Herbert Bayer, Graphic Designer: From the Bauhaus to Berlin, 1921–1938(Visual Cultures and German Contexts)

Herbert Bayer was one of the most extraordinary artists associated with the Bauhaus school. A true multimedia artist, he united graphic design, art, and architecture in a unique style that came to represent the bold aesthetic approach of the movement. A teacher with the school until 1928, Bayer went on to become a highly successful graphic designer in Germany, and later one of the most prominent figures in the 20th-century art scene of the United States. This broad biographical account, which presents previously unseen archival photographs and episodes from the life of Bayer and other influential Bauhaus artists such as Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and László Moholy-Nagy, follows Bayer through the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany and finally to his exile in the United States. Specifically, Patrick Rössler reveals for the first time Bayer's unique experience of 1930s Germany, where, with his commercial and artistic life shattered by terror and censorship, he distracted himself with leading a hedonistic life. Shining a light on Bayer's time in Berlin during the Weimar Republic, and his route out of the Nazi state, Rössler provides rich new insights into how Bauhaus artists navigated a protracted period of social upheaval and dictatorship, where commercial success was fraught with a deep hostility towards the regime and the temptations of emigration. Revealing the tensions of an avant-garde artist struggling to practice during a period of repression, Herbert Bayer, Graphic Designer speaks to both the memory of those who left Nazi Germany, but also the perseverance of artists and intellectuals throughout history who have worked under authoritarian regimes. Drawing on never before interpreted documents, letters and archival material, Rössler tells Bayer's compelling story – documenting the life of a unique artist and offering a valuable contribution to research in émigré experiences.

Table of Contents:
List of Plates List of Figures Introduction 1. Biographical fragments: Family, friends and companions 2. Commercial artist under National Socialism: “my advertising purgatory” 3. Shifting networks: “I'm here for love” 4. Road to emigration: “when the Nazis came to steal the land” 5. New beginnings among old friends: “i don't risk starting here without any money” 6. Progress in the USA and a look back: “I am personally struck by their success” Conclusion: “a useful and effective member of our society“ Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Patrick Rössler is Professor of Empirical Communication Research and Methods at the University of Erfurt, Germany. He is author of The Bauhaus and Public Relations (2014), and with Elizabeth Otto, he co-edited Bauhaus Bodies: Gender, Sexuality, and Body Culture in Modernism's Legendary Art School (2019).

Review :
With access to never-before-seen materials, Rössler includes documents, diaries and intimate letters from both Bayer's first wife, Irene Bayer-Hecht, and his lover, Ise Gropius […] Rather than a sweeping indictment of Bayer's pragmatism, Rössler takes a nuanced approach to an artist's dilemma and the choices made for survival in a turbulent political landscape. Shining a new light on the life and work of Herbert Bayer, this insightful book makes a vital contribution to our understanding of modernism and the 20th century events that shaped its practitioners, and how this extraordinary designer navigated those complex times. Extensively researched, Rössler's lively text analyzes Bayer's artistic, personal, and political journey from the Bauhaus to the US and hits issues head on-addressing difficult questions regarding history, emigration, politics, and biography Gorgeously illustrated and rigorously researched, this book lays bare the crucial missing decade in the life and work of this innovative, influential, and often misunderstood artist. Patrick Rössler's engaging and unflinching account is a must read for anyone interested in design history and the contradictions of creative life in Nazi Berlin.