Bauhaus

As I am beginning my search for graduate schools, which I hope to attend after graduation this year, I can't help but be overwhelmed with all of thte different schools that offer programs in all fields of design. Whether one's passion is architecture, which is what I hope to pursue, theatre, or studio arts, there is a school that seems to fit everyone's wants and desires. Some specific schools that come to mind are Parson's the New School for Design, or Rhode Island School of Design, which offer a wide variety of design options for students. With all of these options becoming very evident to me, especially at this time in my life, I can't help but reflect upon The Bauhaus, the design school of the early 20th century.

Walker Gropius, in 1919, founded the Bauhaus school in Germany. I like to think that many of the design schools now, took after the Bauhaus school, which offered a wide variety of different studies in the department of design. Architecture was offered at the school, but it was not till much later, that it became part of the regular curriculum. Art, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography were among the other subjects offered at the school. In a way, the Bauhaus was the first school that specialized in the study of design. It was the first of it's kind and could be considered the "trailblazer" of Design schools. It really is remarkable that a school with such an "artistic" curriculum was able to survive during, what was considered a very difficult time in political history. With Nazi take over beginning in the 1930's, Bauhaus was a school was went against what was considered the "norm." Bauhaus had not only inspired great design work, especially in the architectural field, but has also left behind its theories and its teachings which are the bases that many schools today, are founded on.



(http://www.thebreman.org/exhibitions/online/1000kids/Bauhaus.JPG)