Walter Gropius' dictum was simple: "Form follows function." When the architect flung open the doors of the Bauhaus in 1919, this idea established the school as one of the most revered of the twentieth century. Architecture, furniture, fixtures, textiles, graphic design,... [more]

Walter Gropius' dictum was simple: "Form follows function." When the architect flung open the doors of the Bauhaus in 1919, this idea established the school as one of the most revered of the twentieth century. Architecture, furniture, fixtures, textiles, graphic design, typography, and advertising -- all would incorporate Bauhaus ideology into their midst. In Gropius' constellation, form equals artistic sentiment, while function parallels technology. Instead of rejecting industrialization (as many at the time were doing), the Bauhaus sought to create a new unity between art and industry. To this end, they eliminated any division between decorative and constructional techniques. The Bauhaus elevated the design of chairs, lamps, and teapots to the same status enjoyed by painting and other fine arts. The realm of typography embraced this philosophy wonderfully. Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, a teacher of typography and photography throughout the '20s, turned to machinery in order to enhance letters on a page. He posited that only a machine could space the letters properly and improve the contrast of color. The "New Typography" style boasts hardly any ornamentation, the letters tripping across the page in perfect succession. While a certain playful artistic gesturing does peak through, the style achieved an apogee of order heretofore unembraced. Maholy-Nagy's example grew in importance as advertising grew to prominence in the twentieth century. With Hitler's rise to power, the Bauhaus was condemned as a socialist institution and shut down. The removal of the distinction between fine and applied arts, the resemblance to a medieval guild, and the notion of artist as laborer all caused the Nazis to swoop down upon this revolutionary institution. Many of these artists fled to America, bringing with them a vision whose influence is still felt around the world today. [show less]