Josh visits the Bauhaus Archives in Berlin

I was lucky enough to get some time off during the busy EOFY period to attend a friend’s wedding in Berlin. On top of the token tourist ventures (Berlin Wall, Olympic Stadium, Brandenburg Gates etc.) I was also fortunate enough to visit the Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design where design pieces from early last millennium are showcased.

This institution, circa 1919–1933, is one of the most influential schools of architecture, design, and art of the 20th century and helped form the design industry as we know it today.

Being able to experience and absorb the beginning and consequent evolvement of ‘the design industry’ and what I practice as a profession was quite surreal, but very worthwhile.

What I mean by beginning is that the Bauhaus school first began to teach and promote art/design meeting with technology in a practical sense.

All things in this world are a product of the formula: (function times economy)
– Hannes Meyer

There were design, not art, pieces that dated back nearly 100 years that used flat colours and shapes to emphasise contrast and harmony. This took me back to when I was first learning the trade back at the University of South Australia, in Adelaide. The endless hours of cutting, colouring, painting and gluing had a birthplace, and I was witnessing it.

There was also an exhibition from Bauhaus teacher Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) that showcased an extensive research project carried out by a selection of his student’s work at the Bauhaus. This was also accompanied by some of his own artwork and that of his colleagues. This portfolio again exemplified the teachings of the profession and the era.