Customer Reviews

The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism

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This is a fun read. Sometimes it almost seems that Weber is too close to his subjects. The praise he covers the Bauhauslers with is a little over the top but this is a great introduction to what the Bauhaus was and was about. It could have done with more colored illustrations. In some cases, Weber describes an object or painting but with no illustration of the piece it is somewhat hard to follow. Surely, since he talks a lot about J. Albers' "Homage to the Square", that there would at least be an example of one in the book. Overall, a good read.

This marvelous book introduces the major Bauhaus masters. I can give it no greater compliment than saying that after reading this book, I wanted to paint, weave, make a stained glass window, and design a building, so captivating was Weber's book. I learned so much more about Bauhaus than I knew before. It covers the movement from Weimar, to Dessau, to the last years in Berlin, where the school struggled against the disdain of the Third Reich. The Bauhaus community created and feuded together. They also had the support of civic leaders, which is the only thing I wish Weber would have included a bit more detail.

Instead of distracting the reader with a "meanwhile" approach and trying to tell the stories of the main participants, all at the same time, he, instead, splits the book into six intertwining biographies.

It was such an interesting read! It is more a comment on American taste than Weber's writing that there are so few reviews. This book is a treasure of research, interviews and anecdotes.

The Bauhaus movement was not just architecture, but also painting, theater, music performance and weaving. In fact, Weber knew both Anni and Josef Albers, and his exploration of their later life in America is personal, funny, and at times an eye opener (such as when a movie star tries to persuade Anni Albers to give him some of her late husband's paintings). I especially enjoyed reading about Anni Albers beautiful tapestries/weavings, which are considered masterpieces.

Just when I thought it could not be better, it ends with an account of Mies van der Rohe who is called before Nazi leader Alfred Rosenberg (who would be tried, and executed, at Nuremberg). Seeing that Bauhaus is doomed, he still scolds Rosenberg for sitting at an ugly desk. You have to admire his nerve....

A very disappointing book. The author chooses to write at great length about Joseph and Anni Albers, who he knew well. In doing so he almost ignores important Bauhaus figures such as Bruer and minimizes coverage of others. For a $40 book he skimps on illustrations. Seeing pictures or drawings of furniture and buildings would have added greatly to the enjoyment and the knowledge gained from the book. The information about the Albers favorite restaurant in suburban Connecticut is of little interest to me and of little importance compared to the Bauhaus history.

If you want a novelistic retelling of one of the greatest art institutions of the 20th century this might be it. If you really want a book about the art movement, you are better of with a book like "Bauhaus 1919-33" by Droste. Bauhaus 1919-1933 (Taschen 25),The Bauhaus: 1919-1933: Reform and Avant-Garde (Basic Art Series)
The author is unable to develop a feel for the time, he imposes his modern day thinking on people who lived a 100 years ago. There are a lot of surmises, modern day interpretations, and a severe degree of dumbing down of a movement that was let by intellectuals. He doesn't do justice to the artists, their thoughts or their work.

So much has been written about Gropius and Mies that it seems almost gratuitous to include them in this publication. With the exception of naming Frau Gropius's lover, I found nothing new nor enlightening. Historians and observers have likewise provided us with countless accounts of Klee and Kandinsky but the author has helped me understand the two Bauhaus Masters better as real people rather than artistic icons. The authors' sensitive telling of the hardship's of war years and how it personally affected Kandinsky, the death of his 3 year old son from malnutrition, causes me to look at his work with a new sensitivity. I have always admired Klee, almost as much as Kandinsky, but I was not aware of his oddness. Almost as bad as Itten. Even now I am not sure if it was psychological in nature or simply his existence on a different plane. I had not before realized the extent his colleagues and students found him peculiar. Today his lecture technique would gain him a very low grade in "Rate Your Professor" on-line evaluation.

But the real value of the book and what kept me transfixed comes in the personal and sensitive fleshing out of Joseph and Anni Albers by the author. I don't personally place them at the same elevated level as Gropius, Kandinsky, Klee, and Mies but they are important contributors to the Bauhaus movement and more important, they increased the importance of their art and professional standing in their post Bauhaus life.

The author became close enough to the Albers that they trusted him with both their strengths, and weaknesses. Through the telling of their stories, secrets, and personal reminisces I am able to
know the Albers a little. I am struck by how mean-spirited they could be, critical, jealous, insecure, boorish, vindictive, pathetic, snobbish, generous, protective, warm, gracious, creative, and totally and consummately dedicated to their art.

I really enjoyed getting to know Albers and I expect I will be digesting this book for quite a while.

A disappointment.
Poorly edited- redundant story telling with an emphasis on the petty and sexual.
These artists deserve better.