Kundgebungen für das Staatliche Bauhaus Weimar (Announcements for the National Bauhaus Weimar)
Weimar: Staatliche Bauhaus Weimar / Panses Verlag GMBH, 1924. Original document. Softcover. Large Octavo. pp. 105-143 [1] as issued. Original tan wraps with black abstract design and lettering on cover. Letterpress.
Rare Bauhaus document issued at the height of political crisis surrounding the Bauhaus in its Weimar phase. This third and concluding part of the Bauhaus's public rebuttal assembles statements of support from Germany and from abroad, recording 32 contributions and letters defending the school against attacks by the newly elected Thuringian government.
Translation of cover text: 'Following domestic and foreign statements are addressed to the Thuringia government and State Parliament and, due to the threat of the Bauhaus closure, are presented to the public by the Bauhaus Weimar.' The leaflet provides direct evidence of the precarious institutional position of the Bauhaus in 1924, shortly before its forced relocation to Dessau. It documents the breadth of its support network, reflecting the growing recognition of the Bauhaus as a leading center of modern artistic and pedagogical practice.
The list of supporters named in this leaflet includes Bund Deutscher Architekten, Architekten-Verein "Architectura et Amicitia," Amsterdam, Architektenschaft in Brünn, Deutscher Werkbund, the Association of German Art Critics and others. The latter protest includes signatories such as Adolf Behne, Peter Behrens, Lovis Corinth, Alfred Döblin, Albert Einstein, Gerhart Hauptmann, Theodor Heuss, Hans Poelzig, Mies van der Rohe, among many others. Separately protest were also issued by Unions, schools, business', residents s of various German cities, architects Peter Behrens and I. I.P. Oud, as well as other prominent organizations and professionals. Following the list of participants the pamphlet reprints the text of all protest in the exact wording.
The typographical design is attributed to Lázló Moholy-Nagy, one of the key figures of the Bauhaus, whose work during this period helped define the emerging language of modern graphic design through clarity, its deliberate use of asymmetrical design to achieve visual balance and dynamic energy, and functional arrangement in its attempt to unite fine art with mass-produced industrial design. OCLC lists six copies the Getty, USC, Harvard, Northwestern, Canadian Centre for Architecture and the Bauhaus Univerity Weimar. Very good condition. Item #55786
Price: $3,750.00