Few creative movements have been more influential than the Bauhaus, under the leadership of Walter Gropius. The art of the theater commanded special attention. The text in this volume is a loose collection of essays by Oskar Schlemmer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and Farkas Molnár (who in an illustrated essay shares his vision of a total theatre space), with an introduction by Bauhaus leader Walter Gropius. Originally published in German in 1924, Die Bühne im Bauhaus was translated by A. S. Wensinger and published by Wesleyan in 1961. It was prepared with the full cooperation of Walter Gropius and his introduction was written specially for this edition. From Bauhaus experiments there emerged a new aesthetic of stage design and presentation, a new concept of "total theater." Its principles and practices, revolutionary in their time and far in advance of all but the most experimental stagecraft today, were largely the work of Oskar Schlemmer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and their students. Profusely illustrated and startling in its typography (the work of Moholy-Nagy), the 1924 volume quickly became a collector's item and is now virtually unobtainable. Those interested in the stage, the modern visual arts, or in the bold steps of the men of genius who broadened the horizons of aesthetic experience will appreciate that this translation is available again.

Focusing on the work of painter, choreographer and scenic designer Oskar Schlemmer, the "Master Magician" and leader of the Theatre Workshop, this book explains this "theatre of high modernism" and its historical role in design and performance studies; further, it connects the Bauhaus exploration of space with contemporary stages and contemporary ethics, aesthetics and society. The idea of "theatre of space" is used to highlight twentieth-century practitioners who privilege the visual, aural, and plastic qualities of the stage above character, narrative and, themes (for example Schlemmer himself, Robert Wilson, Tadeusz Kantor, Robert Lepage). This impressive volume will be of use to students and academics involved in the areas of twentieth-century performance, the history of performance art, the history of avant-garde theatre, modern German theatre, and Weimar-era performance.

Edition Bauhaus 38 In 1921, Walter Gropius founded a theater workshop at the Bauhaus. It conducted new research and experiments on the relationship between humans and technology. The central protagonists Lothar Schreyer, Oskar Schlemmer, and László Moholoy-Nagy investigated the issues of mechanization, machine industrialization, and rationalization. They sought a new, meaningful relationship with the dynamized, increasingly technically animated environment. In their stage laboratory, they developed abstract motion studies, designed atmosphere machines, and built theater apparatus. They also organized the famous Bauhaus celebrations, where they staged themselves as a collective of new humans. For the first time, an exhibition and a catalog with sketches, drawings, photographs as well as films, figurines, costumes, models, and apparatus are now devoted to the experiments and concepts of the legendary Bauhaus stage.

The most definitive, comprehensive study of the origins, development, achievements and ultimate destruction of the performing arts in Germany from World War I through the rise of Hitler, "" The Theatre of the Weimar Republic "" is an invaluable record of creativity born out of conflict. John Willett focuses on the intellectual and sociocultural factors that brought Weimar theatre to its peak and analyses the theatrical theories and movements of the era. In addition, he includes a unique section of appendices, spanning 1916 to 1945, supplementing the text and providing detailed information on theatres, actors, performances, films, and radio and gramophone recordings. The theatre during this period was marked by bold, innovative playwrighting and directing as well as by important advances in theatrical architecture, lighting, and stage design. Renowned talents such as Brecht, Piscator, Toller, and Weill were nurtured, and influential movements and credos -- including Expressionism, agitprop, and Bauhaus theatre projects -- developed. A rigorous, fascinating assessment of the world-wide influences of Weimar theatre during its lifetime and in later years, the book will appeal to all readers interested in the art and politics of this turbulent period.

Oskar Schlemmer (1888 - 1943) was one of the most versatile all - rounders of the last century and as unusual as a painter as he was as a sculptor, draughtsman, graphic artist, stage designer, wall designer, creator of epochal dance projects and author. His vision was the "n ew" man living in functional architecture, thinking clearly and acting clearly in the modern age which would never again sink into the chaos of war. The catalogue accompanying the first comprehensive Schlemmer retrospective for almost forty years presents over 250 high - quality works, in particular the seven original costumes of the Triadisches Ballett (Triadic Ballet) together with rare documents of the time. The connection between the all - encompassing attempts at reform of the Bauhaus are discussed as well as Schlemmer's vain attempts to reconcile his "unpolitical" art with the Nazi dictatorship's ideas of state - controlled art. The focus will be directed towards Schlemmer's lofty ethical demands, which always regarded man, typified as a "Kunstfigur" (artist ic figure) as the "measure of all things".

“This is an absolute triumph—ideas, lives, and the dramas of the twentieth century are woven together in a feat of storytelling. A masterpiece.” —Edmund de Waal, ceramic artist and author of The White Road The impact of Walter Gropius can be measured in his buildings—Fagus Factory, Bauhaus Dessau, Pan Am—but no less in his students. I. M. Pei, Paul Rudolph, Anni Albers, Philip Johnson, Fumihiko Maki: countless masters were once disciples at the Bauhaus in Berlin and at Harvard. Between 1910 and 1930, Gropius was at the center of European modernism and avant-garde society glamor, only to be exiled to the antimodernist United Kingdom during the Nazi years. Later, under the democratizing influence of American universities, Gropius became an advocate of public art and cemented a starring role in twentieth-century architecture and design. Fiona MacCarthy challenges the image of Gropius as a doctrinaire architectural rationalist, bringing out the visionary philosophy and courage that carried him through a politically hostile age. Pilloried by Tom Wolfe as inventor of the monolithic high-rise, Gropius is better remembered as inventor of a form of art education that influenced schools worldwide. He viewed argument as intrinsic to creativity. Unusually for one in his position, Gropius encouraged women’s artistic endeavors and sought equal romantic partners. Though a traveler in elite circles, he objected to the cloistering of beauty as “a special privilege for the aesthetically initiated.” Gropius offers a poignant and personal story—and a fascinating reexamination of the urges that drove European and American modernism.