Ideas from Germany’s Bauhaus movement continue to be prevalent across the globe without our realisation even after a century, says Chahak Mittal
This year, many streets and towns in Germany are celebrating Bauhaus’ centennial, an arthouse movement that gave us clean, minimalist lines in architecture, the kind that defines the look of new-age buildings across the world. The movement represented a break from ceremonial grandeur and opulence. It radically simplified forms, combined rationality with functionality and lent credence to the idea that mass production was reconcilable with the individual artistic spirit. It also used basic materials.
From Weimar to Berlin and Dessau, it would be a celebration across the nation through exhibitions, awareness programmes, performances and workshops. However, if Romit Theophilus, director for India, the German National Tourist Office, is to be believed then its accents have also percolated to India, particularly in Kolkata, where Rabindranath Tagore internalised it in 1922. The Indian Society of Oriental Art introduced the concept.
The movement didn’t initially include other cultures and was not prevalent worldwide except in Germany and a few European nations. However, Theophilus says that it is prevalent everywhere now. “It’s just that we don’t notice how it is deeply embedded in our very cultures and everyday lifestyles.” He believes that the generations after the movement dissipated never learnt much about it to understand its value and presence in our lives. “When Bauhaus started, it was a movement that was changing European ideologies at that time. And by the time, the movement ended, due to certain issues like funding, management, war, and more, its masters travelled across the world and went to places like the US and London. They continued the movement in traces. They took it along with themselves,” he says, which is how it manifested itself from the biggest structures to the smallest things.
From 1919 to 1933, it was only in 14 years that the Bauhaus movement brought in a surge of transformation in the modern thinking about arts and culture, fashion, urban trends and the public realm. However, why is it that it holds so much importance even today? Theophilus explains that there are things we have for our everyday utilities which were birthed from the revolution. However, we do not realise their origin. “This is the unique thing about their products. What was made 100 years ago could also be used today. For instance, its definitive lamp shades have a very simplistic design and are used even today. Also, the baby cradle is still relevant.”
He explains that the whole idea of Bauhaus is “simplicity, not just in architecture but goes into various fields. Sometimes we don’t even know where it is coming from but we see it everyday.”
And though people may believe that the movement died, it actually kept evolving constantly. “We might not even realise what all aspects have changed everyday. Even about the German Embassy in India, we were told by the Deputy Ambassador that he could see Bauhaus everytime he drives across the city. So, it did survive well actually. Even today it has been embracing new things to survive and change,” he says.
India recently witnessed 100 years of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. The event was a watershed in the history of Indian nationalism and continues to reverberate even today. Well, there are always certain events in history which stay important even after years of their occurrence but need to be revived with time. Bauhaus is one such. Theophilus says, “To bring such things back into focus, we need to remember the old masters. Because even if we are using it everyday in references and common day examples, we might not know that it was first inspired by the school. And hence, on its 100th anniversary, all across Germany, institutions and Gothic schools, Max Mueller Bhawans here, and even the tourism industry, we are focussing on reviving ideas of Bauhaus. With this, we aim to bring it to India on a large scale as well. We also invite culturally-minded travellers to explore this birthplace of modernism.”
It was seen on the screens from China to the US recently, how the massive fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral became a horrifying scene against the Parisian sky. He says, “It’s important to preserve such monuments as they are a symbol of ancient heritage. They need to be revived and reminded of with time. The same is the case with the Bauhaus movement. We need to be very careful and mindful. And not just from fire or other man-made disasters, but even from pollution.”
He tells us that history has always been the primary focus of German tourism. “The previous year, we had culinary revolution in Germany, this year is the Bauhaus and the next year, it would be the 150th anniversary of Beethoven,” he says.
