Photography and Design

Concerning the Modern Movement in Design

Abstract

Until the beginning of this century photography was not associated with art and design. It was considered simply as a mean of mechanical sketching. Later on, however, a chance for breaking this alienation sprang from the Modern Movement in Germany which transferred great emphasis from handicraft to mechanical engineering, thus inspiring a formative capability for mechanical production. This encouraged the reconsideration of photography as useful device for design, and, later in 1920’s, it attained full recognition in the works of the “Bauhaus” and the “Deutscher Werkbund”. This report, making full use of abundant source material, deals with the development of photography in the Modern Movement, and attempts to throw much additional light upon Modern Design’s assimilation of photographic influence. I maintain that the movement, later in 1920’s, became the foundation of photographic activities for design in the machine age. It is not too much to say that it forecast the future close relationship between photography and design.