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The Bauhaus Ideal: Then and Now
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About the Book“. . . a lively account that finally confirms the ultimate importance of Bauhaus innovation.” —Dore Ashton, The Cooper Union “Highly politicized . . . amply illustrated with pencil sketches, and featuring a detailed annotated bibliography, Smock’s short and lively book is long on controversy and ideas . . .” —Whitney Scott, Booklist “. . . it’s concise, fun to read and beautifully illustrated. . . . For students, this book should help to inspire new interest in what Modernism was/is all about.”—Scott Klinker, Cranbrook Academy of Art This is an enormously readable history of modernist design, enhanced by the author’s b/w drawings that both illustrate and elucidate the text. It is a book meant for lay readers and examines its subject with the kind of wit and insight found in John Berger’s Ways of Seeing and Edward E. Tufte’s Envisioning Information. The Bauhaus Ideal is both a picture book and a guidebook to the fascinating and enduring legacy of modernist design, and to the continuing influence of Bauhaus on interior design—not just on architecture, but also on furniture, glassware, tableware, and kitchen utensils: the whole range of domestic arts. Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Buckminster Fuller, Charles and Ray Eames, and others were part of a movement to make sense of design in the modern world. Their experiments—both successes and failures—eloquently demonstrate what design can accomplish. “Design” itself was an invention of the Bauhaus era to combine usefulness, beauty, and economy into a reasonable whole. his unique volume introduces modern design principles and examines them from an historically critical perspective. It concludes with some ideas for melding modern solemnity with postmodern irony. And in each phase the illustrations speak as eloquently as the text—the whole serves as a beautifully illustrated design memo. About the AuthorWilliam Smock is a filmmaker and a designer. He has produced award-winning films, including a PBS TV portrait of Isamu Noguchi for American Masters with designer/filmmaker Hiro Narita. He lives in Berkeley, CA. |
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