Bauhaus introduction:

Bauhaus was a German art School that combined architecture, fine art and crafts
into one fiercely competitive design philosophy. Minimalist, economical and
bound in pre-Nazi anxities, the Bauhaus movement was always doomed for a
spectacular and controversial period of design law, and eventuated as a key
player in 20th century architecture.

Bauhaus focused on creating art by artists without a class system, free of

economical binds, crafstmen in the Bauhaus school could make art for the
masses; fine crafted, minimalist design and beautiful technique, this philosophy
bread out of the intensely obsessional, dedicated artists that honoured the ‘total
artwork’. ‘Total artwork’ was stylish, affordable, mass-manufactured and
minimalist. It was made for the everyman, by the everyman. Bauhaus design
was pivotal in creating minimalist functional chairs, along with the creation of
sans-serif Typography. By the 1930s the two main Bauhaus schools in Weimar
and Dessau were split by influential artists and even bigger ideas. Bauhaus saw
leaders and artists as diverse as Josef Albers to Wassily Kandinsky, from Marcel
Bruer to Paul Klee upending the institution and shunning those that declined to
follow their own new direction. Although the Nazi party had no policy on
architecture, by 1933 as they rose to power, Nazi writers labelled Bauhaus
architecture and stylistic traits ‘un-German’, and the movement was labelled as
producing, ‘degenerate art’ and was quickly pulled apart.Bauhaus’s approach to
teaching, and understanding art's relationship to society and technology, had a
major impact both in Europe and the United States long after it was closed. It
was shaped by the 19th and early-20th centuries trends such as Arts and Crafts
movement, which had sought to level the distinction between fine and applied
arts, and to reunite creativity and manufacturing.

The stress on experiment and problem solving at the Bauhaus has proved
enormously influential for the approaches to education in the arts. It has led to
the 'fine arts' being rethought as the 'visual arts', and art considered less as an
adjunct of the humanities, like literature or history, and more as a kind of
research science. Most people do not see any difference between art and craft
as they are both considered to be forms of creativity. Art is often described as
unstructured and open ended. It has no limitations of expression, just like in
painting. Craft on the other hand is structured, which means that it has a certain
form that is visible. While Craft can be quantified, this is more difficult to do with
art. An another thing that can be seen is that one can create duplicate craft
forms, which is not possible with art. It can also be seen that art forms move
people on an emotional level whereas crafts attract people. For example, a piece
of painting can create emotions in a person whereas a piece of jewelry or pottery
can be an attraction.
Unlike craft, art is known to come out of the heart and soul. Crafts come out of
the mind and need considerable practice to come out with world-class forms. Art
is a result of a person’s innate talents whereas skill in craft can be acquired with
experience. Craft forms can be called skilled forms. In craft, more practical
thought is needed whereas in Art, it is the emotions that make a perfect creation.
Art is more related to aesthetics. A craftsman will have an idea about what he
wants to actually make. In art, it is the emotions that flow out, whereas in craft,
no emotion is involved. Pottery, metal works, glass works and jewelry are some
examples of craft works. Painting, architecture and sculpture are examples of art
forms. Most art historians acknowledge that the Bauhaus approach to design had
a major impact on art and architecture throughout Western Europe, North
America and Israel, not least because so many of its influential teachers fled
Germany and took up teaching posts abroad. Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer
taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, influencing the likes of I.M.
Pei, Lawrence Halprin and Paul Rudolph, among others.