Elizabeth Otto's 'Haunted Bauhaus' Reexamines the School's Marginalized Figures and Practices
In her 2019 publication, 'Haunted Bauhaus: Occult Spirituality, Gender Fluidity, Queer Identities, and Radical Politics,' Elizabeth Otto critiques traditional narratives surrounding the Bauhaus by focusing on underrepresented individuals. Released by MIT Press, this 280-page work delves into themes such as occult spirituality and radical politics, featuring key figures like Gertrud Grunow and Marcel Breuer, along with Johannes Itten's Mazdaznan practices. Otto also addresses systemic biases, including a 1919 quota limiting female admissions and Gunta Stölzl's wage disparities. The book examines right-wing influences, notably ties to the Nazi regime, while contrasting the Bauhaus with the more progressive Reimann school, aiming to reshape art history by highlighting neglected perspectives and challenging prevailing notions of modernity.
Key facts
- Elizabeth Otto's book 'Haunted Bauhaus' was published in 2019 by MIT Press.
- The book examines occult spirituality, gender fluidity, queer identities, and radical politics at the Bauhaus.
- Gertrud Grunow was the only woman to hold a high teaching title in the school's early years.
- A 1919 admissions quota limited female students to no more than one-third of the student body.
- Marianne Brandt faced discrimination in the metal workshop and later defended her approach against Naum Gabo.
- Herbert Bayer created photomontages referencing his affair with Walter Gropius's wife, Ise Gropius.
- Some Bauhäusler, like Herbert Bayer and Ilse Fehling, later served the Nazi regime.
- Architect Fritz Ertl became head of planning for the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Entities
Artists
- Elizabeth Otto
- Avery Gordon
- Johannes Itten
- Gertrud Grunow
- Lars Kraume
- Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack
- László Moholy-Nagy
- Marianne Brandt
- Partha Mitter
- Conrad Veidt
- Fritz Lang
- Karel Čapek
- T. Lux Feininger
- Karla Grosch
- Oskar Schlemmer
- Marcel Breuer
- Herbert Bayer
- Walter Gropius
- Ise Gropius
- Renate Richter-Green
- Ré Soupault
- Max Peiffer Watenphul
- Margaret Camilla Leiteritz
- Gunta Stölzl
- Naum Gabo
- Arieh Sharon
- Pádraic E. Moore
- Hannah Gadsby
- Picasso
- James Harding
- Lilly Reich
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- Joost Schmidt
- Ilse Fehling
- Fritz Ertl
- Alexandra Chiriac
- Renate Richter-Green (Ré Soupault)
- Paul Klee
- Vasilij Kandinskij
- Peter Murphy
- Oscar Wilde
Institutions
- MIT Press
- Bauhaus
- University of Minnesota Press
- Reimann school
- University of Michigan Press
- ARTMargins Online
- Artribune
- Bauhaus Archiv Berlin
Locations
- Cambridge, MA
- Minneapolis
- Berlin
- Germany
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- Weimar
- Ann Arbor
- Cambridge
- MA
- United States
- Dessau
- Massachusetts
Sources
- Artribune —
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —