Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000000710503 | N332 D42 1986 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Reviews 2
Choice Review
The late Howard Dearstyne was an American student at the Bauhaus from 1928 to 1933. Giving only partially an insider's view, the author reviews the whole history of the school. After a personal introduction Dearstyne discusses the initial efforts to create and define the direction, the famous preliminary course, the nature of the workshops and their teachers (one of the best sections), the architectural education, and the demise. Whitford's Bauhaus (CH, Sep '84) is a better overall summary but this book too is informative and readable. Letters and documents are quoted. There are some sharp personal insights. Although an admirer of Gropius's aims and selections of faculty, Dearstyne was disturbed by the man's ego. There is an astringent critique of some of the Bauhaus-designed furniture-it was form for form's sake and little has stood the test of time. Some lightweight, slat-braced furniture, practically never mentioned or illustrated, was among the best. The unification of art and technology was seldom achieved, and concepts were not well thought out. The general public rejected many of the celebrated ``advances.'' Klee, Kandinsky, and the workshop teachers are lauded, as is Mies van der Rohe and the accomplishments of the last years. Good bibliography and index; satisfactory illustrations. Suitable for public libraries, upper-division college and university as well as architectural school libraries.-J.J. Poesch, Tulane University
Library Journal Review
Dearstyne, the only American to graduate from the Bauhaus with an architecture degree, here gives both a historical perspective and an immediate first-hand account of the ideals and practicalities at this famous school, which he attended 1928-33. He is particularly illuminating on the actual curricula followed in the various crafts (furniture, printing, weaving, etc.) as well as in architecture. Itself neo-Bauhaus in design, illustrated with many contemporary photographs, and ably edited by Spaeth, a student of Dearstyne's at IIT, Dearstyne's book is a highly important addition to the Bauhaus literature.Jack Perry Brown, Ryerson & Burnham Lib., Art Inst. of Chicago (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
