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Week 6 | The Emergence of Modernism


The Modernism movement was a break from the past, a rejection of historical precedents, and an embrace of the present and future. Suddenly, everything was designed inspired by the machine, rather than nature. Materials such as glass, steel, and concrete were more common and mass production was embraced. Functionalism took precedent over ornamentation during this era. 
            The Bauhaus school in Germany began during this movement. It was founded by Walter Gropius, who became somewhat of a founding father for modernism. Bauhaus was fairly egalitarian, and at its core was all about unity of the arts. Not only does this name belong to the school, but it also defines a movement and a style. 

            Besides Walter Gropius, the modernist movement had many other influential leaders such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Aside from architecture, these designers specialized in interiors, textiles, writing, and teaching. 
Bauhaus School

                                                An interior view of an office in the Bauhaus building

The interior of the Rookery in Chicago – Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, an American modernist designer

Current Applications:
A Bauhaus inspired interior

Modernism today, Herman Miller showroom

One step further…
Lilly Reich was a designer that worked with Mies van der Rohe, whom she met at the Trade Fair Office. She is said to be the one who inspired his interest in furniture design, as she was knowledgeable about textiles and functionality of furniture. Lilly Reich did a variety of things during her career including teaching at Bauhaus, designing display windows and exhibition displays, and fashion design. She also assisted with the design of the exhibition halls in Stuttgart. Her layouts were known to be clean and modern. 
A chair designed by Lilly Reich
Chairs designed by Mies and Reich 


Comments

  1. SimiFebruary 23, 2019 at 11:53 PM

    Olivia, I like that you expaciated on the Bauhaus as it was very significant in the emergence of Modernism. I also like how for Lily Reich, you used a cantilevered chair as an example because it was a popular style for chairs in the modernism period.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Christyanne WheelerFebruary 24, 2019 at 7:52 AM

    Your research was very interesting. I found it interesting that Lily Reich not only did furniture design like you said but also did fashion design. I also really like the picture you added of what chairs Mies and Reich designed. It is a simple diagram but it shows there designs very clearly.

    ReplyDelete

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