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The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism by Nicholas Fox Weber By Melissa J Wantuck  |
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In post World War I Germany, the genre of modern art was receiving part of its defining structure from a small newly formed community of artists and craftsman in the historical city of Weimar, Germany. Published in October, The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism by Nicholas Fox Weber (Knopf, 2009) is an exhaustively detailed account of six of the most influential members of the Bauhaus school and the contributions they all made to the world of art.
Walter Gropius is Weber’s first subject in what is essentially a collection of six mini biographies. Gropius established the vision for the school and became its first director. His mission was to gather some of the most well-known artists and craftsman of the day to teach and create works of art that would serve the people. Gropius chose the name “Bauhaus” for its meaning as a house of members who worked together as one to meet the needs of all. A trained and practicing architect, Gropius nurtured and fought for his creation for several years until the tumultuous German politics drove him away.
The next four subjects are all artists who taught at the school. Painters Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky are the most famous. Josef Albers and his wife Anni Albers were initially students at the Bauhaus and eventually held teaching positions. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, an architect and professional contemporary of Gropius, was the final director of the school before it closed after the Nazi party came to power.
Each representative of the Bauhaus has their own section and Weber in painfully detail-ridden analysis reviews their lives to convey their importance to the Bauhaus as well as their influence on the rest of the world through the work of each. Gropius, Klee and Kandinsky receive the greatest amount of analysis. Weber dedicates the book to his daughter who helped with his research as she pursued her own studies in psychoanalysis. The influence of her interests pervades Weber’s constant re-discussions of the thoughts behind the actions and art of Gropius, Klee and Kandinsky. Similar treatment is given to Mies but his section is much smaller
Weber spends so much of the book analyzing the lives of four of the six he ignores the historical context of the school’s setting. A basic reconstruction of the political history that overshadowed the inner-workings of the Bauhaus is constantly needed to define the challenges that plagued German society between the two world wars. Weber makes an attempt to address it at the end, but only as a poorly written vague summery taking up less than two pages.
The Bauhaus concept was clearly an inspiration to Weber and his interest in it was fueled by his relationship with the Albers. Weber was a close friend and confidant of the Albers in their later years and his preferential treatment of them is evident as they receive a more rosy-hued review. Their sections are full of personal anecdotes and reminiscing and are more of a tribute than an analysis of their contributions to the Bauhaus.
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