iBauhaus, Nicholas Fox Weber
iBauhaus, Nicholas Fox Weber
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iBauhaus
The iPhone as the Embodiment of Bauhaus Ideals and Design

Author: Nicholas Fox Weber

Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini

Unabridged: 5 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/25/2020


Synopsis

A rich, wide-ranging meditation on the iPhone as direct descendant of the 1930s Bauhaus, one of the twentieth century's most influential schools of art and design (summed up in Mies van der Rohe's dictum, "less is more") whose principle aim was to connect art and industry. From one of the leading authorities on the Bauhaus and modernism.

Nicholas Fox Weber, in this deft, entertaining, and brilliant rumination on art and technology, writes of the iPhone as the essence of the Bauhaus principles of form following function--of honesty of design and materials that reflect the true nature of objects and buildings, favoring linear and geometrical forms; adhering to line, shape, and colors; synthesizing art to modern times; the fusion in design of art and technology.
    Weber, an authority and celebrant of twentieth-century modernism, ranging from the paintings of Balthus to the architecture of Le Corbusier, was a close associate of Anni and Josef Albers, the last living giants of the Bauhaus, and absorbed firsthand its truest beliefs. The Alberses emphasized their passion for "good design over bad art." Anni, a groundbreaking textile artist and printmaker, and Josef, a painter and color theorist and influential art teacher, stuck to "what was taught at the Bauhaus: the right use of materials, good technique, a purpose that serves all." Weber writes that the Bauhaus was not a style but an attitude: clear design and visual acuity as the embodiment of morality and honesty. And in iBauhaus, Weber explores how the iPhone, with its effective design and its versatility, honors these deepest beliefs, as well as the values that the Bauhaus sought to give to the world.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Celine

You: designer, design-interested, have heard of the Bauhaus or are already obsessed with the Bauhaus, dream of going to the Bauhaus Archive in Berlin when COVID-19 is 'over', on your fifth iPhone, refuse to text your friends on Android. This book: on the surface, a promising discussion of the histor......more

Goodreads review by Greg

Much more about the Bauhaus than about Apple or the iPhone, this book was at its best in its discussion of bauhaus ideals and techniques. Too much unnecessary biography of the Bauhaus and Apple characters and one odd chapter about apples that didn’t belong in the book.......more

Goodreads review by Daphne

Brilliant and beautiful......more

Goodreads review by Sanjeev

A book about the simplicity of design is in itself, a masterclass in simplicity.......more

Goodreads review by Robert

A really choppy book with mostly essay like chapters stiched together - a few good points but very underwhelming in my opinion!......more


Quotes

"Persuasive ... charming ... [I] was thrilled by his most audacious theories ... I've looked at my iPhone countless times; having read this book, I now feel that I've truly seen the thing."--Rumaan Alam, The New Republic