Mad Square at NGV

For me, the most interesting section of the Mad Square exhibition was the Bauhaus section. I had never before seen the work of the Bauhaus, and I was facinated by the simplicity of the designs and their use of colour. The individual use of bold, flat, primary and secondary colours added to the basic simplicity of all of the designs. The furniture designs in particular consisted of very basic forms and shapes. By stripping the designs back to the very basic elements (especially colour and shape), they were able to create very modern looking designs that would appeal to a large audience. As well as appealing to a wide audience the simplicity of the designs would have made the furniture more accessible to more people as the production costs would have been significantly lower than the more complex design of the era.



Felix Nussbaum's The Mad Square

I found the transition through the rooms and their respective movements very intriguing, as each was so distinctly different, yet they were all connected by the political and social environment of the time. From the German Expressionists who painted and drew a very sombre environment and outlook often portraying the effects of the war. To the Dadaists in Zurich who wished to be anything but mainstream and instead sought to debunk all order and disipline in favour of anarchy. To the simplicity and modernity of the Bauhaus and thier use of the basic elements. And the constructivists whose work was also simple and free from clutter, hoping to evoke a social change. Then to the Metropolis and the underground, with the introduction of film and very angular design against the underground life of the cabaret and the paintings of the underground activities. To the so-called 'degenerate art' and finally the painting for which the exhibition was named Felix Nussbaum's "The Mad Square", a work which references the tension and turbulence that characterised the era .