• Archives of design research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.361-370
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• 2003

We have understood Bauhaus being the origin of Modern Design and Formative Education to systematic semantic aspects to date. the facts that matter to us need to be understood on Bauhaus's education philosophy and the way of administration than Bauhaus's education contents. Bauhaus as designer has been informed to us how a design should be approached to viewpoints handling Objects, Methodology fixing up problems and Social viewpoints. But Bauhaus's design principle or Methodological solution is not setup by specific person but actualized by Masters and professors in charge of curricula. From these standpoints, inquiring into their characters and individual statements for design could be said to upright order. Especially Bauhaus has trio out lots of changes through inner discord and external challenge, taken great pains for the social function of design. So I would like to help right understanding on Bauhaus based on Bauhaus's statements.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.9
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• pp.59-91
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• 2010

The Bauhaus educational method gave the strong influences on Modern Japanese art and design education. In the 1920s and 1930s, Japan allied with Germany and Italy politically and tried to receive German system to be modernized. The reception of the Bauhaus and Moholy-Nagy's photographic theory was one of those activities at that time. Japanese intellectual class went to the Bauhaus and studied there; Ishimoto Kikuchi, Nakata Sadanosuke, Mijutani Takehiko, Yamawaki Iwao and Yamawaki Michiko(Yamawaki Iwao's wife). Especially, Yamawaki Iwao studied about the architecture at the Bauhaus, but his interest moved toward the photography and the photomontage based on Moholy-Nagy's theory. He studied at the photography workshop of the Bauhaus presented by Peterhans irregularly. Even though Yamawaki Iwao was an architect, he wanted to be admitted as an expert for the photomontage that he particularly studied at the Bauahus as a Bauhaus member. He had presented many articles about the photomontage at the photography magazines in Japan in order to introduce it to Japan since he returned in 1933. Thus, Yamawaki Iwao is the important person when we look back the Modern Japanese design and art history. In Japan, the art and design systems are managed by the Bauhaus educational system until now, and it has become a kind of cultural legacy in Modern Japan; The university of Tama and The university of Tsukuba are the representative educational systems which are based on the Bauhaus legacy. However, Yamawaki Iwao had been concealed as a photographer in Japanese design and photography history until the retrospective discuss named by 'Bauhaus syashin(Bauhaus Photographies)' at the photography magazine, Deja-vu in 1995 and the retrospective exhibition titled as 'Bauhaus syashin(bauahustofografie)' in 1997. This study rethinks of Yamawaki Iwao's historical position while looking at the term as 'Bauhaus Syashin(Bauhaus Photographies)' used in Japan. It is very important to bear in mind Moholy-Nagy's wide variety of approaches to photography at the Bauhaus, but it is impossible to name it 'Bauhaus style'. 'Bauhaus style' is the international style in architecture, but that was never a Bauhaus style in photography. Eugene J. Prakapas indicated that the vague term of 'Bauhaus Photographies' in his article in 1985 as well. This study considers the historical background for the mistake of the term of 'Bauhaus Syashin(Bauhaus Photographies)' in Modern Japanese history, while looking at Yamawaki Iwao's photomontage faintly entering on the historical stage again to discuss the reception of the photomontage from him. In particular, Some of Yamawaki Iwao's photomontage presented as the wall photography in Japan during the Second World War, that was related to the propaganda of Japanese government. It had not been known well in the modern Japanese art and design history because it was related to a declaration of the Second World War by Japan. However, the historical position of his photomontage is very important for Japanese history when we rethink of the reception of the Bauhaus and Moholy-Nagys' photographic theory to build up the Japanese modern history. In the result, this study wants to discuss that the mistake of the term of 'Bauhaus syashin(Bauhaus Photographies)' in Japan is related to the interpretation for the the historical position for Yamawaki Iwao's photomontage in the reception of Bauhaus and Moholy-Nagy's photography in Japan.