Exhibition »Die Bauhausbücher: ein europäisches Publikationsprojekt des Bauhauses 1924-1930« (Bauhaus books: a European publication project of the Bauhaus 1924-1930) at the University Library Weimar
In an extensive exhibition the 14 volumes, published between 1925 and 1930 in the publication series of Munich-based publisher Albert Langen Verlag, will be brought to life for visitors. The dust jackets of these books play a particular role today as they are regarded as icons of book and cover design of the 1920s.
In 1925 eight volumes of the new series were published. These had all been completed between 1923 and 1925. By 1930 a further six volumes had been published. With books and brochures by Gropius and Moholy-Nagy as well as publications by Bauhaus masters Kandinsky, Klee and Schlemmer, the series presents, on the one hand, the work of the Bauhaus and its artists in their own depictions and, on the other hand, effectively acted as a publication platform for leading voices of modernity in Europe. Authors of the first volumes included Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian and Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud from the Netherlands, as well as Albert Gleizes from France and Kasimir Malewitsch from Russia. In this way, the series became a unique form of documentation of European modernity in terms of both content and design.
As curator, the library has been able to recruit experienced exhibition organiser Michael Siebenbrodt, the long standing curator of the Weimar Bauhaus-Museum. For Siebenbrodt this is a special opportunity to present the connection between the Bauhausbücher and the activities of the Weimar Bauhaus. From his perspective the exhibition brings together »Bauhausbücher« with the original photo collection of the Bauhaus for the first time. Today these historical »Bauhaus albums« are part of the »Modernist Archive« collection at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
Cooperation partners of the exhibition, which utilises important parts of the University Library collections, are the Modernist Archive and the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar as well as the Archive of the Avantgarde / Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The institutions, whose collections supplement those of the University Library, are making digital copies available for the exhibition. The exhibition is funded by Freundeskreis der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar as well as the Thuringian State Chancellery.
»Die Bauhausbücher« - Ein europäisches Publikationsprojekt des Bauhauses 1924-1930«
Exhibition at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
10 April to 24 July 2019
Opening times:
Monday – Friday, 9am – 9pm
Saturday, 10am – 4pm
Contact partner:
Please contact Dr. Frank Simon-Ritz, Director of the University Library on +49 3643 58 28 00 or via frank.simon-ritz@uni-weimar.de if you have any questions about the exhibition.