The Influence of Walter Gropius on Oscar Niemeyers Work - Essay Example

? The Influence of Walter Gropius on Oscar Niemeyer’s Work Table of Contents Introduction 3 Walter Gropius 4 Bauhaus 6 Bauhaus Building 7 Oscar Niemeyer 8 Pampulha Complex 10 Gropius and Niemeyer 10 Harvard 12 Conclusion 13 The Influence of Walter Gropius on Oscar Niemeyer’s Work Introduction Architecture is a functional type of art that expresses a great deal about culture, nature, and the human environment. Through exploring the art of architecture, designers explore the three dimensional space in order to create an interpretation of something within the social system from the culture for which it is designed. Cathedrals have been known to express their spiritual nature thru exploring the importance of relevant numeral interpretations, while public buildings have often built with a symmetry that expresses the justice that can be found within the walls. The art of architecture is not in its defiance of function, but in its ability to create a form through which functioning within the structure takes on meaning. Walter Gropius created a school in which the exploration of craft, art, and the functionality of a building through the form of its design was explored. His theories on teaching were based upon ideas of innovation and his students were encouraged to create their world by working with materials so that they could find how they could be used in expressive and innovative ways. Gropius must be understood to understand how the rest of Modernity through architecture has been achieved. Oscar Niemeyer is still a working architect, even at the age of 106. At the age of 101 he wrote his memoirs, explaining the trajectory of his life and how his politics prevented his work in the West and despite them he was still able to contribute to architecture because of his beautiful and extraordinary curvaceous forms. Although he was a Communist and he was dealing with the world as it was conditioned during the 1940s and 1950s to deny those who believed in Communist politics to work, he was still able to be a contributing architect to the UN building and to build beautiful works of art within which public functions could be accomplished. Gropius and Niemeyer were contemporaries, although Niemeyer was younger. Their histories intersect in the United States where the German born Gropius had migrated to Boston and Niemeyer was asked to become the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the second post that he would have to decline because of his associations with the Communist Party and the political climate in the 1950s. Walter Gropius Walter Gropius was born in 1883 and died in 1969, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and a history of teaching those ideas that he came to discover. Along with Oscar Niemeyer, who is the second subject of this paper, was a pioneer of modern architecture and ideas on form. Lupfer, Sigel, and Gropius write that without knowledge about Gropius, Modern architecture cannot be understood. His ability to communicate was his most powerful resource as he could not draw well.1 Therefore it was necessary for his associates to create what he could describe, his work the result of collaborations with those who could put into a drawing what he could not. His ability to communicate resulted in founding the Staatliches Bauhaus, or more commonly just referred to as the Bauhaus, was a school that was focused on the arts and craft.2 Craft is often seen as something less in modern interpretations, but the true idea of craft is the ability to build something that is high quality and with fine design. It might be said that art interprets life while craft enables it. Something is crafted when raw materials are developed into something that can be used in the everyday. Gropius said that “Let us then create a new guild of craftsmen without the class distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsman and artist!”3 Of course, not all art is interpretation and not all craft is used in the everyday, but it is a good way to consider the two. The Bauhaus was likely the direct result of the war in 1914 when building was no longer happening and Gropius needed to find a way to continue forward as an architect. When he could not build, he decided to teach. The Bauhaus took all of the arts and crafts into consideration so that all crafting could also be seen as art. The art of architecture was something that could be interpreted through building, but for Gropius the opportunity to teach opened up further opportunities of defining is thoughts on modern architecture, which also began to influence much of the art of other forms that was being done during the time. The developments of the Bauhaus aesthetic have influenced all of art since the Modern period, changing the nature of artistic creation and philosophy. Bauhaus In 1919 Gropius joined te Glaserne Kette (Crystal Chain) which was a group of architects, art critics and visual artists who exchanged letters and drawings in order to discuss utopian ideals. This forum contributed to the development of Expressionist architectural models. Gropius also joined the Novembergruppe (November Group) and the Arbeitsrat fur Kunst (Work Council for Art). Through communications with other artists and architects, the ability to create and form new philosophies about art emerged in a powerful and potent format interconnection that allowed for a great deal of developments within this period of time. In joining the Arbeiter und Soldatenrate, (Workers’ and Solders’ Council), Gropius was able to influence how a socialist society could experience artistic interpretation.4 In the community of the school that he founded, the professors were considered Masters rather than merely holding the role of a teaching professional. Innovation was the defining concept were rather than learning heavily about the past, students were encouraged to work with materials in new and unexpected ways. The school was based on te influence of Johannes Itten who supported a concept of “preliminary training’ programme, which was a central part of the course work…esoteric romanticism and emphasis on the ability to grasp things through intuition as an elementary objective of instruction, contributed to te Expressionist character of the early years of the Bauhaus”.5 Bauhaus Building The Bauhaus that is placed in the Free State of Thuringia, in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt is a piece of architecture that expresses the emergence of industry as it influenced the development of society. The building is an interpretation of the human experience as it is placed within a new world order that had rapidly and definitely changed the concept of human life. As The Bauhaus reflects the aesthetics of industrialism, it is a commentary and expression about manufacturing and how that is connected to human experience.6 The Bauhaus is a building that is constructed of steel, glass, and reinforced concrete. This was a specific set of choices that defied traditional choices of brick or stone with which most buildings were being constructed during that time period. The development of construction during that period was experiencing changes and the Bauhaus reflected those changes. It can be said that the major contribution to architectural history may be that it contributed to developing a new language of art through the ideas of the avant-garde as the influences of traditions were separated from the aesthetics of the modern.7 The connection between craft and industry created a statement about how there was no true distinction between what was decorative and what was monumental.8 Gropius taught his students, especially in the example of this building, that old world and new technologies could be fused so that modern materials become more than their form trough high quality construction The aesthetics of the industrial became a focus on how the craft was interpreted and the art of the design was developed. As stated, the overlap of art and craft created a strong set of parameters through which Gropius could work. Oscar Niemeyer The architect most often referred to as Oscar Niemeyer was born in Brazil and given the name Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho. Born in 1907, he still lives and is now 106. His name was shortened and made more European based by others using his German-Brazilian grandmother’s name as his surname. His architecture had such high artistry that it became a part of the worldwide movements of the 1940s and his designs gave him accolades from his homeland in Brazil into the United States and then into Europe. As one of the primary innovators of the 20th centuries, his works were instilled with an organic sensibility that evokes both passion and structure in a complexity of visual experiences. Niemeyer wrote in his memoirs that “I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. I am attracted to free-flowing, sensual curves, the curves that I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuousness of its rivers, in the waves of the ocean, and on the body of the beloved woman. Curves make up the entire universe, the curved universe of Einstein”.9 His work was inspired by other architects, notable that he claimed that his work was influenced by Le Corbusier, but that he moved from that influence into original work that diverted in form. His use of concrete was the basis of his unusual curves and lack of lines and angles. Farelly writes that Niemeyer uses concrete in order to allow his work to flow into the landscape and to be a part of the natural world. She goes on to write that “Niemeyer extends the landscape and topography with his architectural ideas, producing dramatic shapes on rolling planes or landscapes that are made from carpets of concrete”.10 While new and outside of the box, his work was so engaging and alive that others could not help but celebrate him. The work connects baroque forms to modern interpretations that are spacious and filled with meaning both in the form and within the spaces in between. Pampulha Complex The mayor of Belo Horizonte which was the capital city in the state of Minas Gerais approached Niemeyer to build a suburb just outside of the city. The name of the city was to be Pampulha and it would consist of a series of buildings which would be a part of the complex. The first building that was constructed for the complex was the Pampulha Church of Sao Francisco de Assis, which meant the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. Niemeyer also developed a casino, a restaurant, a golf club, a yacht club and a dance hall for the complex.11 The church created a great deal of controversy as it was not traditional and held a mural that showed the saint tending to sinners. It took over ten years before the Catholic Church would sanctify it as the design was too far outside of the traditional church configuration. Despite the issues from the Church, Niemeyer considered this one of is greatest triumphs and from this point forward was free to express his aesthetic rather than feeling constrained. Gropius and Niemeyer Where Gropius stayed down the middle of Modernism, Niemeyer strayed to the edges, creating his own sense of the aesthetic and developing something that was unique and outside of the straight lines that were being created by Gropius. A difference between them is that where Gropius wrote and theorized about architecture, Niemeyer is almost impossible to read, his work consisting of pages of drawings without much to explain his intentions. For Gropius the discussion was defined by the verbal, while for Niemeyer, the discussion was in the movement of the work.12 In comparing the two artists, where Gropius was defined by straight lines, Niemeyer defies the idea of linear expression. In looking at the home that Gropius designed for himself and his family in 1938, it is boxy and without a single line that diverts from the straight edge. Niemeyer’s home is nothing but curves, his use of concrete and the anamorphic shape married into the design. Gropius stated that “Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life, necessary for everyone in a civilized society”.13 Form was about expressionism and what Gropius expressed was the linear definition of industrialization. Niemeyer expressed the natural world and was in the belief that the world was full of curves, not straight lines. Gropius called Niemeyer a ‘bird of paradise’ in his affection for him, but he did not like or adhere to the more curvy aesthetic that he employed.14 This reference may have been to describe how exotic Niemeyer was for the Modernists, his lines and innovations well beyond that which was being done in the mainstream. For the avant-garde had become the mainstream and there was a standard of design that was expected by the mid 1940s and on forward as the modern aesthetic was no longer the unusual, but what would be seen throughout the architecture community. Harvard Gropius left Germany in 1934 and established himself in Britain but three years later he moved to Boston Massachusetts so that he could teach at Harvard. His home, Gropius House, resides in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and is a standing testament to his work. In Gropius House he built a piece of work that reflected both his past and his present, materials of brick and stone connecting him to the countryside while his aesthetics remained reflective of the Bauhaus traditions. Gropius lived in Boston until his death in 1969 and he spent time teaching at Harvard which his likely where he intersected with Niemeyer. Because he was a card carrying Communist and was known for his activity in the Communist Party, Niemeyer was not able to enter into the United States. The McCarthy Era politics meant that anyone who acknowledged an association with Communism was considered an enemy of the United States, despite the inherent beliefs within the United States that people should have the right to believe what they would choose. As a person who was not a citizen and who had associations with the ‘wrong’ political party, Niemeyer was denied the opportunity, just as he had been denied the same offer by Yale.15 While interaction in the United States was difficult, Gropius was big on communications so they shared letters and writings through personal efforts and through the communications that existed within the various architectural organizations that connected architects to one another. While Niemeyer was not big on writing about his work, he was connected to the other artists of his period and did serve on the various organizational boards that came to him. Therefore, in creating a connection to the world, Gropius was able to connect with Niemeyer. Niemeyer was given a position at the University of Rio de Janiero and was able to teach there rather than in the United States even though he held Communist Party status. The influence of the rest of the world on his teachings would have placed him in direct trajectory of being influenced by the work of Gropius who had begun the Bauhaus teaching that influenced Modern architecture. Niemeyer had also collaborated heavily with Le Corbusier who was influenced by the Bauhaus movement, and was also known by Gropius.16 Conclusion The teaching at the Bauhaus school brought together the idea of craft and art, creating a new aesthetic that would influence the nature of Modern architecture throughout the 20th century. The aesthetic of the period was based upon the construction elements that reflected industrialization, the buildings made of steel, class and concrete in order to reflect society as it was becoming mechanized. Walter Gropius participated heavily in influencing the direction of Modern architecture with his examples that included the Bauhaus building. Niemeyer was influential in taking the ideas of the Bauhaus and moving them farther into the future. His work was organic with curved, never before used shapes dominating his work. Niemeyer was influenced by the work of the Bauhaus as they were taught and being spread through the architecture community, but his work went into a whole new level of innovation from which he could explore how construction and nature could be placed in parallels. As they were clearly acquainted, Gropius and Niemeyer both ended up teaching in the later part of their career. Niemeyer was offered a position at Harvard University where Gropius worked, although he could not take the position as he could not get a visa. The evidence of this appointment and the affection with which Gropius referred to him suggests That Gropius and Niemeyer were friendly, if not friends. Where the form of Bauhaus initiated the revolution in architecture, Niemeyer took that revolution and stood it on its ear with innovations in concrete that defy previous works. The two artists were clearly connected, taking Modern architecture into a whole new world of industrialized materials that revolutionized the art form. Bibliography Anker, Peder. From Bauhaus to Ecohouse: A History of Ecological Design. Baton Rouge. Louisiana State University Press, 2010. Diefendorf, Jeffery M. In the Wake of War: The Reconstruction of German Cities After World War Ii. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Dunnett, James. Brazilian Bravura. Architect Journal Online. 11January 2001. Web. Retrieved on 15 November 2012. Farrelly, Lorraine. Construction + Materiality. Lausanne. AVA Academia, 2009. Gilbert, Colin. The Daily Book of Art. Irvine, CA: Walter Foster Pub, 2009. Gropius, W. Bauhaus Manifesto and Program. 1919. Web. Retrieved on 16 November 2012. Henderson, James D, Helen Delpar, Maurice P. Brungardt, and Richard N. Weldon. A Reference Guide to Latin American History. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe, 1999. Henket, Hubert-Jan, and Hilde Heynen. Back from Utopia: The Challenge of the Modern Movement. Rotterdam. 010 Publishers, 2002. Kimmelman, Michael. The Last of the Moderns. The New York Times 15 May 2005. Web. Retrieved 14 November 2012. Lupfer, Gilbert, Paul Sigel, and Walter Gropius. Walter Gropius: 1883 - 1969 ; the Promoter of a New Form. Ko?ln: Taschen, 2004. Mumford, Eric P. The Ciam Discourse on Urbanism, 1928-1960. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2000 Niemeyer, Oscar. The Curves of Time: The Memoirs of Oscar Niemeyer. London. Phaidon, 2007 World Heritage List. The Bauhaus. 11 October 1994. Web. Retrieved on 15 November 2012. Read More