Bauhaus manifesto 1919 .
The
complete building is the final aim of the visual arts. Their noblest function
was once the decoration of buildings.
Today
they exist in isolation, from which they all can be rescued only through the
conscious, cooperative effort of all craftsmen. Architects, painters, and
sculptors must recognize anew the composite character of a building as an
entity. Only then will their work be imbued with the architectonic spi 616i83g rit that
it lost when it became a "salon art." The old art schools were unable
to achieve this unity and, after all, how could they, since art cannot be
taught? They must be absorbed once more by the workshop.
This
world of designers and decorators, who only draw and paint, must finally become
one of builders again. If the young person who feels within him the urge to
create again, as in former times, begins his career by learning a handicraft,
the unproductive artist will, in the future, no longer remain condemned to the
creation of mediocre art, because his skill will redound the benefit of the
handicrafts, in which he will be able to produce things of excellence.
Architects,
sculptors, painters, we must all turn to the crafts! Art is not a profession.
There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman.
The
artist is an exalted craftsman. In rare moments of inspiration, moments beyond
the control of his will, the grace of heaven may cause his work to blossom into
art. But proficiency in his craft is essential to every artist. Therein lies a
source of creative imagination.
Let
us create a new guild of craftsmen, without the class distinctions that raise
an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist. Together let us conceive and
create the new building of the future, which will embrace architecture and
sculpture and painting in one unity and which will rise one day toward heaven
from the hands of a million workers, like the crystal symbol of a new faith.
WALTER
GROPIUS
The
National Bauhaus at Weimar grew out of the merger of the former Grandducal
Saxonian School of Graphic Arts and the Grandducal Saxonian School of Arts and
Crafts, with the addition of a new department for architecture.
Objectives of the Bauhaus.
The
Bauhaus strives to reunite arts and crafts - sculpture, painting, applied art,
and handicrafts - as the permanent elements of a new architecture.
The
ultimate, though distant aim of the Bauhaus is the Einheitskunstwerk (Uniform
Work of Art) - the great construction that recognizes no boundaries between
monumental and decorative art.
The
Bauhaus wants to educate architects, painters and sculptors of all sorts to
become qualified craftsmen or independent creative artists. It also aspires to
establish a study group of leading artists who will be able to design buildings
in their entirety - from rough brickwork to completion, including
embellishments and furnishings that reflect a similar spirit and unity.
Principles of the Bauhaus.
Art
in itself is beyond all methods; it cannot be taught. However, one can teach a
trade. Architects, painters, sculptors are artisans in the true sense of the
word, therefore the thorough mechanical training of all such students in
workshops is an indispensable foundation for all creative activities. (Their
own workshops should be completed gradually, and apprenticeships should be
entered into with outside workshops.) The school is the servant of the
workshop.
One
day the two will merge into one. Therefore there are no teachers and pupils at
the Bauhaus, but masters, journeymen, and apprentices.
Teaching methods at the Bauhaus.
The
manner of teaching arises from the nature of the workshop: organic form
developed from mechanical knowledge; elimination of all rigidity; emphasis on
creativity; freedom of individuality, but strict scholarship.
Masters
and journeymen are examined according to the regulations of the guilds by
masters of the Bauhaus or outside masters from the trade guilds. Students
participate in the projects of the masters.
There
is common planning of extensive building projects - popular and cultural
buildings - with utopian aims. Allmasters and students collaborate on these
projects, aiming for eventual harmony of all elements and parts pertaining to
the construction. There is continuous contact with the country's leading
experts on trade and industry, as well as with the public, through exhibitions
and other events.
New
experiments arecarried on to solve the problem of exhibiting two- and
three-dimensional art in an architectonic frame. Finally, friendly relations
are fostered between masters and students outside of the work by means of
theater parties, lectures, poetry readings, concerts, and fancy dress balls.
Scope of instructions at the Bauhaus.
Teaching
at the Bauhaus embraces all practical and scientific fields of creative
production: architecture, painting, sculpture, and related handicrafts.
Students
are taught a trade as well as drawing and painting, and also scientific theory.
1. Workshops - be it Bauhaus
workshops or others, where students are obligated by contracts - comprise:
A.
Sculptors, stonemasons, stucco workers, wood sculptors, potters, plasterers;
B.
Blacksmiths, locksmiths, founders;
C.
Carpenters;
D.
Scene painters, glass painters, mosaic workers, enamel workers;
E.
Etchers, wood engravers, lithographers, printers of fine art, engravers;
F.
Weavers. The foundation of the Bauhaus teaching is instruction in a trade. Each
student has to learn a trade.
2. Instructions in drawing and
painting include:
A.
Free sketching from memory and imagination;
B.
Drawing and painting of heads, life models, and animals;
C.
Drawing and painting of landscapes, figures, plants, and stilI life;
D.
Compositions;
E.
Execution of mural paintings, plaques, and decorated chests;
G.
Lettering;
H.
Construction and projection drawing; Design of exteriors, gardens and interior
architecture;
J.
Design of furniture and commodities.
3. Instructions in the
scientific and theoretical arts include:
A.
Art history - emphasizing not a history of styles but the understanding of
historical working methods and techniques;
B.
Science of materials;
C.
Anatomy - with live models;
D.
Physical and chemical theory of colors;
E.
Scientific methods of painting;
F.
Fundamentals of bookkeeping, drawing-up of contracts, contracts for the
building of houses;
G.
Single lectures on subjects of general interest in the fields of art and
science. Work-distribution Plan
The teaching is divided into
three sections:
(1)
instruction for apprentices;
(2)
instruction for journeymen; and
(3)
instruction for junior masters.
The
details of education within the framework of the general program and the
work-distribution plan, which has to be newly set up for each semester, are
left to the judgement of the individual masters.
In
order to provide the students with the most multifaceted, extensive technical
and artistic education, the work-distribution plan is so arranged that each
prospective architect, painter, or sculptor may also participate in some of the
other courses.
Enrollment
and Tuition. Space permitting, any person whose basic training is considered
sufficient by the master counsel is admitted regardless of age or sex. The
annual tuition fee is 180 marks (with the increased earnings of the Bauhaus,
this should be gradually eliminated). In addition a single admission fee of
twenty marks has to be paid.
Foreigners
pay double. Inquiries are to be made to the Secretariat of the National Bauhaus
at Weimar.
April 1919. The Administration of the
National Bauhaus at Weimar.
