The “pedagogy” of the Bauhaus has often been discussed. In contrast, hardly anything is known about the psychology developed by and associated with this school of art and design. In times of digital excitement and post-pandemic exhaustion, as well as in the face of a stagnating struggle against the climate crisis, there is a pressing need for a renewed reflection concerning the subjective side of architecture, art, and design. On the occasion of the centenary of the Bauhaus exhibition in Weimar in 1923, this workshop aims to (re-)initiate such a reflection, in dialogue with Robert “Bob” Wilson, the world-renowned director, visual artist, and architect.

In the catalog of the 1923 Bauhaus exhibition prominently figures a text by the often forgotten Bauhaus master Gertrud Grunow (1870-1944). Under the title “The Building (Aufbau) of Living Form through Color, Form, Sound,” this text spells out the basic principles of a body-centered doctrine of constructing and balancing. Shortly later, Grunow’s insights were taken up by Heinz Werner (1890-1964), an experimental psychologist at Hamburg University, in part in collaboration with Grunow in the lab.

After immigrating to the U.S. in 1933, Werner continued his investigations and, on this basis, developed his “sensory-tonic field theory of perception.” This theory has found multiple echoes in the U.S., for example in the psychological research of ethologist and psychoanalyst Daniel Stern, but indirectly also in the theater work of Robert Wilson, who has collaborated closely with Stern since the late 1960s.

The workshop explores the convoluted paths of reception and the various fields of application of the Bauhaus psychology associated with Grunow’s work. In creative dialogue with Robert Wilson – who, it should be noted, studied with historian of architecture Sybil Moholy-Nagy (the wife and co-worker of former Bauhaus master Lázsló Moholy-Nagy) in the 1960s – the main themes of this psychology will be outlined and developed in their importance and topicality. A key question will be what role the body, its movements and sense experiences play in this connection, and how a corresponding theory (and practice) of balancing can be continued today – in architecture and art, but also in dance, theater, film and other media.

The workshop takes place in the context of the centenary of the Weimar Bauhaus Exhibition 2023 and is organized in cooperation with the bauhaus.medien.bühnen laboratory and Kunstfest Weimar. Contributors include Robert Wilson (director, visual artist, architect), Henning Schmidgen (psychologist and media theorist, professor at the Bauhaus University, Weimar), Jenny Brockmann (artist), Ute Ackermann (art historian, curator at the Bauhaus Museum, Weimar), Paulina Olszewska (art scholar, curator at Galeria Studio, Warsaw).

Schedule:

12h-14h Lecture and discussion

14h-17h Film-screening

17h-19h Presentation and discussion

Location: Oberlichtsaal of the Bauhaus University Weimar

Time: Thursday, 24.08.23

Registration at: anmeldung.workshop.wilson[at]gmx.de