blog assignment 6: selected posts

from Kerwin O'Malley:

Bauhaus

Considering this weeks theme on technology and the Bauhaus method, There are similarities in the methods and philosophies first introduced at the Bauhaus. Walter Gropius (1883-1969), was the first director of the Bauhaus. The Vorkurs or preliminary work was covered in the first semester and its job was to stimulate the students interest in materials, drawing techniques and form so that there innate creative ability might be best directed towards a specific workshop. This is almost identical to first year design, with DSDN 101 being focused on drawing techniques and different perspectives. DSDN 111 focused on form, especially the fluidity project. And lastly DSDN 141, which focuses on experimenting with materials. By doing each of these courses, we are encouraged to open our minds to view the world in different perspectives, which is necessary when being a designer. Although the school does not have ‘workshops’ anymore, they are represented now with the different disciplines in the BDi; media, culture and context and industrial. The workshops had a technical master and also a form master. This is similar to us having tutors and course coordinator’s. The BDI at Victoria university has many similarities to the Bauhaus as they both encourage students to look beyond conformity and normal views and to look at things from a different perspective and use there innate creativeness.

from Zach Challies:

Technology + Progress

The Bauhaus movement introduced by German designers, craftsmen and architects in the early 20^th century, although heavily criticised at the time, was an educational movement many years ahead of its time. The Bauhaus was school of contemporary design that focused on an amalgamation of the aforementioned principles: design craft and architecture. The school was less concerned with focussing on creating a set of artistic parameters for its students and more encouraging of free expression and an education of a wide bearing of subjects. This mode of education was in order to give students an understanding of the design as an entity, giving them perspectives on design that would be less apparent in a more focused set of educational practices. The curriculum also encouraged the ideas of collaborative design between apprentices, journeymen and masters as the occupants of the school were known as based on their degree of mastery.

These educational methods are reasonably evident in the first year design course. The first semester courses of DSDN 101 and 111 encouraged examinations of form through craft and drawing and incorporated a wide range of briefs that involved varying subjects and use of equipment and media.

These two courses are reminiscent of the Vorkurs, preliminary courses that introduced students to a variety of crafts, methods and subjects before they went on to choose their specializations and subjects of further study.

Philosophically the two courses are similar in that they encourage the examination of multiple specializations in order to give students ideas and principles of design based on an understanding of multiple disciplines; a “holist” education with which they can create design that has universal aesthetic and application.