DiscoverBring Again the Now of Then (The Bauhaus in Weimar)
Bring Again the Now of Then (The Bauhaus in Weimar)
Claim Ownership

Bring Again the Now of Then (The Bauhaus in Weimar)

Author: Kenny Burnham

Subscribed: 1Played: 7
Share

Description

The story of the spiritual years of the Bauhaus in Weimar. How does it feel to witness your work slip from collective memory? Gertrud Grunow, the only female teacher during the early years of the Bauhaus in Weimar, worked with male colleagues who depended upon her research to underpin their own teachings. Bring Again the Now of Then finds Gertrud in her study as she collects piles of papers comprising a lifetime’s work. As she files, reminiscing of her time at the Bauhaus, the story of the school’s early years unfolds. It was an environment of artists, spiritualists, designers, philosophers and opinionated students in a society of revolutionaries, reactionaries, communists, conservatives, and nationalists. Sensing her time is near an end, Gertrud is eager to publish a manuscript of her works and avoid a fate worse than death: to be framed within a solitary photograph without due context.
6 Episodes
Reverse
The Bauhaus school opens in Weimar. A rare moment of unity breaks out where artists, politicians and students are all in agreement. Not all though is as it seems. Walter Gropius appoints two expressionist artists as teachers who want to break from the traditions of German art.  
As classes at the Bauhaus begin, the big school in the little town makes news in Berlin newspapers catching the attention of Gertrud. She makes plans to visit the school, unwittingly aligning herself to the doctrine of Johannes Itten. 
Gertrud commences her Theory of Colour Harmony classes which couple seamlessly into Itten's teachings. As the students settle in, divergent belief systems emerge. Gropius returns from Berlin to witness some unexpected changes which ignites his concern.
As German society disintegrates, Gropius moves to regain control within the Bauhaus by appointing Wassily Kandinsky as a master. He devises a plan in response to pressure from the  Thuringian government. Feeling vulnerable after a disagreement with Greta, Helga bonds with Kurt and joins the Temple of Wellness. 
Kandinsky imparts rigorous homologies, deeply upsetting Kurt. The feud between Gropius and Itten spills out during staff meetings. Itten divulges grand plans to Otti, and Gertrud's absence is felt. 
Itten challenges Gropius with the inconsistencies of his own ideas. The politicians return on Exhibition Day - all of them seeing what they want to see. Twenty years on, Gertrud reflects on her colleagues' whereabouts and makes one last bid to set the record straight.   
Comments