Art lovers, weavers and even Gunta Stölzl's granddaughter are trying to squeeze into a crowded space in Wall House #2. Standing next to an enthusiastic Monika Stadler is her confidant Mirjam Deckers, the research master's student in Art and Cultural Studies who is currently hard at work on archiving the art of her mother Gunta Stölzl with her. Stadler pokes fun.
Many other artists' heirs might be concerned with making sure the work is not forgotten and lost, but this is not something Stadler has to worry about. She is mainly occupied with maintaining and shaping her mother's image. ‘So that it stays right,’ she urges us. Stadler wants not only the Bauhaus work to be seen, but also her mother's other works, such as the drawings and watercolours she made. Fortunately, her mother saved her free works at the time. Stadler plans to highlight these more.
Although Stadler says she is not a weaver and therefore not an expert, she knows how to talk in detail about her mother's works: the weaving techniques, patterns and craftsmanship it takes to make woven fabrics. ‘The material also determines the results of the work and the final piece, not the design,’ Stadler explains. She also explains: ‘My mother never made any money from the works she created at Bauhaus,’ she said
Stadler describes her mother Gunta Stölzl as a woman who was unafraid, independent and assertive. She just kept on weaving into her eighties and was tireless, but in addition to her busy job, she was also simply her mother.
OBJECTS LADEN WITH MEMORIES
Gunta Stölzl's works are of great art value, but for Stadler they are also memory-laden objects. As a girl, Stadler grew up with the works around her. This is how she describes her childhood bedroom with the rugs made by her mother. Stadler fondly remembers playing and listening to her first LPs on one rug in particular. The smell of smoke, the weathered material and the style of the rugs remind Stadler of that time.
She fondly recounts how her mother decorated the small row house she grew up in in detail, from every cup to every vase. The maternal love becomes clear when Stadler starts talking about the toys her mother made for the children herself or the time she took — in addition to her busy life — to read a bedtime story in the evening. These weren’t just any stories, of course. Gunta created children's books with drawings she made herself.
The exhibition Gunta Stölzl: 100 Years of Bauhaus Fabrics was on display until 1 September 2019 at Wall House #2.