Lily Reich was active in the design field from the 1900s to 1930s. During this period, she has worked as an exhibition designer, fashion designer, furniture designer, and architect. The achievements that she got matched by few women(Matilda, 1996).
The early twentieth century was age turbulence, the progress of new technology and thought nurtured many great modernism designers like Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier. Lily Reich’s name is not as widely known in contemporary as they are. However, as an essential member of Bauhaus history, her contribution is far more significant than her reputation.
As a female designer, Lily Reich also suffers from unfair treatment in the design field like other women, especially the recognition of their accomplishments. The contemporary history of the women who work in design and the tangible cultural heritage or heritage resulting from their work remains largely unknown today, not only to the general public but also to students, scholars, and professionals. Women’s works featured in textbooks on the history of architecture, the history of building technologies and engineering, urban history or design history(Helena, 2017). Even until recently, the position of female designers was not fair. According to the statistics of Australian designers, since the 1970s, women have been making up more than 50% of graphic design graduates. Until recently, the Australian graphic design association (AGDA) had only one woman in its hall of fame, Dahl Collings.
The amount of achievement and reward is unequal between men and women. Should be attributed to the lack of female designers overall ability? According to research on Lily Reich’s career, this view does not hold water. After the industrial embroiderer training in 1908, Lily started work as a designer at the workshop of Josef Hoffmann in Viennese. She was involved in many fields, she became a member of the Deutscher Werkbund, also a member of the independent color art group. In 1926, Reich met Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and worked closely with him(The Bauhaus, 2019). For the most part, Reich’s achievement hides under the glare of Mies van der Rohe. People often categorize a woman’s success as a result of her cooperation with Mies van der Rohe, but in a lack of research into her work, it is very irresponsible. As is already well known, the renowned Representative Pavilion and also the German Electrical Industries Pavilion are both designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. However, what it is less known is that Reich and Mies had been in charge of developing the German sections in parts of the interiors of eight separate neoclassical palaces: the Southern Palace on the top of the mountain to display Germany industries in the fairgrounds of Montijüic. Reich and Mies design a wide range of furniture that has been designed to showcase a wide range of industrial products from compounds and visual objects to books and graphic arts. The official catalog includes a full-page AD for the “Lilly Reich Weave” steel tube MR 10 chair, as Smith goes to great lengths to promote his furniture in what appears to be a promising new market(Laura, 2017). The contribution of Lily Reich and Mies van der Rohe were on a par. However, the recorder is more inclined to give credit to Mies for this event. A similar situation occurred in the design of the Barcelona chair; this world-famous chair was also designed in collaboration with Reich and Mies. However, in most teaching texts, Reich is not named. Reich’s relationship with the chair would not have been known to the public without further investigation.
The unfair treatment of female designers is diverse. For example, there were some great female designers like Reich who have been able to shine during their careers. But it is despised by the chroniclers of history. Nowadays, there are a large number of female designers entering the workforce today, but it is difficult to advance to influential positions. Sometimes it’s just that companies are biased against women like childbirth and maternity leave. These stubborn prejudices make us lose too much information in design education, and a large number of students may not learn the complete history of design.
Reference
Laura Martinez de Guereñu. 2017. MoMoWo: Women Designers, Craftswomen, Architects and Engineers between 1918 and 1945. (Art and Culture, History, Antiquity Press,2017), pp 250-256.
Helena Seražin. 2017. MoMoWo: Women Designers, Craftswomen, Architects and Engineers between 1918 and 1945. (Art and Culture, History, Antiquity Press,2017)
Jane Connory. 2017. Plotting the Historical Pipeline of Women in Graphic Design, (Design History Australia Research Network Press, 2017)
Matilda McQuaid, 1996. Lilly Reich and the Art of Exhibition Design. ( the museum of modern art Press,1996) pp 13-15
Bauhaus100.com
Accessed 10/4/2019
https://www.bauhaus100.com/the-bauhaus/people/masters-and-teachers/lilly-reich/
Lily Reich, Moma
Accessed 10/4/2019
Design Research 