department was off campus and small. Their main focus was how to practically produce original and functional pottery. They received very little interest in cooperation with various ceramic manufactures that were wary of experimental production pieces.

Further Links

The Bauhaus Archiv – Museum of Design, Berlin (in English)

Interview with Wilfred Franks, who studied at the Bauhaus from 1929-1931 (in English)

Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (in German)

Information & Photos of Bauhaus Influenced Architecture in Tel Aviv (in English)

The Bauhaus: People, Places, Products and Philosophy (in English)

Bauhaus Dessau (in English)

Bauhaus UNESCO Site (in English)