Design
Design Theory: Gesamtkunstwerk
The German design practice of “total design.”
Gesamtkunstwerk translated into English means total artwork. It’s a theory of design where one artist, or designer, completes a project from concept to completion.
a single mind, a single person’s set of skills, effort, and vision
In most designs, it’s common for a designer to design one element of a project, let’s say chairs, then pass those designs onto someone else, who would then create the table that the chairs sit around.
Michaelangelo, in contrast, would have been a designer according to Gesamtkunstwerk. He designed and painted the Sistine Chapel from all aspects of its planning and structure. He did have help, but he was very much in charge, the single vision and hand of the project.
Viewers or audiences can experience the depth of a single talent. When one creative nest together all the pieces of a project, they’re able to integrate and create this beautiful, cohesive vision.
We can also learn more about this design theory by looking at The Bauhaus School, shut down by the Nazis…
