What I read

The BBC News article "Anni Albers and the forgotten women of the Bauhaus" reports that, although Bauhaus has known as a forward-thinking design school of the inter-war era, it has a contradictory idea about woman as a designer. The number of woman staffs is less than 20% and women were barred from the 'considered' masculine subjects such as glasswork and metalwork. Anni Albers is among very few woman designers that are being seen for their innovative contribution to the design of the modernism. She started reluctantly at Bauhaus with textile design that she didn't aim for when she applied but in turn successfully made her gain reputation. Because of modernism attention is on architecture which had seen as discipline for men, women took a great move to textile discipline men wouldn't do.

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My response 

The title of this article attracted me because I'm not familiar with any women names that has a connection with Bauhaus. Normally, mentioning about Bauhaus, I would think of Walter Gropius (founder of Bauhaus), Mies Van Der Rohe (architect) or László Moholy-Nagy (photographer). Thinking about Bauhaus, it made me think of the phase ‘form follow function’, the very modernism idea and with some reasons it made me think of ‘male’ vision. But I’m not sure about the exact reason why modernism made me think of masculinity rather than femininity. Why rationality quality belongs to men and irrationality quality belongs to woman.

Is it because in western, all the cultural movement has been set by male?

Thinking about art and design movement in (western) history, it’s true that more male artists and designers are mentioned. And it’s natural to talk about the work of male which connects to any subjects, not specifically point to only the subject of ‘masculinity’. But when talking about female artists or designers, it often connects with gender; female physical, mental or organic shape and forms. Why to be distinct as an artist or designer, women have to do something that men can’t do or can’t understand. Why women have to raise the subject like motherness to work with, why we have to be irrational in creating an artwork and why women have to create organic shapes and draw only fluid lines.

However, subconsciously and intentionally, I’m often drawn to the artworks by female artists. Subconsciously, by visual, I may be programmed to recognize some elements women often produced. Intentionally, by ideas, I want to know better the thoughts behind their works as the same gender.

For example, I was drawn to the sculptural works and drawings of Louise Bourgeois. For me, her works express the sense of femininity that I once appreciated. But lately, I started to question a lot about feminine quality in artworks. So, now I’m a bit skeptical about her success that does she take an advantage of being women in exchange.

For Anni Albers, I like that her work has no connection with the physical of women and her life tragic (according to this article). Only that she barred from glassworks class from school doesn’t make her revenge by express herself as a woman on her textile design. Even though, she chose more subtle way in against the rule of Bauhaus ‘form follows function’ by making decorative wall hanging textile without any function (but it doesn’t mean irrational, she incorporate her experience into her design according to this article). I’m personally impressed by her way of resistance to masculinity.

Lucky that I don’t struggle in the issue of gender discrimination like Anni Albers had as a designer. No oppression in the field of my profession that I face these days. Though, my struggle is on the issue of feminine style ideology rather than social factor. I prefer to work neutrality to femininity and not to take advantage from the femininity subject to get attention.

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My question

1. Do you agree that textile design is a feminine subject?
2. Are there still gender discrimination in any professions?
3. Do we really able to remove the ideology about 'feminine' and 'masculine' style out of art?
4. Do you think you are feminist? What does it mean to be feminist?

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Reference

• Dominic Lutyens (2018, September 20). Anni Albers and the forgotten women of the Bauhaus. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180919-anni-albers-and-the-forgotten-women-of-the-bauhaus.