Interaction of Color: 50th Anniversary Edition

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Jameson, Dorothea. "Some Misunderstandings about Color Perception, Color Mixture and Color Measurement". Leonardo, vol. 16, no. 1, 1983, pp. 41–42. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1575043. I love how smoothly all the parts of the original and all thenew elements have been layered, without Interaction of Color, the landmark 1963 book by Josef Albers, . . . isn’t just for aspiring artists. Its mesmerizing illustrations are a revelation for anyone interested in color theory and human perception.”—Pilar Viladas, New York Times One of the more important points brought to light in Interaction of Color is transparency. This aspect involves the best of one’s imagination. When two colors are brought together in a transparency mix, the third color becomes a new color, not a mix of the two. This third color, whatever it may be, speaks to uniqueness and specificity. Albers also emphasizes that color should be considered for its value, inasmuch as for its saturation. This helps to give color its meaning within the specificity of a place. Outside of this, it is group perception that can activate colors and give them purpose within a space.

Albers’s passion for color prompted his decision to launch what was possibly the first full-blown course in color ever given anywhere, and certainly the first based exclusively on direct observation of color’s behavior. . . . Color behaved. Color was magic. We might not all be seeing the same colours, and we can be certain, that in different lights and different times of day, things which register as always having the same colour in our minds, in fact have quite different colours, and that our brain is clearly fudging the issue, but *in comparison* to colour, we can be much more certain that the lines, shapes and objects we perceive, are both coherent to themselves and coherent when discussed and compared between individuals. One of the most influential artist-teachers of the century, Albers is best known for his squares—a geometric form to which he has been ‘paying homage’ throughout the years. . . . Interaction of Color is a record of an experimental way of studying and teaching color. . . . What he says will be useful in any kind of painting.”— American ArtistAnoka Faruqee, associate dean in the Yale School of Art and a member of the painting and printmaking faculty, often uses “Interaction of Color” in her color course. Albers, Josef (1975). Interaction of Color. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11595-6. A major source of inspiration for Albers’s treatment of color as subjective phenomena was Goethe’s 1810 Farbenlehre (Study of color), adapted at the Bauhaus (where Albers was both a student and a teacher) through Johannes Itten’s own teaching and experiments with color. 7 Of particular interested to Albers was Goethe’s examination of the phenomenon known as “simultaneous contrast”—the tendency of colors to shift based on their adjacent surroundings. Albers capitalized on the human response to these color relationships, evoking philosophical, expressive, or emotional reactions to color. 8 In later works in the Homage series, he used closely related hues of the same color, requiring a more extended period of contemplation from the viewer. Josef Albers' book Interaction of Color continues to be influential despite criticisms that arose following his death. In 1981, Alan Lee attempted to refute Albers' general claims about colour experience (that colour deceives continually) and to posit that Albers' system of perceptual education was fundamentally misleading.

David W. Dunlap (June 17, 2002), Press 'L' for Landmark; Time & Life Lobby, a 50's Gem, Awaits Recognition The New York Times. Saletnik, Jeffrey (2007). "Josef Albers, Eva Hesse, and the Imperative of Teaching". Tate Papers. London: The Tate Gallery. ISSN 1753-9854. An iPad App has been created to accompany the Interaction of Color. The app features an array of the color theory exercises featured in Interaction of Color Related posts Architype Albers (large typeface based on Albers' 1927–1931 experimentation with geometrically constructed stencil types for posters and signs)This celebration of Albers’s legendary achievements is an essential addition to any serious art library. The search has taken me through Neurobiology (We Know It When We See It by Richard Masland), Ship Camouflage in WWI (Dazzle - disguise and disruption in war and art by James Taylor), and a deep cut into colour as used by artists (Interaction of Colour by Josef Albers). A handbook and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students, this timeless book presents Albers’s unique ideas of color experimentation in a way that is valuable to specialists as well as to a larger audience. The way that the most religious person has the mission of having other people believe in God, Josef wanted people to understand the magic of color relationships. In Chester Kerr ’36, who in 1959 had been named Yale Press’ director, Albers found a well-placed and audacious advocate. Kerr, dapper and assertive, had already made a name for himself as an exceptional marketer and publicist of books, and would, over 20 years as director, dramatically increase the number of books published and total sales, open a London office, and support the Press’s emergence as a leading publisher of books on art.

In 1963, Josef Albers published Interaction of Color, which is a record of an experiential way of studying and teaching color. In 1963, Albers published Interaction of Color, which is a record of an experiential way of studying and teaching color. He asserted that color "is almost never seen as it really is" and that "color deceives continually", and he suggested that color is best studied via experience, underpinned by experimentation and observation. The very rare first edition has a limited printing of only 2,000 copies and contained 150 silk screen plates. This work has since been republished, and is now available as an iPad App. [24] Color model representing Albers' color theory as described in Interaction of Color (1963)Albers, who led the art school’s design department for nearly a decade, wasn’t the first to grasp the phenomenon. But his presentation of it gave readers a direct, structured, and personal way to explore color’s complexity — moving them beyond passive recognition of its dynamism to a visceral and active understanding. We can also possibly add 'Through the Language Glass' by Guy Deushter, about a mild Sapier-Whorff effect in language and colour. Bucher, François (1977). Josef Albers: Despite Straight Lines: An Analysis of His Graphic Constructions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. An informative video looking at the influence of Albers and fellow Bauhaus instructor, László Moholy-Nagy on 20th-century art and design.

It’s likely. If it’s not exactly the same it’s probably pretty similar, unless you are at the far end of the curve, and most crucially, as Albers would tell you, IT DOESN'T MATTER! The Albers Foundation, the main beneficiary of the estates of both Josef and Anni Albers, remains protective of the artist's work and reputation. In 1997, one year after the auction house, Sotheby's, bought the Andre Emmerich Gallery, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation did not renew its three-year contract with the gallery. [55] The Foundation has also been instrumental in exposing fakes. [5] See also [ edit ] overlooked is the objectness ofInteractionof Color. It’s a minor miracle that we now have a “virtual”Naturally, practice is not preceded but followed by theory. Such study promotes a more lasting teaching and learning through experience. Its aim is development of creativeness realized in discovery and invention – the criteria of creativity, or flexibility, being imagination and fantasy. Altogether it promotes “thinking in situations,” a new educational concept unfortunately little known and less cultivated, so far” (p.68). He’d also produced a vast and growing series of artworks that would land him squarely among the giants of modernism.