The essay intends to shed light on some previously unpublished aspects that characterise the first phase of Weimar’s Bauhaus, with the aim of contributing to aesthetic reflection on a particularly complex and fertile phase of twentieth-century art. Firstly, I showed how the initial phase of the Bauhaus (1919-1925) was characterised by a «polar» soul, in which a conservative-magical expressionist component and a pragmatic technical-industrial component coexisted. These «souls» find expression in the art of the painter Johannes Itten and the photographer László Moholy-Nagy, respectively. By analysing Walter Benjamin’s interpretation, I then sought to question this polarity, and showed how it is not possible to understand Moholy-Nagy’s artistic language purely in rationalist and functionalist terms. In fact, reading some of Benjamin’s fundamental passages reveals how a magical, mystical and utopian dimension should be recognised precisely within art as technical reproducibility. A decisive example is Moholy-Nagy’s photography, in which the «destructive» character of technique is translated into a revolutionary and messianic chance.

Estasi e geometria. Benjamin e le anime del Modernismo tedesco tra Espressionismo e Bauhaus

Alberto Giacomelli
2022

Abstract

The essay intends to shed light on some previously unpublished aspects that characterise the first phase of Weimar’s Bauhaus, with the aim of contributing to aesthetic reflection on a particularly complex and fertile phase of twentieth-century art. Firstly, I showed how the initial phase of the Bauhaus (1919-1925) was characterised by a «polar» soul, in which a conservative-magical expressionist component and a pragmatic technical-industrial component coexisted. These «souls» find expression in the art of the painter Johannes Itten and the photographer László Moholy-Nagy, respectively. By analysing Walter Benjamin’s interpretation, I then sought to question this polarity, and showed how it is not possible to understand Moholy-Nagy’s artistic language purely in rationalist and functionalist terms. In fact, reading some of Benjamin’s fundamental passages reveals how a magical, mystical and utopian dimension should be recognised precisely within art as technical reproducibility. A decisive example is Moholy-Nagy’s photography, in which the «destructive» character of technique is translated into a revolutionary and messianic chance.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3455026
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