Form Follows Flower
Subtitle: Moritz Meurer, Karl Blossfeldt and Co
Publisher: De Gruyter, Inc.
Published: 2017
Language: ger
Number of pages: 152
ISBN-13: 9783422074453
Description: "Today, Karl Blossfeldt's plant photographs are internationally renowned. What is not widely known though is that the history of their production represents an integral chapter in the history of Berlin's Kunstgewerbemuseum. Blossfeldt did not produce the images as stand-alone art photographs. They were rather conceived as elements of a collection of teaching materials which the artisan teacher Moritz Meurer (1839-1916) used to implement his concept of artistic plant studies in the 1890s at the Kunstgewerbeschule, the Kunstgewerbemuseum's own school of design. Through the use of models, herbaria, wall charts and photographs, the aim was to investigate and reveal the laws of natural forms, and to reinvigorate the methods of artisanal education. The exhibition brings together these teaching materials as an ensemble for the first time, illustrating their remarkable diversity, both in terms of formal and aesthetic properties, and the media they employ. They are displayed alongside stunningly intricate examples of ornamental templates, Jugendstil objects, and different media used in botanical research and teaching before 1900. The issue of an engagement with nature in design education and design continues to be a relevant topic. This is illustrated in the exhibition both through contemporary design objects and graphic and film works made by students from the UdK Berlin (the successor to the museum's school). With these works, the historical tradition of the student show is being revived to mark the 150th anniversary of the Kunstgewerbemuseum."--

The plant photographs of Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) are now world famous. Unknown, on the other hand, is that their creation forms part of the history of the Berlin Museum of Applied Arts: Blossfeldt did not produce his photographs as free art photographs, but as elements of a collection of textbooks. In the 1890s, the teacher Moritz Meurer (1839-1916) focused on the study of plants at the Kunstgewerbemuseum. Using models, herbariums, educational charts and photographs, the laws of natural shape formation should be permeated and the design theory renewed. The catalog and exhibition bring together the teaching aids as an ensemble for the first time and illustrate their impressive formal aesthetic and media diversity. They are shown in the context of magnificent works of ornamental and master graphics, objects of Art Nouveau and pictorial worlds of contemporary botany. The question of dealing with nature in design theory and design is still relevant. With works by students of the UdK Berlin, successor of the former educational establishment, the tradition of student exhibitions in the Kunstgewerbemuseum will be revived on its 150th anniversary. 00Exhibition: Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin, Germany (19.10.2017-14.01.2018).