Biography of Gertrud Arndt

Gertrud Arndt (1903 - 2000) was a pioneer in many respects. The Bauhaus student asserted herself in the male domains of the time: design and photography. Her work in the fields of photography, design and textile art broke down the boundaries of traditional gender roles and is still emblematic of the rebellion against gender roles today. This achievement and her legacy live on in her work and the influence that Gertrud Arndt had and continues to have on subsequent generations of female artists and designers. Designs by Gertrud Arndt that are still produced today are design classics, which not only look good, but also bring a part of design history to life.

Early life and education (1903-1922)

Gertrud Arndt was born on March 18, 1903 in Ratibor, Upper Silesia - now Poland. Her interest in art and design became apparent early on, so that in 1921, after graduating from high school, Arndt moved to Erfurt to train at the School of Arts and Crafts, also known as the Hügelschule. This is where her artistic development began, as she was able to try out different forms of artistic expression. It was here that Arndt discovered her preference for photography, a subtype of fine art.

Photography and gender roles (1927-1933)

Arndt made a name for herself as a photographer in the late 1920s. Her focus was on depicting women and their role in society, a subject she herself was confronted with on a daily basis. Her work is characterized by openness and impartiality towards her subjects as well as curiosity towards the constantly evolving technology of photography. Using innovative techniques and staging, Gertrud Arndt portrays women in a way that challenges traditional gender clichés and also breaks with the standards of photography at the time.

The new woman

Her "Mask Portraits" from 1929 are considered works from this period. The series of photographs shows women posing with abstract masks. In this way, the complexity of female identity is highlighted and emphasized. Arndt: "What is one? Maybe you always have a mask. Somewhere you always have an expression that you want to have. You could call that a mask, couldn't you?" The following year, her photo series "Die Neue Frau" (The New Woman) also explored the changing role of women in society after the First World War and captured this in the form of photo portraits.

Birth of the selfie

Today, you see people everywhere with smartphones in their outstretched hands or armed with cell phone sticks, taking selfies of themselves. In Gertrud Arndt's time, the designer was regarded as an absolute pioneer in this field - the inventor of the photographic self-portrait, if you like.

The Bauhaus decade (1923-1933)

But before that, Gertrud Arndt was part of the Bauhaus movement for a decade. In 1923, her journey took her from Erfurt to Weimar, just 23 kilometers away. At the Bauhaus - first in Weimar, later in Dessau - Arndt completed a three-year apprenticeship as a weaver, which she finished with a journeyman's certificate. During this time, she created Bauhaus Rug No. 1, which she produced only once in 1924 and was knotted under license by Designercarpets for the first time on the occasion of the Bauhaus anniversary in 2019. Bauhaus Rug No. 2 is also produced in the same way today, based on the original wool pattern. At the time, her famous knotted work adorned the study of Bauhaus director Walter Gropius. Both carpets are knotted by hand according to the requirements of Arndt's unique pieces and are available in the original at TAGWERC.

Passion and thirst for knowledge

Even though her woven works gained her recognition, Arndt, who actually wanted to become an architect, turned away from "all these threads" (Arndt's own words) and turned to photography. Arndt experiments with various media and, driven by her passion for this medium and guided by her self-taught thirst for knowledge, develops an independent photographic language that evolves over the years.

The role of women

Some of her most acclaimed photographic works were created at the Bauhaus, such as "Self-Portrait with Camera" in 1927, which emphasizes both her skills as a photographer and her identity as a modern woman. "Bauhaus Girls" from 1928 is a series of photographs capturing the lives of women at the Bauhaus. Arndt thus makes a decisive contribution to the documentation of everyday life at the Bauhaus, especially of the women who had to master the balancing act between studies and everyday life and at the same time assert themselves against social conventions. These are Bauhaus colleagues such as Otti Berger, Lou Scheper-Berkenkamp, Alma Siedhoff-Buscher, Margarete Heymann and Anni Albers, to name but a few. On the one hand, she is one of these women, and on the other, Arndt was looking for a place to work after she married the architect and Bauhaus master Alfred Arndt in 1927 and moved with him into one of the Bauhaus master houses in Dessau.

The era of flight (1933-1945)

Arndt had already made a name for herself as a photographer in the late 1920s, specializing in the depiction of women and their role in society. The creative flow was abruptly interrupted when the Bauhaus was closed when the National Socialists came to power in 1933. Arndt, whose work was classified as degenerate, fled to Sweden with her husband and daughter Alexandra, who was born in 1931. Their son Hugo was born there in 1937. In Sweden, she managed to continue her photographic work and also became involved in the local art scene.

Second half of life and legacy (1945-2000)

Arndt finally made use of this experience after the end of the Second World War when she returned to Germany with her husband and promoted the reconstruction of artistic institutions. In 1946, she took the photograph "Trümmerfrauen" ("Rubble Women"), which documented the difficult post-war period and the role of women in reconstruction.

Teacher and mentor

The couple moved with their two children from the Soviet occupation zone to Darmstadt in Hesse in 1948 and Arndt concentrated on teaching art to younger generations. Her legacy therefore includes not only her weaving and photographic works, but above all her influence as a teacher and mentor of aspiring artists. In addition to her teaching activities, Arndt also continued her artistic career in the post-war years. Until her death on July 10, 2000 in Darmstadt, the 96-year-old Gertrud Arndt remained connected to art and part of the German art scene.