Textile Society of America: Bauhaus Weaving Theory

Review of T'ai Smith's book.

Bauhaus Weaving Theory by T'ai SmithPublished text validates the writers’ pursuits and imbues their work with clarity and purpose. In Bauhaus Weaving Theory, author T’ai Smith chronicles the Bauhaus weavers’ journey to identify and justify their work through writing. The book is organized in six parts: an introduction, summarizing the premise of the book, four chapters outlining the efforts and accomplishments of the Bauhaus weavers through the writings of Anni Albers, Gunta Stolzl and Otti Berger, and a conclusion.

The Bauhaus weavers were born from a theoretically charged matrix, where the articulation of ideas was as important as the practice. They had to secure their status by way of text to validate their existence. What the weavers accomplished through their writing was a profound step in the recognition of weaving as a specific craft – one that could be compared to, and differentiated from, other media.

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Published in: Textile Society of America
By: Pauline Verbook-Cowart