Glazed earthenware, quartz movement, Germany, made by Junghans, designed in 1956 by Max Bill and Ernst Moeckl

V&A — Summary

This kitchen clock, which incorporates a mechanical timer, was designed by Max Bill whilst Director of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG Ulm), the experimental design school founded in 1953. The school was established by Inge Aicher-Scholl and Otl Aicher in memory of Scholl’s brother and sister who had been killed in 1943 (they were part of an anti-Nazi resistance group). Schol’s and Aicher’s initial vision for the school had been for an institution of democratic education, devoted to politics and philosophy as well as culture, which would aid in the moral rebuilding of Germany. Plans for the school were redirected more firmly towards design when the founders invited the Swiss artist and designer Max Bill to be Director. Bill was a former Bauhaus student, President of the Swiss Werkbund and a major figure in the cause of modernist architecture and design in Europe. The school became the figurehead of Western German modernism in the post war period, often referred to as a “new Bauhaus”. In terms of product design, Bill and his colleagues pursued an ideal of rationalist modernism, in visual and philosophical opposition to the streamlined styling of post war American design. A totalising vision of design promoted the engagement of the artist with industry, although leading members of the school disagreed about how this should be achieved. The Ulm’s school’s achievements in industrial collaboration with companies such as Junghams and Braun, however, produced an enduring legacy of modernist product design which was highly influential around Europe. This clock is one of the earliest and most notable designs by Bill to be put into production. Everyday objects (kitchen appliances, audio-visual equipment, tools, shelving etc.) were a central focus for the work of Ulm designers, who shared the tradition of “moral purpose through design” and “good form” with the Swiss and German Werkbunds. Bill had spearheaded the Werkbund’s good form campaign (which ran through the 1950s) with his influential travelling exhibition “Gute Form” in 1949.

V&A — Physical description

The body of glazed earthenware, the exterior coloured a pale blue, the interior, white, is moulded in an inverted, triangular "V" shape with a rounded top and bottom clock dial is circular with the numerals and minutes marked in black; the hands of black strip metal with pointed ends, the central spindle is covered by a small, circular white plastic disc. The manufacturer's name, JUNGHANS is printed across the face. The clock face has a circular glass cover with a thin, chromium plated rim, hinged on the left and with a thumb piece retained by a pin on the right. The timer is immediately below the clock face, with back numerals against a plain white background, the minutes unidentified five minute intervals form 0 through to 60. The timer is operated by a white plastic knob. On the back, the letters JUNGHANS, are impressed into the body and run in an arc underneath the curved top. The clock is operated by a battery powering a quartz mechanism housed in a rectangular plastic case to which is attached a brass hook for hanging the clock on a kitchen wall; the clockwork timer mechanism is housed in a cylindrical, plastic box.

V&A — Object history

Historical significance: This kitchen clock, which incorporates a mechanical timer, was designed by Max Bill whilst Director of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG Ulm), the experimental design school founded in 1953. The school was established by Inge Aicher-Scholl and Otl Aicher in memory of Scholl’s brother and sister who had been killed in 1943 (they were part of an anti-Nazi resistance group). School’s and Aicher’s initial vision for the school had been for an institution of democratic education, devoted to politics and philosophy as well as culture, which would aid in the moral rebuilding of Germany. Plans for the school were redirected more firmly towards design when the founders invited the Swiss artist and designer Max Bill to be Director. Bill was a former Bauhaus student, President of the Swiss Werkbund and a major figure in the cause of modernist architecture and design in Europe. The school became the figurehead of Western German modernism in the post war period, often referred to as a “new Bauhaus”. In terms of product design, Bill and his colleagues pursued an ideal of rationalist modernism, in visual and philosophical opposition to the streamlined styling of post war American design. A totalising vision of design promoted the engagement of the artist with industry, although leading members of the school disagreed about how this should be achieved. The ulm’s school’s achievements in industrial collaboration with companies such as Junghams and Braun, however, produced an enduring legacy of modernist product design which was highly influential around Europe. This clock is one of the earliest and most notable designs by Bill to be put into production. Everyday objects (kitchen appliances, audio-visual equipment, tools, shelving etc.) were a central focus for the work of Ulm designers, who shared the tradition of “moral purpose through design” and “good form” with the Swiss and German Werkbunds. Bill had spearheaded the Werkbund’s good form campaign (which ran through the 1950s) with his influential travelling exhibition “Gute Form” in 1949. The clock is the first designed object by Bill (with the exception of posters, such as Bill’s important 1945 poster, “USA Baut”) to be acquired by the Museum, and is a vitally important addition to the 20th century collections, and for the exhibition Cold War Modern, where it will form a part of a display on the early years of the Ulm School. Other recent acquisitions by FTF of objects by Dieter Rams for Braun mean that it is now possible for the Museum to tell the story of post war German modernism.