When discussing Bauhaus and Vkhutemas, it is observed that Vkhutemasis the lesser known of the two. However, both were an experiment, artistically and socially and called for more attention. Reasoning encourages creativity, and the two schools - Bauhaus in Weimar and the Vkhutemas in Moscow started the ritual of basic design education in the early 1920s.Vkhutemas was established with the merging of fine arts and applied arts, just like the Bauhaus. This was a time when the academy of fine arts was not looking for intellectually or practically desirable areas of art. It would be interesting to see if Bauhaus covered the same journey as Vkhutemas, starting with the inner components of art, social rebellion and integration with society and design production. The Vkhutemas curriculum shows the same degree of concentration as the Preliminary Course level of Bauhaus (Forgács 1995).
The Bauhaus The Bauhaus was the first design school to encourage the reproducibility of objects under with new political and technical structures. It led to a more experimental but a short-lived identity for the designers stated by Ruedi (33). It existed from 1919 to 1933 and the powerful educational institution was quick to anticipate major issues in the contemporary architectural education.Bauhaus produced images political symbols and icons of gender relations. The movement 'dreams through its images and led to economic and gender transformations in architectural education (Ruedi 36).Bauhaus is seen as an a systematic institution that emphasized the purely rational. It was born as a result of education reform process in applied arts in Germany that began with Deutsche Werkstatten movement in 1898. The educational model was based on workshops that ushered in a revolution in the education system for art and architecture (Harimurti et al. 1).Bauhaus aimed to develop creative minds for architecture and motivate them to create artistically balanced vessels. The united forces influenced the German artists and radiated its effects outside Germany. The significance of Bauhaus is observed to be the greatest in the United States where the Bauhaus has approached art and technology from the ecologic angle (Huovio n.d.). The prime idea behind Bauhaus thinking was to develop new aesthetics taking into account the functionality of products and the nature of materials.The new products would be economical to produce, function well and improve the aesthetical quality (Kuutti 43).Bauhaus legacy lasted long and had a stronger influences of the consumer appeal. There were two kinds of teachers in Bauhaus School, one as experts in with special expertise in various disciplines of art and second, the artists and painters who were given the responsibility of the aesthetic aspects (Harimurti et al. 1). Bauhaus was a medium for the meeting of cubism, futurism, expressionism and suprematism and those”isms” further influenced Bauhaus. Bauhaus ideology was not bound by the time and place (Harimurti et al. 7).
The Vkhutemas Vkhutemas is often regarded to as the Russian Bauhaus and still there is more that differs in the two avant-garde powerhouses of the 1920s. Although the curricula and organizational structures are almost identical, the methods and approach war different.Vkhutemas students were expected to learn both artistic and mechanical skills (Overlooked Russian Bauhaus in limelight in Berlin 2016).Vkhutemas was established by the Soviet government to use the visual arts in all disciplines. The school, in its ten years of existence became a laboratory of modern architecture and art, bursting with diverse artistic ideas. Although Vkhutemas had close ties to Bauhaus, their relationship is rather the reverse (Fuchs 2015). Vkhutemas, the Russiam art and architecture school, has long been overshadowed by its famous German counterpart, Bauhaus. Europe was fascinated with Bauhaus and its ambition to unify arts create high-quality products. As the spearhead of a new avant-garde, the vision of Bauhaus style was widely embraced. Many artists and intellectuals in Russia at the same time were eager to follow the new ideas. While Bauhaus school flourished under the undisputed mastermind Gropius, there were a hundred figures like him for Vkhutemas (Overlooked Russian Bauhaus in limelight in Berlin 2016).
Bauhaus and Vkhutemas Bauhaus teachings have nourished the Modern design philosophy and impacted the lives of the consumers and audiences. The romantic ideology was based on cultural and social concerns of the working class population. Bauhaus found it essential to isolate from the positive influences of the political horizon of Germany. Still, it was not easy for the common public to influence Bauhaus ideology (Winkler39).The avant-garde Russian abstract artists supported the Vkhutemas, the Russian art, and design school in the new revolutionary society that delivered to a Stalinist totalitarian regime.Russian suprematism and constructivism encouraged abstract art for utilitarian and popular purposes developed at the Vkhutemas.Vkhutemas school of surfaced in post-Revolutionary Russia almost at the same time as Bauhaus in Germany.Vkhutemas became a symbol of intellectual spirit of the Revolutions new art (Drumming2011). Moscow Vkhutemas was the only institution of higher art education at the time, apart from the Bauhaus. There are striking parallels between the two institutions that force the comparisons. The two schools seem to be separated by geography, and there was no concrete contact between them, although both followed the same script. The history of the Vkhutemas and Bauhausimpacted on culture and history and belonged to the ethos of the avant-garde.Bauhaus was rooted in the idea of the ethos ofArts and Crafts movement with industrial production (Drumming2011). However, Vkhutemas carried a different perspective and for Vkhutemas followers, art was spiritual and meant to serve the society.Lenin supported Russian avant-garde abstract artists, and the state wanted to create the Vkhutemas in order to train a vast student body and to reconstruct the culture according to the new proletarian democracy. The idea of Vkhutemas can be traced back to 1918 following the Bolshevik Revolution. A close connection developed between the artists and the government initiatives in art and education. Once Vkhutemas was established, Russian avant-garde abstract artists shifted according to the developing proletariat, and there were ideological disputes. One thought process was that the artist must become a master of the tools in the modern times. While the other stream of thought was that art essentially was a spiritual activity and had nothing to do with the utilitarian art (Drumming2011). When comparing the preliminary courses of Bauhaus and Vkhutemas, Vkhutemas carried the historical materialist component that was missing in the Bauhaus. In both preliminary courses, the students were required to familiarize themselves with textures, material, and color via experimentation, but Bauhaus‘coursedid does not address history, environment, and human nature. The curriculum of Vkhutemas and Bauhaus was similar, but Vkhutemas carried a more formalist approach to things (Drumming2011). There were similarities in the design Synthesis and Color drafting courses. However, Vkhutemas students were required to complete historical and economic courses. The Vkhutemas educational model was more organizable, unlike the Bauhaus.There was opposition to contemplative art and the intellectually restrained Bauhaus. Vkhutemas was the brainchild of a victorious revolution during which the avant-garde, abstract artists were raised to the status of official art. Unlike the Bauhaus, Vkhutemas provides a multi-pronged model carrying more appeal to the Design Laboratory (Drumming2011).
Bauhaus is not the only major European avant-garde movement of the twenties. When looking at other individual movements in other countries, it is essential to mention Vkhutemas, the Moscow avant-garde. The Russian groups are found to be the most comparable to Bauhaus as it aimed to develop modern architecture. (Kentgens-Craig2001).Vkhutemas, just like the Bauhaus, embodied all issues that stirred art and society and was a concentrate of the times, looking for answers and solutions to the current and future problems. Another common fate experienced by both the Bauhaus and Vkhutemas is that the power of the totalitarian state interfered to put them out of business. Both schools run parallel histories but took opposed paths.Bauhaus became a fashionable design architectural school right from its marginal avant-garde position (Forgács 1995). On the other hand, Vkhutemas began as an institution of central importance with its group of artists and products.Russians already carried a revolutionary experience while the German intellectual environment was getting filled up with revolutionary expectations. The relationship between Vkhutemas and Bauhaus is more of a historical than personal. It is essential to understand the similarities and differences between the two to follow the importance of the Bauhaus in the global environment (Forgács 1995). Vkhutemas and Bauhaus, both saw abstraction as a progressive social force and trained the students to capture the abstract qualities of the environment. The differences between the schools occurred in the design methods. Both schools supported the political philosophy and economic system, but Vkhutemas demonstrated a different design method from the Bauhaus. Vkhutemas model of education trained students to develop abstract art and focus on the revolutionary Russian culture (Drumming2011). However, Architects, Technicians, and artists in other parts of the world were alarmed by the Soviet Union‘s proceedings. A recent and remarkable exhibition featuring the art and architecture from Vkhutemas shows sketches, paintings, drawings and models that were made from the period of 1920 to 1930. The exhibition offers a fascinating insight into a neglected school of art, Vkhutemas.The sketches of complex urban roofscapes, color and spatial composition and geometric properties show a wealth of radicalism and experimentation (Fuchs 2015). Many Bauhaus creations would fade in comparison with such diversity of ideas.
Conclusion Bauhaus created a wider intellectual environment and played a significant role for not just its source, Soviet Russian avant-garde but in Germany as well. There was an ongoing euphoria and futuristic visions around Bauhaus.Bauhaus developed in a defeated country and faced violent resistance. As opposed to this, Vkhutemas was a result of the victorious revolution. Bauhaus relied on historic judicial and economic infrastructure while Vkhutemas functioned in paternalistic tradition based country. Gradually, Bauhaus students develop the sophisticated higher understanding of the economical use of materials and formal organizations. However, Vkhutemas students embodied an approach to rhetorical arguments. Despite the genius, the Vkhutemasrepresentatives were never able to find a unified artistic voice throughout its existence. Many art historians feel that the brilliance of Vkhutemas was never recognized fully.Bauhaus did leave its influence on Vkhutemas and in return the Russian Avant-garde artists left their own impact on Bauhaus.
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