Still Life

What makes a still life? In the mid-20th century, Herbert Bayer challenged traditional forms of still life painting by encouraging viewers to recognize the surreal magic of everyday things. The strange accumulation of objects in this dreamlike space relates directly to his experience as a student and, later, teacher at the Bauhaus school of art, architecture, and design in Germany. At the Bauhaus, students were encouraged to gather objects they found around the school to create groupings that emphasized the juxtaposition of different surface textures and materials. Using techniques of photomontage, or composite images, Bayer seamlessly knit these objects together and added surrealistic details like the wispy clouds.