Bauhaus at Barbican

What a fascinating exhibition. The history of Bauhaus was brought to life for me today. I hadn't really known what it was all about an I have more of an idea now. I hadn't realised just what a faculty it was. What a wonderful time it must have been. So much being taught and discovered. The exhibition was pretty big. It took me over 2 hours to get around it. In the end I was very tired and over stimulate somewhat, so I confess I didn't pay as much attention to the exhibits at that point.
I wonder how often people come across artefacts that were from Bauhaus. I should love to discover something that I could keep.
I have this thing about possessing ..... I would prefer it if I could just hold the memories and I think that's it. I encounter all of these things and then they slip out of my memory. I have been to palces and seen things that I have long forgotten. It would be nice to be able to hold memories. I hold bad ones but what abut the amazing and wonderful and people, places and things.

This was written way back in 2012 - I was going to add more but didn't so posting it now. So long afterwards.
I was so impressed with Bauhaus and wanted so much to be in such an environment. I see an attempt of it at West Dean but of course do not have the funds nor the creative ability to beling there. Am I jealous? Yes.
However I did this sketch the other day and thought there is improvement. And I was left wondering too that once the idea of perspective has bedded in can one again return to the childlike drawings without an idea of perspective and then look like a pro trying innocence??
And I also have realised that I see very little of uniqueness these days in people's work. Occasionally something is unusual and catches my eye. But mainly it's been tried thus far. But then there are new movements and I suppose like anything in it's day from the past looks llike feeble attempts at new movements. Only historically sometimes do things that were once considered harsh and too radical become worthy.
Is that how it works?

Bliss
XX

Abundance and angles

I made an enquiry if anyone has an anglepoise lamp I could have. Two people have said that I can have an old one that's in their loft. One definitely but not sure if it's working. The other definitely if they haven't thrown it away.
I wonder if either might be a Herbert Terry design and make ...
Original designs for the Anglepoise 1209, 1933
© Hebert Terry Ltd

AnglepoiseLamp (1933)
Design Museum Collection
Great British Design Quest

Designed by the automotive engineer George Carwardine, the ANGLEPOISE lamp is based on the ability of a new type of spring invented by Carwardine in 1932 to remain in position after being moved in every conceivable direction. Efficient and energy-saving, the Anglepoise has remained in production ever since.
Many inventors produce ingenious ideas because they set themselves a goal – such as improving the performance of a particular product or finding a new means of tackling a problem – and set their sights on achieving it. Yet one of the most successful examples of amateur British invention, the Anglepoise lamp, was invented by accident, as a by-product of an earlier invention.
The Anglepoise lamp was designed by George Carwardine (1887-1948), an automotive engineer who owned a factory in Bath which developed vehicle suspension systems. He loved to tinker in his workshop and especially enjoyed developing different types of springs. During these experiments, Carwardine designed a new type of spring which could be moved easily in every direction yet could also remain rigid when held in position. He patented his spring design on 7 July 1932 and set about finding an application for it.
Carwardine eventually found a suitable use for his spring – a lamp which, supported and balanced by a sequence of springs, could be constantly repositioned to focus the light in specific directions. Inspired by the constant tension principle of human limbs, Carwardine developed a lamp which could be both flexible and stable, like a human arm. He designed a heavy base to stabilise the lamp, and a shade which could concentrate the beam on specific points without causing dazzle. This focused beam enabled the lamp to consume less electricity than existing models. Carwardine thought it would be useful for the workmen in his factory to illuminate particular components or parts of suspension systems, but he soon realised that it would be equally suitable for illuminating the papers and books lying on office desks.
Having finalised his design, Carwardine decided to license it to Herbert Terry & Sons, a manufacturer based at Redditch in Worcestershire which supplied springs to his factory. The company was then run by Charles Terry, the eldest son of its founder Herbert. Determined to expand the business, Charles Terry was keen to diversify by applying its expertise in springs to new products. He personally signed the licensing agreement for Carwardine’s lamp.
Carwardine intended to call his lamp the Equipoise but the name was rejected by the Trade Marks Registry at the Patent Office on the grounds that equipoise was an existing word, and they settled on Anglepoise. The first version of the Anglepoise lamp, the 1208, was produced by Terry in 1934 with four springs. It proved so popular that two years later Terry introduced a domestic version, the 1227 with three springs and an Art Deco-inspired three tier base, which looked more stylish than the single tier base of the 1208.
Terry publicised the Anglepoise by emphasising both the precision with which its beam could be focused on a particular area and its energy-saving potential. One of the benefits of the 1227 is that it worked perfectly with an inexpensive 25 watt bulb which, Terry’s advertising claimed, was as efficient in the Anglepoise lamp as a 60 watt bulb would be in another light.
Three years later Terry introduced a new version of the 1227, with a two tier base and a wider shade which was capable of taking a 40 watt bulb. This model remained in production for over 30 years and is still widely regarded as the archetypal Anglepoise, even though the design has since been modified. The 1969 Anglepoise Model 75 sported a round base and a fluted shade held in place by a swivel ball. The 1989 Anglepoise Apex 90 refined the design of the Model 75 by adopting a modular jointing system for easy assembly.
In 2003 Terry commissioned the product designer Kenneth Grange (1929-) to revise the original Anglepoise 1227 into the Anglepoise Type 3, notably by adding a double skin shade that can take a 100 watt bulb. The following year Terry invited Grange to revise the design of the Model 75, which he did in the Anglepoise Type 75, a lamp which still bears a distinct resemblance to the prototype designed by George Carawardine over 70 years before.
© Design Museum, 2004
BIOGRAPHY
1932 George Carwardine registers the patent for a new type of spring.
1934 After searching for a use for his new spring, Carwardine uses it to produce a lamp with a focused beam. He licenses his design to Herbert Terry Ltd, which launches the Anglepoise 1209, initially for industrial use.
1935 Terry introduces a domestic version of Carwardine’s lamp - the Anglepoise 1227 - with a three tier base and 25 watt bulb.
1938 The original Anglepoise 1227 is withdrawn and replaced by a new 1227 with a two tier base and 40 watt bulb. It remains in production for over 30 years.
1947 The word Anglepoise® is registered as a trade mark at the Patents Office.
1969 Terry replaces the 1227 with the Anglepoise Model 75 which includes a round base and fluted shade held in place by a swivel ball.
1989 The Anglepoise Apex 90 refines the design of the Model 75 by adopting a modular jointing system for easy assembly.
2003 Introduction of the Anglepoise Type 3, the contemporary version of the original 1227, designed by Kenneth Grange with a double skin shade and 100 watt bulb.
2004 Kenneth Grange updates the Anglepoise Model 75 into the Type75.
2006 Anglepoise ‘Fifty’ introduced in 2006, a polycarbonate lamp by Anthony Perkins

poised at an odd angle

Herbert Terry
Putting out feelers to acquire one

 





I have been thinking of JH this evening. I am still missing him and still feel sad. There was so much love for him. It doesn't go so easily or quickly. Unrequited,

Bliss
XX

The big bigger biggest TIME WASTER in the world!!!

 

 
Reminds me of Gaudi - is it? I originally thought it was just styled in that way. Now I need to research it, more time away from the world of biological psychology. Actually I am about to embark on counting vesicles. Quite hit and miss and boring. As yet I haven't devised a way or discovered if there is a way of marking the microsope. I will ask the tutor. Sensible solution!!
In the meantime - Nautilus House, Mexico. Apparently a couple and their young children wanted something very different from their conventional house. And they wanted it to be topographical with the location. Good idea - they were surrounded by wooded land, mountains and other houses! hmmm?? It is designed like a shell. I can't see who the designer is/was ....
The company is called Senosiain Arquitectos: Mexico, D.F.


The Crooked House, Poland (Sopot) or

The Krzywy Domek


It was designed by Szotyńscy & Zaleski who were inspired by the fairytale illustrations and drawings of Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg
Sadly for me - don't know why but being a part of a shopping centre seems wasteful of the fairytale element. But why not? At least it makes shopping magical for a moment.

Jan Marcin Szancer - Polish illustrator.
   

 

Per Dahlberg - a Swedish painter living in Sopot. He seems to have inspired many fantastical shaped buildings along with Jan.

 

  In this house resided Swedish artist Per Dahlberg and Polish illustrator Marcin Szenser (deceased 1973)
  
So far I have not discovered any of his art work.


Ah ha ...





Strange little creature. These are seasonal of course! I wonder what he is?