Modernism

Modernism, a word we’ve probably all heard before but what does it actually mean? In regards to art, Modernism is the idea of rejecting conservative values and experimenting with form. It tends to put an emphasis on how and what something is made of rather than why. A great real world example of what these modernist ideals are is The Bauhaus. Focusing on making both aesthetically pleasing and functional pieces, in the hopes of making a better tomorrow through their art, The Bauhaus was a German art school that combined various types of design disciplines such as painting, sculpting, handicraft, and architecture. Originally the schools goal was to go back to the ages of craftsmen where each object was given individual time and effort but they later changed it to focus more on the design of the object rather than the care put into its craft.

When looking at art made in the Bauhaus style many artists usually chose to use materials such as steel, glass, and ferroconcrete in their craft and included the primary colors as well as black and white. Often their art contains very clear geometric forms, which is sometimes referred to as hard-edge abstraction. This experimentation with form is a major part of modernism. However the Bauhaus wasn’t just about the physical craft it also included some graphic designs. Graphic pieces made use of simple fonts but arranged them in unique ways so that they weren’t boring.

While the Bauhaus school was eventually shut down, due to pressure from National Socialists, the style is still used today. For example some furniture is heavily inspired by earlier Bauhaus designs such as IKEA’s Tobias Chair which bears striking similarities with Marcel Breuer’s cesca chair or how Wayfair’s Caire Tables share the same functionality purpose as Josef Albers Nesting Tables. I have actually seen an example of Bauhaus design being used in a logo in my home town. The logo for the AVA Art Gallery contains a simple font and uses two of the three primary colors which, as I discussed before, are some of the main aspects of the Bauhaus style. In conclusion the Bauhaus strayed far from the classic designs of past artists and explored new ideas of how art is structured in a way that has stuck with us throughout the years. The aspects of these designs follow the ideals of modernism.