Customer Reviews

Design and Form: The Basic Course at the Bauhaus and Later

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know I'm going to anger some of the folks who really believe in this book, but I was really disappointed with how slim and scant the educational content was. There are very many black and white illustrations of the students' work related to Itten's teachings. And his outlook is very pure and creative. I really enjoyed that aspect of this book, but expected more meat! I wanted to know more specifically about conflict. I wanted him to go deeper. As it is, he brings up a well ordered set of concepts, explains them clearly and then moves on. In my opinion this book is wildly overpriced. I probably would give it four stars had it only cost me between seven and fifteen dollars. At thirty and change it's not worth it.

Design and Form is a solid text, with many examples of the type of work that Itten tasked his students with. Itten does not, however, lay out a series of lectures for the student. Rather, Itten lays out a path of experimentation and self-discovery for the student to follow. Much of the content will be familiar to anyone who has read The Art of Color, and for those people, I could not recommend buying (nor could I recommend avoiding) this book. If the reader needs clarity on a subject, many examples prod the reader into finding a solution.

In sum: A good (but not great) text when considered on its own merits, and an average text when considered in conjunction with Itten's other works.

design and form

the basic course at the bauhaus and later

revised edition

first printing

1975

from rear cover"..the basic course at the bauhaus was designed as a trial period to judge students with varying educational backgrounds, to determine their creative talent, to help them in their choice of a career, and to teach them elementary design as a basis for future careers in the arts. each of the over 200 illustrations reproduced here is described in detail to help the reader understand the purpose of art teaching..........the book has universal appeal for a basic course as a means of individual creative growth and it can be used today by students and art teachers as a foundation for their own basic course.."

I think Kandinsky's books are a little better than Itten. But this is one of Itten's best for sure. There are lots of images but not much text. The typography, ironically, is not laid out well and not very big. But the images go well with what the content states and gives the reader a view into the Bauhaus class structure.

This book is not a step by step syllabus to follow blindly. Itten wrote this book to share the fundamental principles that he taught all his students (no matter how advanced) before allowing them to pursue higher classes and goals at his school.

The book is broken down into sections that (to anyone who's had art training) seem simple enough: chiaroscuro, form, color, rhythm, etc. but Itten teaches not so much the technical aspect of art as a new way of seeing the world, a way of creating from the whole body and mind, not just with a paintbrush (or computer graphics program).

The sections are all punctuated with many examples of student work that relate to the topic covered. Often, it is these examples that really drive his points home.

Just as Itten believed that everyone was capable of being creative and thought the basic course was valuable to all levels of art students and even teachers, this book is applicable for both those who are looking for an introduction into creating, and those who consider themselves expert artists already. I guarantee there will be at least one idea in the book to make you stop and ponder and suddenly challenge your way of thinking on the matter.

Itten made the world as we know it today. Without his guidence, none of the products you buy, art you look at, or anything else would be what it is today. If you are a designer or art monger, you owe it to yourself to read this book. It is a discription of his Basic Course (everyone had to take it...) at the Bauhaus in Weimar written by Itten himself.