Max Bill

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(b Winterthur, 22 Dec 1908; d Zurich, 9 Dec 1994). Swiss architect, sculptor, painter, industrial designer, graphic designer and writer. He attended silversmithing classes at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich from 1924 to 1927. Then, inspired by the Exposition Internationale des Arts D?coratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925), Paris, by the works of Le Corbusier and by a competition entry (1927) for the Palace of the League of Nations, Geneva, by Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer (1894-1952), he decided to become an architect and enrolled in the Bauhaus, Dessau, in 1927. He studied there for two years as a pupil of Josef Albers, L?szl? Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee and Vasily Kandinsky, mainly in the field of 'free art'. In 1929 he returned to Zurich. After working on graphic designs for the few modern buildings being constructed, he built his first work, his own house and studio (1932-3) in Zurich-H?ngg; although this adheres to the principles of the new architecture, it retains echoes of the traditional, for example in the gently sloping saddle roof.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

Swiss-born Max Bill worked in a number of design fields including architecture, typography, graphics, product, stage, exhibition, furniture, as well as sculpture and journalism. He was also involved in design education, most notably the rectorship of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) at Ulm. His rather austere, rational aesthetic is closely associated with the ideals of the Swiss Style (also known as the International Typographic Style). After three years as a silversmith student at the Zurich School of Applied Arts, Bill studied at the Dessau Bauhaus between 1927 and 1929, an experience that was influential in shaping the creative outlook that dominated most of his subsequent career. He then returned to Zurich to work as an artist, graphic designer, and architect. As well as playing a key role in the development of concrete art, together with a group of Swiss Constructivist designers Bill produced a number of posters commissioned by the Zurich Museum of Applied Arts in the 1920s and 1930s. He also designed the Swiss Pavilion for the 1936 Milan Triennale. A member of the CIAM ( Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) and the UAM ( Union des Artistes Modernes), during the 1940s Bill became increasingly involved with industrial design and organized a Gute Form (‘Good Form’) exhibition for the Swiss Werkbund, commencing a touring itinerary in Basle in 1949. This interest in what was essentially a Modernist aesthetic led to his involvement in the foundation of the HfG, taking up the inaugural rectorship from its launch in 1953. Bill's own commitment to Bauhaus principles can be seen in early appointments made to the HfG, including Josef Albers, Johannes Itten, and Mies Van Der Rohe. Bill was also commissioned to design new buildings, furniture, and fittings for the school that were officially opened by Walter Gropius in 1955. However, within a short period, younger members of staff at Ulm increasingly questioned the relevance of a curriculum closely linked to what they saw as outmoded, individually centred ideas of creativity associated with the Bauhaus approach of the 1920s, rather than a more scientific, interdisciplinary approach appropriate to the 1950s. This led to Bill's resignation from the rectorship in 1956 and from the school in 1957. In the same year he designed his widely known stainless steel and aluminium clock, with its crisply articulated, minimalist face. This was one of a number of clock and watch designs Bill executed in the 1950s and 1960s for Junghans (established 1861), a company with close links to the HfG. From then until his death Bill concentrated increasingly on his fine art interests. Bill was a member of many design and professional organizations including the Institut d'Esthétique Industrielle in Paris, the Deutscher Werkbund, and the American Institute of Architects.

Swiss architect who trained at the Dessau Bauhaus (1927–9) and designed many timber houses in the 1940s, but who also revived the Bauhaus programme at the Hochschule für Gestaltung (High School for Construction) in Ulm in Germany, for which he designed a new building (1953–5). He designed several exhibition buildings, including the Swiss Pavilions at the World's Fair, New York (1938), the Milan Triennale (1951), and the Venice Biennale (1952), the Ulm City Pavilion, Baden-Württemberg Exhibition, Stuttgart (1955), and the Bilden und Gestalten (Form and Construction) section, Swiss National Exhibition, Lausanne (1964). He was a prolific writer, and published much on aspects of Modernism.

Bibliography

• Bill (1945, 1952, 1955, 1969)
• Frei (1991)
• Hüttinger (1977)
• Maldonado (1955)
• Staber (1964)

The full bibliography for this book is available to download as a pdf file.
Download the bibliography for A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (PDF: 1.2MB)

Max Bill, Junghans clock, 1957

Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 8 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.

Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmith during 1924-1927, Bill took up studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau under many teachers including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Oskar Schlemmer from 1927 to 1929, after which he moved to Zurich.

From 1937 onwards he was a prime mover behind the Allianz group of Swiss artists ^[1] and in 1944, he became a professor at the school of arts in Zurich.

In 1953, he, Inge Aicher-Scholl and Otl Aicher founded the Ulm School of Design (German: Hochschule für Gestaltung - HfG Ulm) in Ulm, Germany, a design school in the tradition of the Bauhaus. The school is notable for its inclusion of semiotics as a field of study. The school closed in 1968. Faculty and students include such notable designers as Tomás Maldonado, Olt Aicher, John Lottes, Walter Zeischegg, and Peter Seitz.

Bill was the single most decisive influence on Swiss graphic design beginning in the 1950s with his theoretical writing and progressive work. ^[2] His connection to the heroic days of the Modern Movement gave him special authority. As an industrial designer, his work is characterized by a clarity of design and precise proportions. ^[3] Examples are the elegant clocks and watches designed for Junghans, a long-term client. Among Bill's most notable product designs is the "Ulmer Hocker" of 1954, a stool that can also be used as a shelf element or a side table. Although the stool was a creation of Bill and Ulm school designer Hans Gugelot, it is often called "Bill Hocker" because the first sketch on a cocktail napkin was Bill's work.

As a designer and artist, Bill sought to create forms which visually represent the New Physics mathematics of the early 20th century. He sought to create objects so that the new science of form could be experienced by the senses. ^[3] A prime example is his sculptural work using the Möbius strip form. ^[4]

From 1967 to 1971 he became a member of the Swiss National Council, then became a professor at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg and chair of Environmental Design from 1967 to 1974.

In 1973 he became an associate member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Science, Literature and Fine Art in Brussels. In 1976 he became a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts.

A large granite sculpture by Max Bill was installed adjacent to the Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich in 1983. As is often the case with modern art in public places, the installation generated some controversy.

See also

• Typographica

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Max Bill

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Max Bill

• "bill the absolute perspective", a film about max bill by erich schmid
• Lorenzelli Arte: Max Bill Biography
• Works in Stuttgart museum
• max bill georges vantongerloo stiftung
• Max Bill: Exhibition in MARTa Herford Museum (Germany)
• "Max Bill Kitchen Clock". Furniture. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/furniture/stories/bill_clock/index.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 

References

1. ^ Leonardo biography
2. ^ Hollis, R., Swiss Graphic Design, 1920-1965, (2006), New Haven: Yale University Press.
3. ^ ^{a b} Krippendorf, K., The Semantic Turn, (2005), New York: CRC Press.
4. ^ Work in Baltimore sculpture garden

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