Aesthetics Politicized: William Morris to the Bauhaus

Author(s): Lauren S. Weingarden

Source: Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol. 38, No. 3 (Spring, 1985), pp. 8-13
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1424877
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 Willim Moris tothe uh u

LaurenWeingardenhas a Ph.D. in ArtHistory organic functionalism,theoutcomeof a social

fromthe University of ChicagoSchoolof Gradu- harmony amongpeoplelivinginclosecontact
ate Studies,on the subjectof LouisSullivan. withnature.AugustWelbyPuginarguedfora
pq tI
^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She is currentlyan AssistantProfessorin the
of ArtHistoryat FloridaStateUni-
renewal
medieval
of medieval pietybywayof a return
and artistic For
to
Department building practices.
versity. Pugin,medievalism provideda correctivefor
19th-century moralandreligious corruptioniniti-
(Fig.1, 2) In20th-century historiesof modem atedbytheReformation anditsattendant
architectureandthe decorativearts,the Artsand "paganisms", aberrationsrepresented by19th-
CraftsmovementunderWilliamMorris'leader- century stylesandindustrializa-
classicalrevival
ship has beenviewedin a linearhistoricalcon- tion.Withequalfervor,JohnRuskin castigated
textwiththe firstgenerationof the Modern theclassicalstylesas mechanistic andlaterin
movement.TheModemmovementmost com- hiscareerdirected hisaestheticarguments
pletelyrealizedits normativeproceduresin the againstindustrialcapitalism.Ruskin especially
teachingand designsof the Bauhaus.However, venerated thedecorative handwork of medieval
c. 1910.? Academy
1 PagefromMorris&Co.Catalogue, Edi-
viewedstylistically,thereappearsto be littlein architectureas functionsof collective
religious
tions,London. commonbetweenMorris'designsfor hand- beliefsandpsychological needscharacteristicof
craftedobjectsinspiredby medievalprototypes medieval pantheism.
andBauhausdesignsfor mass-produced objects
inspiredby Euclidean archetypes.A theoretical
Morris further developed andsecularized these
linkcan be identifiedbetweenMorrisandthe discussions. Herenovated thetechniques of
Modemistsin theirsharedfunctionalist notion medieval handicrafts firstas a meansof aes-
thatbeautyresultsfromthe truthfulrepresenta- theticreform andthenas a meansof socialist,
tionof construction,materials,and use. But revolt.Morris'
political directinvolvement with
Morris'apprehension of the machineis antitheti- politicsbeganin 1876andin 1883he resolutely
cal to the Bauhausaesthetization of the emerged as a politicalactivist,
joiningtheDemo-
machine. craticFederation andthenin1884helping to
foundtheSocialist League.3 These politicalactiv-
B R E U E R - M E T A L L M OB E L Yet,the successionfromMorristo the Bauhaus itieshelpedhimto conceptualize a connection
can be morefullysubstantiated in waysthat between theartistic creativeprocessandthe
suspendstylisticcategorizing and strictlyformal meansof production withina particular socio-
analysis.Modemisthistorians,whose views economicbase.Inthisway,Morris corrobo-
havebeen limitedby these lattermethodologies, rateda passageinMarx's Grundrisse, a manu-
havenot delveddeeplyenoughintothe problem scriptfirstpublished posthumously in1939.
I
of howfunctionalist aestheticsanda contingent HereMarxcompared ungratifyingfactory labor
urge for socialreform were passedon fromone withmedieval handiwork produced feudal-
under
generation to the next.Consequently, theyhave ism.Inthemechanized factory, wherelabor
notconsideredhow such a transference took becomesabstract laborpower,theworker is
placethrougha set of formalconventionsand deprived of "enjoying theworkas a playof his
artisticprocedures.'Inthis paperI willshow ownmentalandphysical powers." Thisis not
STANDARD-MOBEL
LENGYEL & CO *t
thatMorrispoliticized the discourseof function- so inthelattercase.Marxcommended medi-
alistaestheticsand in doingso provideda con- evalhandiwork as humanlaborthatis "still
2 BreuerMetalFurniture. of thefirm"Standard-
Advertisement sonantmodeof representational imagery.By it stillhastheaiminitself."4
artistic,
Mobel,"Berlin,c. 1926. ? MITPress,Cambridge,MA. examiningthe socio-political dimensionsof their
sharedfunctionalist aesthetics,we can better FollowingMarx'sdialectical
systemforexplain-
understand how Morris'craftvaluesand meth- change,Morris
ingrevolutionary adaptedMarx's
ods weresubsequentlyappropriated and laborto hisownaesthetic
notionof "artistic"
extendedby his Modemistfollowers.2 ends.Hecontrasted "artificial "useless
luxury,"
toil,"and"thedivision
of labor"with"real
Morris:Medieval Revivalismto Socialist wealth,""usefulwork,"andintegratedlabor.5
Aestheticism
When,beginningin 1856, Morrischose to arguedthatunderindustrial
First,Morris capital-
reform19th-century artand lifeby reviving ismartificial ideasabout
needsandsuperficial
medievalartisticprocedures,he continueda luxuryareimposedon theconsumer fromwith-
19th-centuryEnglishtraditionof associating out-ownersof themeansof production,moti-
medievalarchitectureand decorativeartswith market
vatedbyprofit-making, shaminthe
Spring1985,JAE38/3
 m

nameof art.Asa result,artbecomesa com- nalized

to communicate concrete
andgratify insocialaction.
firmlygrounded
modity.6 Morris berated as dehumanized art humanneeds.
household arti- Visualcounterparts socialist
of Morris' aesthetics
machine-made, mass-produced intheobjectsmanufactured at
factsrendered infloridstylesof earlier Toidentify thecontinuum between thecreative canbe observed
epochs, of hisfirm
andexecuted withsimulated preciousmaterials process and aestheticexperience,Morrisformu- Merton Abbey,therural workshops
andwithdeceptive devices.He
illusionistic latedwhatI willcallthe"joyful-maker-joyful- Morris &Co.(Fig.3) Personally inspiredbythe
viewedthiskindof artistic as a per- user"model.Ina pre-Marxist lecture
entitled naturalandartistic conditionsof thisruralset-
production to themaker anduser
petuation of classdivisions andelitist
art,as "Artof thePeople"(1879)Morris usedthis ting,Morris prescribed
conditions revolution.
to political But modelas a guidefordisceming "realart."He an honest,simplelife,anexistence represented
leading inthe"Popular" and"Democratic" arts.Placing
Morriswelcomed suchaneventbecause,for established thenotionthat"realartis the
him,themostperverse effectof thecapitalist expression bymanof hispleasure inlabor-an hisproducts, likethoseof medieval art,within
market is thathumanlaboritselfbecomesa artmadebythepeopleandforthepeople,as a thistradition,Morris intendedtheseworks"to
dehumanized Wecanassumethat happiness to themakeranduser.""Realart," [teach]mento lookthrough theartatwhatart
commodity. ... to be understood, andto be
Morris, likeMarx,considered dehumanized or headded"[is]an instrument to theprogress of represented
"mechanized" laboran "abstraction."7 Morris theworld."9 Although he subsequentlydeflected to allmen."'1
helpful Thus,Morris clearly
howthelaborer forcedto sellhisor thesimplicity of hisoriginal
statementwith revealedthestructural, materials,andfunctional
explained
herlaboranddo repetitive mechanical work,is intheselaterstatements
socialistexplications, propertiesof hisfumiture designsandtwo-
deniedthepleasure of conceiving, thepsychological congruitybetweenmaking and dimensional, organic wallpaperandtextile
executing, to signifyconcrete,objective truths
andusingtheproducts of hisor herwork.With usingremains unchanged whilebecoming more pattems
thisdivision of labor,a rupture occursbetween
creatingandmaking andbetweenmaking and
using.Human faculties becomefragmented and
thelaborer becomesalienated fromhisessential
humanness-heis at onceseveredfromhis
organicrelationship withnature andfromhis
socialbondswiththerestof humanity.
Whilethisaversion to mechanical production
representsanextension of ThomasCarlyle's and
JohnRuskin's negation of themachine, Morris'
contribution
original to theModemmovement is
of a constructive
kind.Morris identified
a sys-
temof craftvaluesto facilitatetheprocessof
and,intum,a peaceful
disalienation revolution
fromcapitalism to socialism. Although Morris
pattemed hisutopian visionon medieval
agrariansociety,thesesamecraftvalueswere
appropriatedbytheearlyModemists when
they embraced the machine as a toolforand
symbolof universal socialharmony andphysical
well-being.
Theoriginalityof Morris'craftvaluesdepends
on bringingthe19th-century modelforexplain-
ingthecontinuity between thecreative process
andtheaesthetic experience outof thetranscen-
dentalrealmandintothesocial,material realm
of humanexperience. Intheromantic-idealist
model,theworkof artmediates between the
artist'sapprehensionsof a metaphysical, ideal
andthespectator's
reality intuitiveinsightof that
idealduring theaestheticexperience. A highly
abstract,subjectiveattitudepervades boththe
artist'sandthereceiver's of art.In I
experiences ~
3fIf-* Coul
~ .I~ , v- &>W . Mri "._vX 1_<XWaV p _. n
H AlberMeLn.
K l."~L .-I_-
Morris' social-realist the
model, subjective atti-
tudeis important onlyinsofar as itcanbe exter- 3 ChairproducedbyMorris,Marshall,Faulkner
&Co., Morris"Pomegranet" Victoria
Wallpaper. andAlbertMuseum,London.
Spring1985,JAE38/3
abouthowtheseobjectsaremadeandhow ness,"thatwhich"liesintakinga genuineinter- Artandthepeoplemustforma unity.
theyareused." est inallthedetailsof life,inelevating
themby Artshallno longerbe theenjoymentof thefew
artinsteadof handing theperformance of them butthelifeandhappiness of themasses.
Sucha representational readingof Morris' arts overto unregarded
drudges andignoringthem.""7 Theaimis alliance
of theartsunderthewingof
andcraftsdesignsis supported byhisdescrip- a greatarchitecture.
tionof thekindof laborexpended during the Gropius: Artsand CraftsRevivalismto
creativeprocess,anaccountthatconforms with TechnologicalHumanism Additionally,
"Peoples' anda govem-
housing"
a Marxistnotionofpraxis.'2 Thatis, thefinished Itwasonthebasisof similar socialistclaimsfor mentfinanced training inthecrafts
program
objectwasto be a recordof thecraftsman's artthatGropius re-organizedtheWeimar School wereamongthedemands"forbringing allthe
socialconsciousness putintopracticeandit of ArtsandCrafts intotheBauhaus, becoming artsto thepeople."23
wasto mediate thatconsciousness to theuser. itsfirstdirector from1919to 1927.18 When
Giventhefreedom to realize
histotalself founded, theBauhaus wasfinancially andideo- Gropius expanded thesethemeswhenhewrote
through "usefulwork,"thecraftsman as laborer logicallysupported bythenewSocial-Demo- fortheWorkCouncil forArtandthenforthe
experiencesan interminglingof theintellectual, craticgovemment of Saxe-Weimar. Despite this openingof theBauhaus inApril1919.24 He
emotional,andsensuousfaculties. Morris statesponsorship, theBauhaus wasattacked invoked artistsandarchitects to shedtheir
assumedthatsincethecraftsman takesa per- fromitsinception bytheculturally andpolitically sociallyuselessprofessional artistic
attitudesand
sonaldelightinthisreintegrationof labor,he conservative citizens of Weimar forwhatthey return to handwerk-or,literally, hand-labor25-
simultaneouslydelightsinsatisfying correspond- perceived as bohemianism andbolshevism. andinthisway,become"builders" again.
ingneedsintheindividual user,thereby contrib- Consequently, afterhisfirstpolemical state- Addressing hiscolleagues as "artist-workmen"
utingto thephysical andpsychicwelfare of the mentscoincident withthefounding of theBau- and"working people"Gropius, likeMorris
socialbody.Basedonthisassumption, in "Art haus,Gropius prohibited hisfaculty
frompubli- beforehim,charged themwiththesociallyuse-
andSocialism" (1884)Morris invoked handi- callyjoining anypolitical parties.However, he fultaskof reviving craftstechniques to createart
craft,theproduct ofpraxis,as a toolforsocial andhiscolleagues hadaligned themselves with formscomprehensible to allandto breakthe
changeanda criterion forsocialevaluation."3 leftistpoliticsinotherways,so thatwhilesocial- boundaries between thefineartsandapplied
istrhetoric wasquelledinofficial Bauhaus arts,andbetweenartandlife.Finally, he posited
Morris, likeMarx,envisioned a futurecommu- addresses andpublications, socialistovertones craftsas themeansof eradicating artificial
lux-
niststatewherein allformsof disalienated labor persisted in itstheoreticaldiscourses."9 uryandurbansqualorbrought aboutbyindus-
takeon anaesthetic dimension andthis,intum, trialcapitalism. LikeMorris whoclaimed that
accountsforanaestheticized existence equallyBeforeWorldWarI, Morris' cohesiveprogram
accessible to everyone.14
(Fig.1) Itwasinthis forthedemocratization of theartshadbecome
contextthatMorris tumedhisheuristic argu- fragmented, reaching Gropiusthrough several
mentforjoyfullaborfromthemakerto the discursivechannels.20 However, intheyears
user.Hethusadmonished themiddleclassto immediately following theWar,Gropius seems
re-evaluate thebasicnecessitiesof lifeandto to havebecomere-acquainted withMorris' ideas
purchase only those that
objects satisfythese largelyunaltered. Gropius' post-Wardictafor
requirements.'5 Thistransvaluationof values artistic
andsocialreform correspond more
wouldhavetwopropagandistic effects.Onthe closelywithMorris' discourse thando hispre-
onehand,it woulddestroythefoundations ofWarwritings. Thesetextualsimilaritiessuggest
capitalism. On theother,the middle class thathe readMorris
would first-handor receivedMor-
educatetheworking class,revealing common ris'ideasindirectlythrough hispolitical
and
humanneedsthatareat onceaesthetic and artistic
collaboration withBruno Taut.2'InMarch
sociallybonding.Morris hopedto makehis 1919Gropius, withTaut,organized theleft-wing
products affordablefortheworking class, association of artistsandarchitects,theArbeits-
believingthattheworking classwouldemulate ratfOrKunst-Work CouncilforArts.Thesuc-
themiddleclass,andthusascribeto craftval- cessorof theearlier Novembergruppe-named
ues inworkanddomesticlife.Theworking aftertheNovember Revolution-the A.f.K.
classwouldthendemand qualitativechangesinintended to allyitselfwiththeGerman proletariat
itsdailylabor.'6 bothinnameandindeed.Inthefirstcase,
German laborunions,traditionally alignedwith
Theseidealsareembodied in Morris'
theoretical Marxism, werecalled"Arbeiterrate" or "work-
andexecuted schemesforthe"totalworkof ers'soviets."22 Inthesecondcase,thefounding
art."ForMorris, thehandcrafted
domesticenvi- members of theWorkCouncil forArtadopted
ronment, workshops, andcivicbuildings
built as "guiding principles" a program to democra-
withlocalnatural andsurrounded
materials by tizeartinwaysthatrehearse Morris' aestheti-
gardensandarchitectural
picturesque elevations, cizedutopian-socialist existence: 4 Titlepageof Program
of theStaatliche
Bauhausin Weimar;
signify"realwealth"andgenerate"truehappi- woodcut("Cathedral") 1919. ? MIT
by LyonelFeininger,
MA.
Press,Cambridge,
Spring1985,JAE38/3
5 Signetof theStaatliche aftera designbyOscar
Bauhaus;
Schlemmer, 1922. ? MITPress,Cambridge, MA.

"All'popular'artsmightallbe summedupinone
word,Architecture,"26inhisfirstBauhaus
address,Gropius insistedthatwhenartists,
sculptors,andarchitectsjointogether as a com-
munity of craftsmen,"Anewcathedral of the
futurewillonedayrisetowardheavenfromthe
handsof a millionworkers likethecrystalsym-
bolof a newfaith."27(Fig.4) Ina later1919
addressto theBauhaus studentsGropius added
thatthisnewcathedral, whatsomeof hiscol-
leaguescalledthe "cathedral of socialism,"28
would"shinewithabundant lightontothe
smallestobjectsof everyday life."29
CarryingMorris' idealsfora "popular"
artto
theirlogicalextreme,Gropius con-
originally
ceived
theBauhaus,
or"house
ofbuilding,"
as
a "newguildof craftsmen,"modelledon
"medieval
lodges," communitiesof builder-artis-
ansassembledforcathedral Morris
building.
hadalsothoughtof hisworkshops as guilds,
buttheBauhaus expandedthisprototype.
Enter-
ingstudents
were called
"apprentices,"
advancedstudents"joumeymen," andteachers
"masters."Traditional
workshops formetal,
wood,glass,andtextiles
withlocalartisans
as
instructors
existed 6Workshop Abbey. PagefromMorris&. Co.1910.
at Merton Catalogue, London.
Editions ? Academy
alongsidemoreconventional6 Workshop
at Merton from &
Morris Co. c.
Catalogue, 1910. 0 Academy
Editions,London.
studioclasseswhereprofessional
artists
taught Abbey.Page
studentstherudimentsofartistic
design.How-
ever,Gropiusenvisioned
a timewhenthewhole thelong-range objectivesforfinancial indepen-
schoolwouldbecome a workshop andaccord- dence,a planthatdepended on incomegained
inglyhecouched theBauhaus in
curriculum fromsellingBauhaus designsto industry, Gro-
Morris' of joyfullabor.Gropius
language stated piuswasforcedto takea morepragmatic
thatbyleamingto integrate craftskills approach
traditional a newunitybetween
involving artand
withartistic thestudent
principles, would Inlinewiththisenterprise,
experi- industry. by1921
ence"thejoyof artistic moremechanical
andinevitably increasingly
creation," equipment was
designbeautiful,useful
objects.30 beingacquiredbytheBauhaus workshops. The
formalramifications
of Gropius'
newguidelines
Theproducts oftheworkshops datingfromthe canbe seenina comparison between the
firstyearsoftheBauhaus thata
exemplify crudely rendered, faceted
expressionistically
returntocraftswasconnected withpurgingart cathedral onthecoverof the1919Bauhaus
ofitsfalsebourgeoisvalues.Anattempt to dis- manual andthenew1922Bauhaus logoin
covertheformal andpractical ofapplied whichabstract
origins geometricprecision
prevails.31
artsinregionalfolkart,accountsinpartforthe (Fig.5)
crudefinishandawkward
deliberately propor-
tionsthatcharacterize
theseworks. Whatis important aboutGropius' shiftinpriori-
tiesatthistimeis thatthrough thistransition
we
Beginningin1921,however, a shiftoccursin cantracehowMorris' craftvaluesweretrans-
theBauhaus program awayfromromantic ideal- mittedintoa machine aesthetic.Gropius
ismtotechnocraticpragmatism. Therearesev- achieved thisconversion intwoways.First,by
eralreasonsforthisshift.First,
thepubliccriti- accepting machine production as a material
fact
cizedBauhaus'works asfrivolous andanach- of the20th-century,he completed theproletari-
ronistic.
Second, bythistime,mostoftheearly zationoftheartistthatMorrishadbegun.Inan 7 TheMetal
modemists whoweresearching of the DessauBauhaus.?
Workshop MITPress,
fora universal industrializedsociety,of whichMorris wasalso MA.
Cambridge,
vocabularyofformsconsidered thelookofhan- a part,itcanbe moreconvincingly arguedthat
dicrafts
astooindividualistic.
Third,because of theartistis a member of theproletariat
whenhe
Spring1985,JAE38/3
I0

orsheworksdirectly withthemachine as a andtechnologicaldevices.HereGropius Within Morris' andGropius' systemsof politi-

meansof production. whilethe
Accordingly, assumedthattheartist-workerhumanizedthe cizedaesthetics, material, structural
andabstract
craft-oriented
workshopwastheparadigm for machine "byfreeing themachinefromitslack formalproperties thatexceedpractical demands
theclassroom the
during first
years of theBau- of creative andintheprocessmaking
spirit," canbe correlated withStefanMorawski's defini-
haus,intheyearsthatfollowed theworkshops the"useless"machine useful.34 tionof a Marxist notionof "realism." Thatis,
becomesmall,mechanized wherepro-
factories, mimetic representation is subjugated by"amost
totypesformass-productionwereconceived and Morristo the Bauhaus:Image-makers for typifyingsocialrepresentation."39 Giventhisdef-
fullyexecuted.Second,Gropius believedthat Social Reform initionandtheextra-artistic meanings Morris
standardizedhousing,whathe considered the Whatremains implicit inMorris' andGropius' andGropius assigned to functionalistimagery,
markof humanity's ofthe
subordination theoriesis theiroverriding concerns forsatisfy- we canidentify twowaysof reading theArts
machine to itsownneeds,wouldhelpto ingwhattheybelieved to be psychological and andCrafts or Bauhaus object:1) as theimageof
reshape theequaldistribution
societythrough of sensoryneedsof thedesigner anduser,needs a collective
activityand2) as a recordof the
theproducts of humanized
technology. gratifiedduring theactsof creating, using, maker's disalienatedand,inturn,beneficent
and
touching, perceiving. Forthisreason, socialacts.40Becauseof theirexpectations for
Throughout thisnewphaseandinhispost-Bau- potentially stagnant andlifelessmaterial and suchreadings, functionalist realism
wasto serve
hauswritings, Gropius considered aneducation functional straighfforwardness areoffsetby Morris andhisBauhaus followers as a trajectory
inthecraftsimperative to achieving a "new refinement of form,finishof surface,andelabo- intoa futuresocialiststate.Therefore, what
unity"between artandtechnology. Forexam- rationof structural relationships thatexceedutili- remained constant among these designers was
ple, ina 1922 circular to Bauhaus faculty, Gro- tarianconsiderations. What Morris' andGropius' theirconcern forrendering legible--whether by
piusheldtheBauhaus responsible for "educat- discourse suppresses is the nature of repetitive, handormachine-theprocessformaking an
ingpeopleto recognize theworldinwhichthey mindless workof theartisan ormachine opera- idealreal.Thuswhenwe deferstrictly formal
live."Therefore, heconcluded thatthecruxof tor-the mostdetrimental condition of thedivi- analyses of functionalist
design, and reconnect
Bauhaus teaching was"tocombine thecreative sionof laborthatboththeorists abhorred. unchanging theoreticalnormswiththeirconven-
activityof the individual with the broad, practical tionalforms,apparent stylisticincongruities
workof theworld... so to beableto create Yet,thisconflictmightbealleviated byconsider-
ing the ways that Morris and fostered betweenMorris' andBauhaus objectsbeginto
typicalformsthatsymbolize thatworld."By Gropius dissolve.I
in
preservingpedagogical form such conceptual the aesthetic of functionalism as a social func-
associations between craftvaluesandpraxis, tion.Gropius, likeMorris, assumedthatwhen Anearlier versionof thispaperwaspresented to
Gropius couldfurther insistontheorganic integ- themakerbecomestheuserhe orshewould the"William Morris andtheVisual Arts"Ses-
rityandhumanmeaning of Bauhaus objects. "overcome thefragmentation of existence."35 And sionof the1983ModemLanguage Association
Indeed,he madecrafttechniques themeansfor so, justas Morris had emulated in his hand- Annual Meeting.
sustaining "thecreative processas anindivisible crafted designstheclearreadibility of medieval
whole."32 Indoingso, however, he pointed to prototypes, Gropius likewise defined "theprinci-
andextended an inherent contradiction inMor- ples of Bauhaus production" in terms of the
ris'thought andpractice, leaving thiscontradic- socialmeanings and popular comprehension of
tionunresolved. abstract forms.Heidentified the"newattitude"
toward formachine ina Notes
designing production
Sucha contradiction canbe locatedinthejoyful machine age as "the limitation to characteristic 1. Mostgeneralhistoriesof the Modern movement treatthe
maker-joyful user model forthe creative process primary forms and colors, readily accessible to Morris-Bauhaus continuum as a of
history ideaswithout
andaesthetic InMorris' in1922he hadretrieved examiningitsvisualcounterparts. Nikolaus Pevsner's
experience. workshops, everyone."'3 Beginning Pioneersof ModemDesign(1936;rev.1960)is theproto-
independent artistsdesignedpatterns to be exe- anearlyModernist conviction that the geometric typeforthishistoriographic discourse.Pevsnerregarded
cutedmanually byartisans, occasionally aided precision of building typeswhichproduce and Morrisalignedwiththe Modern movement insofaras he was
bythemachine. Gropius acknowledged the areproduced bythemachine provides theimag- a criticof the "socialconditionof art."ButbecausePevsner
inevitabilityof thisdivision of laborbetween erymosttypical of themodern age.Gropius equatedMorris' hatredof the machinewithhis "handicraft
andmakerunderindustrial stated: "Just as the Gothic cathedral was the style,"he keptMorris separatefrom"thetruepioneersof
designer conditions, the Modern movement [who]fromtheoutsetstoodfor
buthearguedthatthegapbetween theartist- expression of its age, so the modern factory or machineart;"(Pp.24-26, 38-39). Forexamplesof how
designer, andthemachine operator couldat modern dwelling mustbetheexpression of our Pevsner'streatment of thisperiodhasenduredsee Rayner
leastbe compensated forbycomprehending time:precise,practical, freeof superfluous Banham Theory andDesignin theFirstMachine AgeArchi-
andsocialconsciousness ornament, effective the cubic com- tecturalPress (London) 1960, P. 11 and KurtRowland A
howhumanbehavior onlythrough
of the masses."37 After Historyof theModemMovement: Art,Architecture, Design
permeates everyphaseleading to the finished positions realizing just VanNostrand Reinhold (NewYork)1973, P. 208.
Bauhaus prototype.33 (Figs.6 &7) Streamlined suchfuntionalist imagery inhisnewBauhaus Similarperspectives andideologi-
of stylisticdiscontinuities
precision, machine finished surfaces,andlucid buildings in Dessau(1926),Gropius couldmake calcontinuities alsoappearinthesemorespecialized works
geometric contours weremeantto represent the thisclaim:"Tobuildmeansto findformsfor on theArtsandCraftsMovement andtheBauhaus: Gillian
theactivities of life."38 NaylorTheArtsandCraftsMovement MITPress(Cambridge)
designer's rational selection froma seriesof 1971, Pp.9-10; MarcelFranciscono Walter Gropius andthe
intuitiveexperiments withmaterials, functions, Creation of theBauhaus in Weimar of Illinois
University

Spring1985,JAE38/3
 El

Press(Champaign-Urbana) 1971, Pp. 25-28. Inherother- 12. Praxisis definedbySchlomoAvineri inTheSocialandPoliti- 22. Lane,op. cit., P. 42.
wiseextensivestudyof the socio-economic andpolitical con- calThought of KarlMarx(Cambridge University Press[Cam- 23. CitedfromConrads,op. cit., P. 44. Conrads pointsoutthat
ditionsthatfosteredandthendefeatedthe Modern move- bridgeandNewYork]1968, Pp. 138-139)as Marx's the "Guiding Principles fortheWorkCircleof Art"were
mentin Germany, Barbara LanemissedMorris' connection attemptto reconnect abstracttheorywithconcretesocial derivedfromTaut's"Program forArchitecture," published
withGropius becauseshe considered Gropius' post-World action.Assuch,praxisis "atoolforchanging thecourseof earlierundertheauspicesof theA.f.K.Ifsucha housing
WarI writingsa "return to Ruskinian Romanticism;" see historyanda criterion forsocialevaluation. Praxismeans program wererealized we canassumeit wouldhavefostered
Architecture andPoliticsin Germany: 1918-1945Harvard man'sconsciousshapingof the changinghistorical condi- a modernized vernacular cottagestyle,a modesanctioned by
UniversityPress(Cambridge) 1968, P. 66. tions. . . Praxisrevolutionizes existingrealitythrough government housingauthorities andprogressive architects
2. Notwithstanding the needfora comparative studyof the humanactions." forthe rebuilding of post-War Germany. See Lane,op. cit.,
socio-economic andcultural conditions thatdistinguish Mor- 13. See Morris,"ArtandSocialism,"P. 194. P. 35; andGropius', et. al., designforthe Sommerfield
ris'Victorian England fromGropius' pre-andpost-World 14. See forexample,Morris,"Dawnof a NewEpoch,"Pp. 136- House(1919-20),anexpressionist versionof indigenous
WarI Germany, the purposeof mypaperis to tracethe line 137. Morris' utopianvisionis mostcompletely described in log-cabinconstruction.
of development of Modern functionalist conventions. Assum- his utopiannovel,NewsFromNowhere(1888). 24. See alsoGropius' essayforleafletof the "Exhibition for
ingthatartisticeventsareconditioned in partbyhistorical 15. See Morris,"ArtandSocialism" forhis proscriptions and Unknown Architects," anexhibition organized bytheA.f.K.
events,I willisolatethe morespecialized artisticdiscourse prescriptions to the middleclass. inApril1919, in Conrads,op. cit., P. 47.
thattakesplacebetweenindividual artists,artistsandarti- 16. See, forexample,Morris,"HowWeLiveandHowWeMight 25. Lane,op. cit., P. 50. Marxalsousedtheterm"Handwerk"
facts,andartistsandliterary texts. Live,"Pp. 17-23 and"UsefulWorkversusUselessToil," to referto theartisansin a communist societywhoenact
3. Morris firstreadMarxin February 1882;fora biographical Pp. 111-115. theaimsof communism as theywork;see Avineri, op.
accountof Morris'politicallifesee E. P. Thompson William 17. Morris,"TheAimsof Art"(1886)CWVol.XXIII, P. 94; cit., P. 141.
Morris:Romantic to Revolutionary Pantheon Books(New Morrisrestatedthisaxiom. 26. Morris"Beauty of Life,"CWVol.XXII,Pp.73-74.
York)1955. Foran introduction to the Marxist underpinnings 18. Inhisfirstdraftforthe "Manifesto of the FirstBauhaus Exhi- 27. Gropius"Program of the Staatliche Bauhaus inWeimar,"
of Morris'theorysee Maynard SolomonMarxism andArt bition"(1923)OscarSchlemmer described the post-War Wingler, op. cit., P. 31.
Knopf(NewYork)1973, Pp.79-80. periodas rootedinthespiritof Morrisian reform.See 28. Schlemmer, op. cit., P. 69;thisphrasewasdeletedin
4. CitedfromMorawski, Stefan"Introduction," Marxand "Manifesto" in UlrichConrads' Programs andManifestoes theofficialexhibition cataloguebutthefirstdraftof the
Engelson Literature andArt(eds. LeeBaxandall and in20th-Century Architecture MITPress(Cambridge) "Manifesto of the FirstBauhausExhibition" wasprinted
StefanMorawski) TelosPress(St. LouisandMilwaukee) (1970)P. 69. andcirculated.
1973, P. 16. 19. InArchitecture andPoliticsin Germany LanedescribesGro- 29. Gropius,"Address to Bauhaus Students,"July1917,Win-
5. "Artof the People"(1879)and"Prospectsof Architecture" pius'andTaut'srevolutionary andutopianidealsincreating gler,op. cit., P. 36.
(1881)areamongMorris' strongestpre-Marxist indictments the "newarchitecture." Forbetteror worse,thegeneral 30. Gropius,"Bauhaus Programme," P. 31.
against"sham"andits socialconsequences; see TheCol- publicandleft-wing governments subsequently associated 31. Atypicaltransition formPrimitivism to Constructivism and
lectedWorksof William Morris(ed. MayMorris) Longmans theseformswithsocialistpolitics.Lane,however,discounts de Stijlto a machineaestheticcanbe seen intheworkof
Green&Co.(London) 1915,Vol.XXII(hereafter citedas Bauhaus affiliationswithanyone political party;see Chapter onedesignersee MarcelBreuer's chairs:"African Chair"
CW).Thefollowing writingsaresocialistversionsof this II"TheNewArchitecture andtheVisionof a NewSociety"in (1921),"Armchair" (1922)and"Tubular SteelChair"
sameargument: "ArtandSocialism" (1884);"UsefulWork Architecture andPoliticsin Germany; andHansWingler (ed.) (1925)inWingler, op. cit., Pp.306-307, 451.
versusUselessToil"(1886);"TheRevival of Handicrafts" TheBauhaus: Weimar, Dessau,Berlin,ChicagoMITPress 32. Gropius,"Bauhaus Circular" (3 February 1922)inWingler,
(1888);see especiallyP. 134 (whereMorrisrefersdirectly to (Cambridge) 1969forthe National PeoplesPartyandthe op. cit., Pp.51-52.
Marx)in CWVol.XXII. Minister of Culture's reportson Bauhaus activities(1920) 33. Gropius,ibid,P. 51.
6. In"Architecture andHistory" (1884;CWVol.XXII,P. 309) andthe Bauhausresponseto thesereports,Pp.37-39. 34. Gropius,"Principles of BauhausProduction" (March1926),
Morrislocatedthe inception of the divisionof laborinthe 20. Foremost amongthesechannelswereHermann Muthesius Wingler, op. cit., P. 110.
Renaissance, a condition thatcontrasted withthe medieval andHenryvande Velde.Muthesius, attacheto theGerman 35. Gropius,"Lecture to Studentsat Jena'sTechnische Hochs-
craftsman's integrated labor. Embassyin London(1896-1903)promoted theeconomic choler"(May1922)in Lane,op. cit., P. 66.
7. Cf.Morris' analogiesbetweenthedivisionof laborand anddesignvaluesof theArtsandCraftsmovement inDas 36. Gropius,"Bauhaus Production," P. 110.
"mechanized labor"and"mechanized existence"discussed Englishche Haus(1905)andas a founderof the Deutscher 37. Gropius,"JenaLecture," P. 66.
in "HowWeLiveandHowWeMightLive"(CW Vol.XXIII, Werkbund (1907).Vande Velde,a Belgianexponentof the 38. Gropius,"Systematic Preparation forRationalized Housing
P. 11) andMorawski's discussionof Marx'stheoryof ArtsandCraftsmovement wasappointed bythe GrandDuke Construction" (1927),Wingler, op. cit., P. 126.
"abstract" alienated labor(op. cit., Pp. 18-24). of Weimar as director of the Weimar Schoolof Art.In1914 39. Morawski, op. cit., P. 15.
8. Fora comparative studyof theseanti-machine attitudes Vande Velderecommended Gropius as his successor.Oth- 40. Suchreadingsarecorroborated byaestheticians withinthe
sharedbyCarlyle,RuskinandMorrissee Herbert Sussman ers whodisseminated Morris' ideasto Gropius werePeter Modern movement andthoseoutsideit. Inthefirstcase, see
VictoriansandtheMachine: TheLiteracy Responseto Tech- BehrensinwhoseofficeGropius apprenticed, andC. R. Ash- Schlemmer, op. cit., P. 70. Inthe secondcase, see Jan
nologyHarvard University Press(Cambridge) 1968. beein his introduction to the 1911Wasmuth publication Mukarovsky, "Onthe Problem of Function inArchitecture"
9. Morris,"Artof the People,"Pp.42, 46. Morris derivedthe Ausgefihrte Bauten(rpt:FrankLloydWright's EarlyWorks (1937-38),in Structure, SignandFunction: SelectedEssays
"joyful-maker-joyful-user" modelfromRuskin; cf. "Lamp Bramhall House[NewYork]1968). (Trans.eds.:JohnBurbank andPeterSteiner)YaleUniver-
of Life"in TheSevenLampsof Architecture (1849)Farrar, 21. As lainWhytehasshowninBrunoTautandtheArchitecture sityPress(NewHaven)1977.
StrausandGiroux(NewYork)1970, Pp. 162, 165. of Activism(Cambridge University Press[NewYork]1982),
10. Morris,"Artandthe Beautyof the Earth" (1881)CWVol. Tautparticipated inthe pre-War literacymovement, Activ-
XXII,P. 161. ism, a radicalgroupof writerscommitted to joiningexpres-
11. As Morrisbecamemorepolitically activea shifttakesplace sionistartwiththesocio-economic tenetsof landreform
in histheoretical writings.Heincreasingly movedfrom movements. Taut'sutopianschemesforDieStadtKroneand
describing designsto explaining theirmeaning.Compare, for AlpineArchitektur reflectthisinvolvement andhisvisionof
example,"TheLesserArts"(1877)and"SomeHintson reunitingthe urbanproletariat withthe Volkwille andGeistin
PatternDesigning" (1881)CWVol.XXIIwith"TheArtof the the ruralsettings.WhatWhytedoes notconsideris how
People"(1879),anexplanatory lecturethatanticipates the Taut'sarguments fora returnto vernacular ruraltradition
latersocialisttracts.Wecanalsonoticethatas Morris echoMorris' dicta.
adaptedsocialistideologiesto his aestheticdiscourseMorris
&Co.designsbecamemoresimplified, suggestingthatMor-
rishasisolatedtheorganicprinciples of designdirectly from
natureratherthanindirectly as theyweeremediated bymedi-
evalart.
Spring1985, JAE38/3