The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is introducing souvenirs and a publication right at the beginning of the Van de Velde Jubilee Year. The publication is devoted to the multi-talented artist. The »henry« memo holder and »Button VDV 150«were designed and produced by students as an homage to Van de Velde and are available for purchase in the Bauhaus.Atelier on campus.
During the 2011/2012 winter semester, Product Design students in the »concrete+ « project took on »Souvenirs for the Van de Velde Year 2013.« After engaging with Van de Velde’s creations and the topic of souvenirs on a theoretical plane, the students developed multiple unusual ideas that were supposed to hearken back to Van de Velde’s work, such as jewellery, a memory game and a set of building blocks
Something Different: Van de Velde souvenirs made of concrete.
Concrete, not a usual choice for soft and filigree objects, provided the students with a special challenge. They received assistance from material experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, in whose labs more than 10 ideas for souvenirs for the Van de Velde year were turned into prototypes. Gabriele Korrek, who is from the Faculty of Art and Design and is the project supervisor, described the results of the first production run. »Concrete is an incredibly multi-faceted material. We were thrilled with how soft and fine our objects were.«
Students produce one-of-a-kind objects
Two of the 12 ideas later went into series production: the “Button VDV 150« by Daniela Ufermann and the memo holder »henry« by Sebatian Kühn. Each souvenir on sale was hand-made by the students and is one of a kind. The »Button VDV 150« is like a brooch and is engraved with both Van de Velde’s signature and the logo of the jubilee year. “I had in mind a souvenir that had a function, commemorated the occasion and was an ornament all at the same time«, explained Ufermann. The memo holder »henry«, also made of concrete, picks up on the famous gables of the Van de Velde building and holds notes, pictures or business cards with metal clips.
The book about the Van de Velde Walk focuses on the architectonic details.
Alongside the souvenirs that celebrate the Van de Velde Year, a companion book for the Van-de-Velde Walk was published by the University Press at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in November 2012. During the walk, students from all four faculties take visitors through the art school ensemble and under the motto, »From the smallest detail to the total concept«, show the seemingly hidden and almost forgotten elements of Van de Velde’s architecture. The goal is to sharpen the eye for detail and awaken interest in Van de Velde’s »total work of art«.
Henry van de Velde in Weimar
The book allows the reader to review the experience of the walk and reveals historical and anecdotal information about the years Van de Velde spent in Weimar. The contributions in the book are as multi-faceted as Van de Velde’s works. Christian Tesch, one of the two editors, describes the concept: »The book is not supposed to show what one already knows. It is supposed to steer one towards the small, inconspicuous aspects that often distinguish the character of Van de Velde’s works.«
The souvenirs and publication are available in the Bauhaus.Atelier.
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