Biography

March 19 1888- March 25 1976
*Born in Bottrop, Westphalia Germany

*German artist, mathematician, and educator

*Abstract paintings and study of color

*Studied art in Berlin, Essen, and Munich before studying at the Weimar Bauhaus before becoming a professor there

*Bauhaus was a German school that combined crafts and fine arts and would become a very influential school for modern architecture and modern design

*Began teaching preliminary courses in The Department of Design in 1922 before being promoted to professor in 1925, the same year the Bauhaus moved to Dessau

*When the Bauhaus was closed in 1933 by the Nazi's, Albers emigrated to North Carolina,USA to run the painting program at Black Mountain College, until 1949

*Some of his students at Black Mountain would include Robert Rauschenberg(abstractexpressionist,pop artist), Cy Twombly(abstract expressionist,calligraphic graffiti), and Ray Johnson(early pop artist,mail art)

*Left Black Mountain College for Yale in Connecticut where he taught until retirement in 1958

*Notable students at Yale were Richard Anuskiewicz(op artist) and Eva Hesse(post minimailist sculpture)

*His greatest masterpiece would be the publication of his book The Interaction of Color in 1963

*Began is famous series, Homage to a Square in 1949

*Known for exploring shifting color relationships between hues, values,color temperature, and saturation

*His goal was to change color harmonies, the formation of a group of colors that visually unify in some manner

*He married textile artist and fellow Bauhaus student, Anni Fleischmann in 1925 and lived with her in New Haven, Connecticut until his death in 1976

Abert and Anni(c.1949)

Color Theories

Principles of Color Interaction

*Light/Dark Value Contrast
**A color will appear darker on a lighter ground,and will appear lighter on dark ground


*Complementary Reaction or Effect
**Causes simultaneous contrast.Because our eye seeks complements of any given color,for example a red will appear more saturated on green


*Subtraction
**Color subtraction is like a color equation, for instance if a yellow
orange is on an orange ground, the orange will subtract itself:YO-O=Y, causing the yellow orange to appear more yellow

Impact

*Josef Albers' impact on color theory can be seen in almost every painting and piece of art done today. His color theories are the basis for many color schemes used in art. His color theories explain how colors can cause vibrations and movement, which many artists use at some point or another and many artists of the past used even before the Principles of Color Interaction were outlined.

Social Existence

*World War I began in 1914 and lasted for 5 years and Germany was in the center of the suffering Central Powers

*The German Revolution in 1918 began a new republic, with the signing of the Weimar Constitution

*The German Communist Party was formed in 1918 and the German Workers Party, later known as the National Socialist Party of Germany or Nazi Party was formed in January of 1919

*During this time, Albers would have been nearly thiry and suffering through the great depression caused by the Treaty of Versaille as was the rest of Germany

*On February 27, 1933 the Reichstag was set on fire and is widely known as the begginning of the rise of the Third Reich and eventual takeover of Germany by Hitler

Josef Albers(c.1926)

*Josef Albers' studied at the Bauhaus during this time and in 1933, the Nazi party closed the Bauhuas at which time Albers emigrated to America

*Josef Albers was alive during World War I, World War II, Vietnam, saw the production of new technology such as the Polaroid camera, the color TV, the first commercial jet "Comet" and the Boeing 707, first electronic computer, and many other things. He was alive during some of the World's hardest times and also the most advancing times.

Other Fields

*In 1949, Joesef Albers' began the series, the Homage to a Square which although the paintings exploited his color priciples, today these paintings are seen as fine art and are highly collectible

*He collaborated with Yale professor and architect King-lui Wu in creating decorative designs for geometric fireplaces that Wu was working on for the Rouse (1954)and DuPont(1959)houses

*During the 60's, he also designed abstract album covers for band leader's Enoch Light's Command LP

*In 1971, Albers founded the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, a non-profit organization that Albers hoped would be able to further "the revelation and evocation of vision through art" and is located in Bethany, Connecticut

*During his time at the Bauhuas, Albers was the director of the furniture workshop, where he designed furniture that used very geometric shapes and color that were orignally created for the Moellenhof house in Berlin; they have since been re-produced

Future

I believe in future generations color will be used more than ever to express peoples emotions and also, color contrasts will be used more in business buildings,stores, and corporate logos in order to evoke the feeling of motion and vibration and cause a more energetic work environment.

In future technology I think that more electronic products will be available in differnet colors in order for the buyer's personality to be shown through the product. A person who has an energetic personality will be able to buy a red computer or television, or in contrast a calm person will be able to purchase a light blue cell phone or camera.