#max bill

[garadinervi]

Max Bill, 7 Twins, (one from a set of seven screenprints), Éditions Media, Neuchâtel, 1977 [Christie's, London. © Estate of Max Bill / ProLitteris, Zürich]

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by Max Bill, 1965

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Binia Bill. Max Bill mit Katze, Zürich-Höngg, 1934-1942.

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Max Bill Composition 1988 Sérigraphie sur papier Japon 47 × 47 cm

[archiveofaffinities]

Max Bill, Transcoloration, 1966

[the-eternal-moonshine]

[germanpostwarmodern]

One of the earliest appreciations of Mies van der Rohe’s work was written by no other than Max Bill, the former Bauhaus student and at times harsh critic of his contemporaries: already in 1948 Bill started putting together a little book about the master’s life and work which unfortunately took seven years to finally be published in the series „architetti del movimento modern“ by „Il Balcone“ in Milan in 1955. The small volume is profusely illustrated with plans and photographs specifically provided by Mies’ office in Chicago and proves Bill’s admiration for his architectural oeuvre: even though he didn’t withhold his criticism, Bill acknowledged Mies as a real master builder whose buildings are the formidable results of a strict philosophy.

70 years after its initial publication Max Bill’s homage to Mies has been reissued by Form + Zweck in collaboration with the Mies van der Rohe Haus in Berlin. In keeping with the document character of the book, the editors decided to leave Bill’s text unredacted and thus offer an authentic experience of the author’s personal account of Mies’ life and work. Unfortunately, for technical reasons, the editors at Mies van der Rohe Haus couldn’t use the original illustrations included in the book and had to make a new selection based on the original publication. This is ultimately negligible since the new selection also consists of historic drawings, montages and photographs that underscore what Max Bill admired about Mies’ architecture: the clarity, rigidity (that he himself applied in his architecture) and purity and overall beauty of his designs. 

Although, of course, Bill’s little book doesn’t include new insights into Mies’ oeuvre it is nonetheless a very interesting historic document that shows how Bill saw Mies. A nice addition to the Mies section of my library.

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