The reception of the Bauhaus has become both a celebrated and yet controversial symbol of modern design and avant-garde approaches to life. Although the school was only in existence from 1919 to 1933 at different locations (Weimar, Dessau, Berlin), it has a unique standing as an exemplary representative of a modernist new start. In these years, only around 1,300 students trained at the Bauhaus – how did this school achieve such a remarkable influence, as the epitome of radical renewal in society, in design and in teaching? What makes the Bauhaus so special? Why are its products still made today?
The exhibition title, The Whole World a Bauhaus, taken from Bauhaus student and teacher Fritz Kuhr (1928), is in many ways programmatic. It alludes to the fact that the Bauhaus redefined the parameters of art, the crafts, and technology, when Walter Gropius declared the aim of design to include the whole spectrum of design and also social practice in every sense. The exhibition title also refers to the fact that this is a touring exhibition which will address connections and look at the role of modernism at different venues, where it will serve as a platform for learning.