The exhibition bauhaus imaginista – Corresponding With in Kyoto traces the connection between the bauhaus, India and Japan — how can these relations be summarized?
Yuko Ikeda: The connection between the Bauhaus, India and Japan suggested in this exhibition, traces the universal value of the educational principles developed at the Bauhaus. Due to the universalist perspective of these principles – not only ideally stated in the Bauhaus Manifesto but also appearing in the practical curriculum and theory – they carried the capacity to be applied to art and design education in Japan and India and suited the local social and cultural demands.
Helena Čapková: The exhibition concept brings the educational principles of the Bauhaus to the foreground and uses them as keywords to show correspondences among the three schools in different locations: Bauhaus in Germany, Kala Bhavan in India and the School of New Architecture and Design in Japan. The art works, archival materials, photographs, and educational tools highlight the parallels, similarities, but also differences in the ways progressive design education was interpreted and appropriated in India and in Japan.