The Bauhaus

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Artist: morimur29
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Photo Title: Oskar Schlemmer / Abschied





The Bauhaus was an institution that provided education and insight for individuals looking to expand their knowledge about how to incorporate all the visual arts together and display them through the medium which was essentially, theatre. The principle that underlined the things done in the Bauhaus was that, "work on the stage is a work of art." The philosophy of those who ran it (Lothar Schreyer) was to maintain the "pure" amalgam of technology and art. As the institution grew however, this core principle was not upheld and eventually fell into the reliance on, "feelings." Since this went against most of what Bauhause stood for, the one in authority of the Bauhaus (Lothar Schreyer), was forced to resign and Oskar Schlemmer took his place. Schlemmer, who had previous artistic experience in painting, was able to combine his artistic talent with technological elements to create a design that was represented by art and technology. This drew the interest of other artists who might be interested in working, "beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines." Because Schlemmer was determined to not become complacent with the categories put on art, this allowed him to understand where the focal point needed to be as the director of the Bauhaus Stage.

Since the beginning of the Bauhaus, its motivation has revolved around, "creative theatre." This meant that the feelings of satire and parody were present and that they were expressed through improvisation and avant-garde costumes and masks. In addition, students didn't need to have experience or be professionally trained in dance to take part in the performances. Even though Schlemmer did not have any prior dancing experience, he eventually danced his work as well. He also developed a theory of performance. Painting was to be considered as most intellectual and illustratively took up the two-dimensional elements of space where theatre was seen as a place where space could be "experienced." Theatre and painting were to be seen as complimentary actions. Therefore, the visual art that resulted could be perceived as something that is experienced not only through sight, but also throughout the entire body.