DELINEATE will feature works highlighting the paradigm of reproduction in Bauhaus design, combining 12 new artistic commissions and installations, licensed Bauhaus re-editions and 12 mounted fashions.
Founded during the Weimar era, the Bauhaus was Germany's most highly influential art school in the 20th century. The Bauhaus centenary in 2019 excited growing curiosity about what they wore at the Bauhaus, yet there seems to be little consensus and much extrapolation on its fashions.
Only a handful of original Bauhaus garments survive; most studies of Bauhaus fashion rely heavily on archival photographic sources or written accounts, while collections often feature decontextualized reproductions. DELINEATE will retrace a radical history of Bauhaus reproduction that questions how authenticity is embodied and celebrated in art and design collections, and how the concept of reproduction has shaped generations of dress and textile makers.
The curated showcase will include international experts’ practice-based research into the heritage of mask-making and weaving. Sculptor Jessica Twitchell has reproduced a new edition of masks based on a lost, iconic Oskar Schlemmer work from the Bauhaus Stage, whilst Selene States has collaborated with Wilde Studios to design and produce an evening wrap based on a pattern from the Bauhaus journal Die Neue Linie.
Celebrating the Bauhaus reproduction ethos – which served as a mechanism to get everyday designs to the masses, applaud a design’s influence, or produce a cheaper version – Wallace + Sewell’s textile re-edition blanket for the Prellerhaus studios in Dessau and Collier & Campbell’s iconic 1970’s prints for Liberty of London will also be displayed at the exhibition.
Selene States is a British-American artist and dress studies scholar. Featuring appropriated historical objects, her鈥痺ork critically translates nostalgic narratives of history and retrograde models of (re)production.鈥疕er practice-based ‘Pantsuit’ PhD at the Bauhaus University Weimar鈥痚xamines women 'wearing the pants' and鈥痠nvolves making a collection of historical trousers based on sewing patterns of the interwar period.
The exhibition has been funded by the Bauhaus University Kreativfonds and a National Lottery Project Grant from Arts Council England, with the support of LU Arts and Modern Painters New Decorators.
The opening hours for the exhibition will be 12pm-2pm, Monday to Friday and admission is free. Private viewing enquiries should be directed to selene.states@uni-weimar.de.
Accessibility
There is ramp access to the gallery to the left of the main entrance. Please alert the exhibition invigilator if you require assistance and access. A gender-neutral, accessible toilet is available on the ground floor of Martin Hall. If you have any specific access needs that you would like to discuss in advance of visiting the exhibition, please call 01509 222948 or email luarts@lboro.ac.uk.
Covid-19 measures
Social distancing guidance remains in place on campus so please maintain a safe distance from others when visiting the exhibition. To help with this, numbers will be restricted and doorways and windows will be open to increase ventilation. A facemask should be worn unless you have a medical exemption.