Bauhaus events press release 2 April 2012.pdf - Barbican

For immediate release: Monday 2 April 2012
Bauhaus: Art as Life
Events Programme
Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican Centre, London, UK
Exhibition dates: 3 May – 12 August 2012
Bauhaus: Art as Life is produced in co-operation with Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin / Museum für
Gestaltung, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and Klassik Stiftung Weimar
The exhibition is supported by tp bennett, The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, The Stanley Thomas
Johnson Foundation and The Henry Moore Foundation. Media Partner: Wallpaper*
Bauhaus: Art as Life events programme supported by The Goethe-Institut, London, The Embassy of the
Federal Republic of Germany, London, The Embassy of Switzerland in the United Kingdom, The
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and The Hungarian Cultural Centre, London.
Barbican Art Gallery’s major exhibition Bauhaus: Art as Life (3 May – 12 August
2012) features a dynamic events programme inspired by the world’s most famous
modern art and design school. Talks, workshops, tours, films, a costume party and a
two-week Arts School Lab celebrate the lively spirit of the time.
The Bauhaus: Art as Life Costume Party forms part of Bauhaus by Day, Bauhaus by
Night, a special 12-hour event (23 June). The daytime programme includes
kitemaking with Karl Longbottom, puppet-making with Melissa Trimingham and
accessory-making with Fred Butler; it is suitable for all ages and free. The evening
programme includes Play Bauhaus – Jam Out from the Bauhaus Stage in Dessau
and the Bauhaus: Art as Life Costume Party, a ticketed event held in the Barbican
Conservatory until midnight.
Exploring the Bauhaus influence further the Arts School Lab (2 – 14 July) is a
twoweek experimental arts school open to art professionals from all art forms.
Participants take part in collaborative work devised with contemporary thinkers,
artists and performers at the Barbican and in Germany; applications are through the
Barbican website: barbican.org.uk
Highlights from the talks programme include those by the children of eminent
Bauhaus students and masters. Leading contemporary artist Peter Fischli, son of
Hans Fischli, speaks about how the pioneering school shaped both his house and
household (3 May). Monika Stadler’s mother Gunta Stölzl was the sole female
Bauhaus master and renowned for her groundbreaking weaving. Monika’s talk recalls
her mother’s memories of her time at the school and beyond (14 June). Huttula
Moholy-Nagy introduces Permanent Experiment, part of a special day of films in
celebration of her father the Bauhaus master László Moholy-Nagy (26 May). The
day includes the premiere of artist Aura Satz’s film Universal Language: A Lost
Manifesto and the chance to hear Hattula Moholy-Nagy, Aura Satz, professor Ian
Christie and Bauhaus film expert Thomas Tode speak (26 May).

Other speakers include C Raman Schlemmer, grandson of Bauhaus master Oskar
Schlemmer (28 June), Nicholas Fox Weber, director of The Josef and Anni Albers
Foundation (10 May) and Louisa Hutton of acclaimed architecture practice
Sauerbruch Hutton (12 July). Typography and communication design’s importance at
the Bauhaus is explored by graphic designer Erik Spiekermann (date tbc). While
Andy Groarke of architects Carmody Groarke and Kirsty Carter of design agency
APFEL, speak about how the Bauhaus inspired their exhibition design for Bauhaus:
Art as Life (31 May).
Workshops and walks punctuate the exhibition run. Renowned artist David
Batchelor leads two workshops, On Colour (16 June). The potential of paper to
create sculptural forms is explored in On Paper Construction with artist Richard
Sweeney (19 May, 9 June) while Torsten Blume, of the Bauhaus Stage in Dessau
runs the two-day intensive workshop Play Bauhaus (23 – 24 June). The Twentieth
Century Society / C20 lead three walks on Bauhaus architecture in London: City
Influences (5 May, 2 June) Social Housing & the Bauhaus (19 May, 16 June) and
Hampstead and the Bauhaus (14 July).
To complement Bauhaus: Art as Life, Barbican Cinema will run a week of dedicated
events - Bauhaus Film Season (25 – 31 May). From abstract shorts, to
documentaries celebrating modern design and architecture, this series of screenings
is presented alongside screen talks and panel discussions with experts from the field.
Listings Information
Thu 3 May 7pm, Cinema 3
Talk: Peter Fischli – From Dessau to Las Vegas
Leading Swiss artist Peter Fischli grew up in a modernist house designed by his
father Hans Fischli, a Bauhaus trained artist and architect. Join Fischli as he talks
about his relationship to the Bauhaus, his upbringing in a home suffused by the spirit
of the School and its lasting influence on his own artistic practice.
£8 online/£10 on the door
Sat 5 May 2.30pm, meet at Art Gallery Ticket Desk
Walk: City Influences
Led by the Twentieth Century Society / C20, this walk takes you from the Barbican
through the City of London, focusing on how the Bauhaus has influenced both post
WWII and more contemporary commercial architecture.
Lasts approximately 1 ½ hours.
£15 online/£17 on the door (includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
(Walk repeated on 2 Jun)
Thu 10 May 7pm, Redgrave Room
Talk: An Insider's Glimpse of Bauhaus Life
Nicholas Fox Weber, director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, explores
day-to-day life at the Bauhaus: the personal relationships, the struggles and even the
scandals. Showing little-known images of Bauhauslers frolicking on the beach, sitting
around a samovar, parading at costume parties, and even feigning lovers' duels,
Weber sets the enjoyment and challenges of Bauhaus life in context.
£8 online/£10 on the door
Sat 19 May 2.30pm, meet at Art Gallery Ticket Desk
Walk: Social Housing & the Bauhaus
Join The Twentieth Century / C20 as they lead a walk from the Barbican through

the post war Golden Lane, Spa Green and Finsbury estates finishing at the 1939
Finsbury Health Centre. An opportunity to see a British response to the Bauhaus
influence. Lasts approximately 1 ½ hours.
£15 online/£17 on the door (includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
(Walk repeated on 16 Jun)
Sat 19 May 2.30pm, Redgrave Room
Workshop: On Paper Construction
Josef Albers’ teaching for the Bauhaus Preliminary Course focused on general
design principles and his paper construction exercises became legendary. Join artist
Richard Sweeney to explore the potential of paper and experiment with a variety of
paper folding techniques to create your own unique sculptural forms. Age 14 +
£16 online/£18 on the door
(Workshop repeated on 9 Jun)
Thu 24 May 7pm, Art Gallery
Tour: Weaving at the Bauhaus
Textile artist and designer Ptolemy Mann leads a tour of the exhibition focusing on
weaving and the use of colour. An expert in the ikat technique, Mann considers the
lasting impact of innovations made by those who studied and worked in the Bauhaus
weaving workshop.
£10 online/£12 on the door (includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
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Bauhaus Film Season 25 – 31 May
Standard price tickets from £9.50 online. See website for prices and complete listings
Fri 25 May 7pm, Cinema 1
Bauhaus: The Radical Screen PG *
With live musical accompaniment by Neil Brand
A special screening of treasures from the Bauhaus era, including Viking Eggeling’s
Diagonal Symphonie (1921–1924), Kurt Kranz’s The Heroic Arrow (1930), Werner
Graeff’s Composition I and II (1922) and many others. Bauhaus film specialist
Thomas Tode joins Professor Ian Christie in conversation after the screenings.
Presented in collaboration with Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
With special thanks to the Geothe Institut, London
Sat 26 May 3.30pm, Cinema 1
László Moholy-Nagy
The Film and Photo Curator PG *
With live musical accompaniment by John Sweeney
Moholy-Nagy and Hans Richter collaborated as curators for the film section of the
1929 Film und Foto (FiFo) exhibition, one of the most significant public displays of
modern photography and film. This screening presents a variety of works from the
original selection including films by Marcel Duchamp, Walter Ruttmann, Fernand
Léger, Réne Clair, Guido Seeber, Eugène Deslaws, Joris Ivens and Mannus
Frankens. Introduced by Thomas Tode, who previously presented this evening at
the Metropolis Kino Hamburg.
Sat 26 May 5.30pm, Cinema 1
László Moholy-Nagy
Permanent Experiment PG *
This documentary provides fascinating insight into the life and work of Moholy-
Nagy. Through a combination of historical footage, family photographs and
interviews, it traces Moholy-Nagy’s career from his native Hungary to his

appointment as master at the Bauhaus, and later as Director of the Institute of
Design in Chicago. Permanent Experiment is introduced by Hattula Moholy-Nagy,
daughter of the Bauhaus master and director of The Moholy-Nagy Foundation.
Germany Dir. Jens Schmohl 56 min
Sat 26 May 7.30pm, Cinema 1
László Moholy-Nagy’s Shorts PG
With live music accompaniment by John Sweeney
+ Universal Language: A Lost Manifesto
A rare chance to see a selection of Moholy-Nagy’s short films followed by artist Aura
Satz’s premiere of the film performance Universal Language: A Lost Manifesto,
which draws on two mysteriously lost projects: the Moholy-Nagy film Sound ABC
(1932) and the manifesto document of Hans Richter and Viking Eggeling, Universal
Language (1920). Hattula Moholy-Nagy, Aura Satz and professor Ian Christie join
us in conversation after the screenings.
Aura Satz film supported by Arts Council England
With thanks to the Hungarian Cultural Centre, London and the Moholy-Nagy Foundation
Sun 27 May 2.30pm, Cinema 1
Dynamic of Light – Form and Movement: Kurt Schwerdtfeger & Ludwig
Hirschfeld-Mack PG
In 1921, Schwertdfeger, a young student at the Bauhaus, created a highly unusual
device using projected light and colour filters to create a stunning visual play of
colour and form. Known as Reflecting Colour-Light-Play, it was first presented at the
Bauhaus in 1922. Hirschfeld-Mack, a fellow Bauhaus student, would further develop
this idea in his work Colour-Light-Play. Introduced by art film specialist Maxa Zoller.
Presented in collaboration with Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
Sun 27 May 4.30pm, Cinema 1
Bauhaus: New Ways of Living PG *
With live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Series of documentary films providing a look at the ideas for ‘new ways of living’ that
prevailed in the avant-garde of the1920s and 1930s. Featuring László Moholy-Nagy’s
film on the International Congress of Modern Architects, Hans Richter’s Die Neue
Wohnung (1930), Ellen Auerbach’s Tel Aviv (1934), plus Wie Wohnen wir Gesund
und Wirtschaftlich a series of short films about the artistic principles that shaped the
Bahaus. Introduced by Astrid Schmetterling, a specialist in visual culture.
Presented in collaboration with Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau
By courtesy of the Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin
Sun 27 May 7pm, Cinema 1
Bauhaus – Myth of the Modern (Bauhaus – Mythos der Merne) PG *
This documentary is considered to be the most far-reaching, critical evaluation of the
artistic influence and political ambitions of the Bauhaus. Consisting of numerous
interviews with former Bauhaus students and archive footage, this film is a
fascinating insight into the spirit of the school and its tumultuous history.
Germany 1998 Dir. Kerstin Stutterheim and Niels Bolbrinker 90 min
Tue 29 May 7pm, Cinema 1
Architecture on Film
Living in the City of Tomorrow (Leben in der Stadt von Morgen)
+ The Buildings of Adolf Hitler PG *
Two films exploring architecture as propaganda and the changing relationship
between Modernism and power. The UK premiere of Leben in der Stadt von Morgen
(2007), the film is introduced by Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum,
followed by a ScreenTalk with the film’s director Marian Engel.

Germany 2007 Dir. Marian Engel 96 min
Germany 1938 Dir. Albert Speer 17 min
Curated by The Architecture Foundation. Part of Architecture on Film
Wed 30 May 7pm, Cinema 1
An Animated Utopia
A Centenary Celebration of John Halas (1912 –1995) PG * + ScreenTalk
An evening to celebrate the centenary of John Halas, founder of the UK animation
studio Halas and Batchelor, including his Bauhaus influences in Hungary in the
1930s. The programme includes a preview of An Animated Utopia, a documentary by
Professor Pvaul Wells of the Animation Academy, Loughbough University, examining
the films, life and many achievements of John Halas. Joining the post-film
ScreenTalk with Paul Wells will be Halas’s daughter Vivien Halas, Jez Stuart of the
BFI and Andy Wyatt of University of Falmouth who made A Memory of Moholy
Nagy, one of Halas’s last productions.
Thu 31 May 7.00pm, Cinema 1
Max Bill – The Master’s Vision PG * + ScreenTalk
A rare chance to see the recent documentary on Max Bill, the Swiss architect,
designer and Bauhaus student who collaborated with the likes of Picasso, Moholy-
Nagy, Klee and Gropius. Introduced by Bill’s widow, the art historian Angela
Thomas, and film director Erich Schmidt.
Switzerland 2008 Dir. Erich Schmidt 93 min
With thanks to the Swiss Embassy
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Thu 31 May 7pm, Art Gallery
Tour: Designing the Bauhaus
Architect Andy Groarke of Carmody Groarke and graphic designer Kirsty Carter
of A Practice for Everyday Life take a walk through the show and explain how they
took inspiration from the historical subject to create the exhibition Bauhaus: Art as
Life.
£10 online/£12 on the door (includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Sat 2 Jun 2.30pm, meet at Art Gallery Ticket Desk
Walk: City Influences
See 5 May for details
Sat 9 Jun 2.30pm, Redgrave Room
Workshop: On Paper Construction
See 19 May for details
Thu 14 Jun 7pm, Cinema 2
Talk: Gunta Stölzl – A Daughter’s Perspective
Join Monika Stadler as she recalls her mother Gunta Stölzl’s memories, anecdotes
and friendships made during her time as a student and as the pioneering master of
the weaving workshop at the Bauhaus. Learn of Stölzl’s journey to the School and
her successful career in business and the arts following its closure and her return to
Zurich.
£8 online/£10 on the door
Sat 16 Jun 10.30am & 2.30pm, Fountain Room
Workshop: On Colour
Colour was central to the Bauhaus’s vision for modern life – from painted wall murals,
interior décor and party backdrops to the famous colour theory exercises led by Josef
Albers, Johannes Itten and Wassily Kandinsky. This workshop opens with a seminar

on colour with artist David Batchelor, followed by a Bauhaus painting workshop with
Vanessa Cass, Head of Design Realisation at Guildhall School.
Age 14 +, lasts for 3 hours.
£16 online/£18 on the door
Sat 16 Jun 2.30pm, meet at Art Gallery Ticket Desk
Walk: Social Housing & the Bauhaus
See 19 May for details
Thu 21 Jun 7pm, Art Gallery
Tour: Collecting the Bauhaus
The Worldwide Director of Design, Alexander Payne at Phillips de Pury &
Company, leads a tour of the exhibition focusing on design pieces in the show and
their place within the collector’s market today.
£10 online/£12 on the door (includes same-day entry to the exhibition)
Sat 23 Jun 12pm – Midnight, various locations including the Garden Room
Bauhaus by Day, Bauhaus by Night
Calling aspiring Bauhauslers of all ages. Join us for a one-day event to celebrate art,
life and friendship, inspired by the joyous Bauhaus community. Festivities run
throughout the day and include workshops on kite-making with specialist Karl
Longbottom, creating puppets with Bauhaus stage expert Melissa Trimingham and
an accessories making class led by designer Fred Butler, as well as the launch of
artist Ian Whittlesea’s newly illustrated book – Mazdaznan Health & Breath Culture.
Start the evening with the lecture demonstration Play Bauhaus – Jam Out by
Torsten Blume director of the Bauhaus Stage in Dessau and dancer Yun-Ju Chen.
Then see out the night with the Bauhaus Art as Life Costume Party and celebrate
the launch of the radical Teatrum Mundi, a programme of international
collaborations bridging the street and the stage.
Bauhaus by Day for all ages, FREE
Bauhaus by Night, £8 online/£10 on the door
Sat 23 – Sun 24 Jun 10.30am, The Pit
Weekend Lab: Play Bauhaus
Artistic director Torsten Blume and dancer Yun-Ju Chen lead this weekend course
on Bauhaus theatre, recently developed at the Bauhaus Stage in Dessau. Using a
combination of theory and practical exercises, explore the various aspects of
contemporary theatre and performance using ideas first developed at the Bauhaus.
Age 18 +, suitable for artists from all art forms. Limited availability.
£50 (includes entry to the exhibition on Sat)
Thu 28 Jun 7pm, Cinema 1
babü. Oskar Schlemmer Performed
Leading authority and grandson of the artist, C. Raman Schlemmer, introduces the
work of Oskar Schlemmer, the highly influential and charismatic painter, sculptor,
choreographer, stage designer and Bauhaus master. Followed by a performance of
music composed by Oskar Schlemmer for ‘The Bauhaus Dances’ accompanied by
images. The Trio Triadic will also perform, featuring Vincenzo Pasquariello on the
piano.
£11.50 online/£12.50 on the door
Thu 12 Jul 7pm, Cinema 2
Talk: Building on the Bauhaus Legacy
Louisa Hutton of Sauerbruch Hutton, designers of the Federal Environmental
Agency in Dessau, speaks about working in direct relation and proximity to Gropius’s

landmark school building and masters’ houses as well as the award-winning
practice’s recent and current projects.
£8 online/£10 on the door
Sat 14 Jul 2.30pm, meet outside Belsize Park Underground Station
Walk: Hampstead and the Bauhaus
Several of the artists and architects who came to England from the Bauhaus lived
initially in Hampstead. This walk, led by the Twentieth Century Society / C20, will
go via Lawn Road, Willow Road and Devonshire Hill, through to Frognal taking in a
number of Bauhaus influenced houses and flats.
Lasts approximately 1 ½ hours.
£10
Mon 2 – Sat 14 Jul
Arts School Lab
Can you imagine a different relationship between the arts and society? Interested in
collaborating with other artists, designers, performers and writers from a range of
contemporary practices? Arts School Lab is a two-week experimental arts school,
influenced by the Bauhaus. The School will create manifestos for a new era –
encouraging purposeful creativity that can contribute to social change. Workshops
will take place at the Barbican, London, and the Bauhaus Foundation, Dessau.
Responding to the radical Bauhaus education model of the past, Arts School Lab
asserts what arts professionals want to change today, with the intention of
emboldening their creative work for the future.
Age 18 +, suitable for arts professionals from all art forms
By application – see website for details
A collaboration between Barbican and Guildhall School, London and Bauhaus
Foundation, Dessau
Coming soon
Talk: Communication Design and the Bauhaus
Inspirational information architect, notable type designer and author Erik
Spiekermann considers the true impact of the Bauhaus on typography and graphic
design. Often overemphasized and misattributed, Spiekermann looks at the work of
the school within the broader context of design in 1920s Germany and seeks to
debunk myths that fostered false understanding then and now.
Tour: Lessons from the Bauhaus
Alex de Rijke of dRMM and the recently appointed Dean of the School of
Architecture at the Royal College of Art takes a walk through the exhibition and
considers how the Bauhaus operated both as place of education and practice.
Lecture Demonstrations
A series of public events as part of the Arts School Lab programme, presenting
contemporary creative work that addresses social change.
ENDS
Notes to Editors

Press Information
For further information, images or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Ann Berni, Media Relations Manager +44 207 382 7169 / ann.berni@barbican.org.uk
Jess Hookway, Media Relations Officer +44 207 382 6162 /
jess.hookway@barbican.org.uk
For Bauhaus Film Season please contact:
Sarah Harvey, +44 207 232 2812 / sarah@sarahharvey.info
Public Information
0845 120 7550, www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery
Barbican Art Gallery, London
Daily 11am–8pm, Wed 11am–6pm, every Thurs LATE until 10pm
Tickets: Standard £10 online/£12 on the door, Concessions £7 online/£8 on the door
Secondary school (groups of ten or more) £6, Under 12s free
Red members: unlimited free entry for member + guest
Orange members: Unlimited free entry for member
Yellow members: 30% off which is £7 online/£8.40 on the door
Exhibition
Bauhaus: Art as Life is a Barbican Art Gallery exhibition produced in co-operation
with Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin / Museum für Gestaltung, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and
Klassik Stiftung Weimar. It is co-curated by Barbican curators, Catherine Ince and
Lydia Yee, and designed by architects Carmody Groarke, creators of the Barbican
Art Gallery’s dramatic The Surreal House exhibition installation, working in
collaboration with graphic designers A Practice For Everyday Life (APFEL). Bauhaus:
Art as Life draws on the unparalleled collections of the Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin /
Museum für Gestaltung, Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and Klassik Stiftung Weimar, as
well as other major lending institutions including; Centre Georges Pompidou; Harvard
Art Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation; The
Museum of Modern Art, New York and Zentrum Paul Klee.
Catalogue
Supported by the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue co-published by
Barbican Art Gallery and Verlag der Buchhandlung Walter König and designed by
APFEL. It features newly commissioned texts from a range of leading scholars, critics
and commentators such as Anja Baumhoff, Éva Forgács, Kathleen James-
Chakraborty, Melissa Trimingham, Philip Ursprung, Nicholas Fox Weber as well as
Barbican and Bauhaus archive curators. The catalogue will also include a series of
original writings by Bauhaus artists from previously published texts to personal
correspondence.
Online Resource
From 2 May, download the Bauhaus: Art as Life online resource for Bauhaus ideas,
creative exercises and playful learning to be enjoyed at home, at work or at the
Barbican.
Arts School Lab
Arts School Lab are supported by The Goethe-Institute London, The Embassy of the
Federal Republic of Germany, London. Arts School Lab is part of ‘Shift’, ‘ArtWorks:

Developing Practice in Participatory Settings’, a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Special
Initiative with support and funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council,
Creativity Culture & Education (supported by Arts Council England) and the Cultural
Leadership Programme.
Barbican Art Gallery Shop
The shop features an extensive range of books, stationery and design led homeware,
including original pieces designed by the Bauhaus as well as new products by
contemporary designers inspired by the school. Collaborations with Ideas Tap and
University of the Arts, London are also featured.
Barbican Art Gallery
One of the leading art spaces in the UK, Barbican Art Gallery presents the best of
international visual art with a dynamic mix of art, architecture, design, fashion and
photography. From acclaimed architects to Turner prize-winning artists, the Gallery
exhibits innovators of the 20th and 21st centuries: key players who have shaped
developments and stimulated change. The Curve is dedicated to a vibrant
programme of new commissions, created by leading international artists in direct
response to this distinctive gallery space.
Barbican Newsroom
All Barbican Centre press releases, news announcements and the Media Relations
team’s contact details are listed on our website at www.barbican.org.uk/news
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of
all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Our creative
learning programme further underpins everything we do. In 2012 we celebrate the
Olympic year with many of our projects forming part of the Cultural Olympiad and
London 2012 Festival – it is also our 30 th birthday year. Over 1.5 million people pass
through our doors each year, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and
more than 300 staff work onsite. Our architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982
and comprises the Barbican Hall, Barbican Theatre, the Pit theatre, a cinema (with
two new cinemas to open in September), the Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery
The Curve, foyers and public spaces, a library, Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse
conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants.
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