Exhibition from 29 November to 19 December 2019 at Orleans School of Art and Design.
On the occasion of the Bauhaus centennial, in partnership with the Maison de l’Architecture Centre-Val de Loire and with the support of the Centre-Val de Loire Region, Orleans School of Art and Design hosts bauhaus.photo, a photography exhibition organised by the Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum für Gestaltung, presenting 100 key works selected amongst a world collection of over 70 000 photographs of the Bauhaus.
Through five themes on the life at Bauhaus (parties and performances, everyday life and leisure, life in the workshops), showing portraits, architecture photography and products, as well as works from Walter Peterhans’ photography lesson, the visitors discover the artistic wealth and diversity of photography as it was pursued at Bauhaus.
The international origins of the students and body of teachers at Bauhaus contributed to the advent of trends similar to the avant-garde contemporary photography – from surrealism to New Vision and New Objectivity through Dadaism. The central field “Life at Bauhaus” puts an emphasis on the lively ambience at the school. Whether during extravagant parties; daily moments of community life or work in the Bauhaus workshops; a multitude of photographs captured unique instants.
The portrait section offers a fascinating panorama of the different possibilities of putting on a performance or making portraits, giving an idea of the different characters at Bauhaus.
The photographs of the Bauhaus building and the Master Houses at Dessau by Lucia Moholy have had a significative impact on the style of architectural photography up to the present day.
The field of object photography became a major activity which drove forward the commercialisation of design objects fabricated in the workshops. These photographs succeeded in creating an atmosphere which elevated daily objects to the level of artworks.
Finally, the section “Walter Peterhans’ photography lessons” guides the eye on the photography lessons held between 1929 and 1933 at Bauhaus, with works by the teacher but also his students, and focuses on the teaching and establishment of this medium at the school.
In this exhibition we can see the classic images by Lucia Moholy, László Moholy-Nagy and T. Lux Feininger as well as images by lesser known photographers like Kattina Both, Irene Bayer and Max Pfeiffer Watenpfuhl, and several ambitious works by unknown artists.
Dynamic obliques, extreme perspectives and technical tricks, the shots illustrate an experimental and professional approach through the medium of photography at Bauhaus. The images convey an idea of life at one of the most important art schools of the 20th century, which still fascinates today.
Coordination and scenography: Gunther Ludwig, Laurent Baude, Paul de Lanzac and the students at Orleans School of Art and Design.