There are very fine museums in Saxony, Germany showing the art and textiles of this period, the Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, the Chemnitz Art Museum, and the Villa Schminke in Lobau.
Chemnitz Museum bought one of her carpets for a children’s bedroom in 1929 shown in the photo. Otti Berger wrote “A piano cover, for example, can in itself be music, flowing, harmonious, full of melodies and vibrations” (Stoffe im Raum, 1930).
In the pictures: Haus Schminke, Löbau in the 1930s and today (source: Marcel Schroder)
Otti Berger was among the first to show the artistic and functional values of textiles in modern architecture and interior design. She received a large commission and designed the complete textiles for the beautiful Villa Schminke, built by the architect Hans Scharoun in Löbau, Germany.
The Bauhaus meant “building house” and Otti Berger in the Villa Schminke showed one of the best examples of a modern Bauhaus. Otti provided the contribution of textiles to the modern home. Her textiles for the chairs, carpets and curtains modulated the light, sound, space, touch and the feel of turning a modern house into a home. The living room had curtains all around the walls, which could sub-divide the space to give a tent effect and change the home during the day and night.
Question: Look at her carpet for a children’s bedroom in the first picture and the images of textiles in the Löbau house.
- Which senses do you think a textile can stimulate or appeal to?