Post-war Bauhaus

"Und Du?" - Hohlwein (1929)

After the lengthy period of fighting and brutality that was World War II, The Bauhaus eventually crumbled to the pressure of Nazi Germany and the government and closed it's doors.

Many within the art field feared that this was the end of what was and is still considered a revolutionary 'engine' for producing a new way of designing and therefore producing the artists and designers of the future, post-war. Thankfully, the masters from The Bauhaus didn't view the closure as an end of an era, but a window of opportunity to migrate and share their methods and ways of working with the rest of the world and more prominently the United States of America.

This happened at a perfect time when, after the atrocities of war were finally dealt with, the world saw a great improvement within the fields of technology and the beginning of mass media, with the ability to easily and cheaply be able to use outputs such as radio, the low cost usage of printing and also the rise in money
allowed for easier advancements for artists to access advertisement and produce much, much more than they had previously in the way of work.

One of David Klein's gorgeous
posters

One prominent post-war designer to establish himself in the now popular genre of poster design was Ludwig Hohlwein. Heavily involved within propaganda and using the war and everything that came with it as subjects in his work, Hohlwein created many memorable pieces including "Und Du?" (1929) ('And you?') as a Nazi/German spin on the classic British "Your Country Needs You!" (1914) poster of Lord Kitchener from the First World War as well as America's "Uncle Sam: Your Country Needs You!" poster (1917) by illustrator J.M. Flagg. It is believed that if it wasn't for the heavy use of propaganda within his work, Hohlwein would have become more successful than he was, as it was apparent he was doing the Nazi's work for them, if you like.

A major link between genres came from the new idea of coming out of the poor, war-torn, deprived slums and entering into a new world of money, ambition and luxury. The American artist David Klein was a huge trailblazer in this ideology, who's posters for airline TWA cited a new, colourful way of representation with luminosity and even sparkles to emphasise "a better way". This is thought of as many as being the real start of Modernism, showcasing a hope of new beginnings for everyday people who strove for a better quality of life.

Another link that I find can be made is again with Futurism where the whole idea of a new start, fresh beginnings and leaving your past behind you in order to go forward in a new direction is very similar to the manifesto of futurist designers who obviously said they discount the past and only aspire to the future and moving forward.