BIOGRAPHY

Josef Albers (1888-1976) was from a poor family in the Northwestern industrial region. He was a teacher at the elementary level and became an art instructor in 1915. He worked with lithographs and stained glass while working as an instructor. He became a student at the Bauhaus in 1920. He was developing as a figurative artist and printmaker. He created household objects, furniture, and an alphabet at the school. His main pursuit was an independent study of stained glass. He was the first student to be asked to join the staff and work as a Master in 1925.

Annelise Elsa Frieda Fleischmann(1899-1994) became a student at the Bauhaus in 1922. She was the daughter of a very wealthy and well-known Jewish-Protestant family and was expected to live the same comfortable, domestic lifestyle as her mother. She instead chose to live as a rugged, struggling artist. The weaving workshop was the only one open to women at the Bauhaus at the time and she was one of few women admitted to the school. Despite her desire to work with other mediums she embraced textiles and began experimenting with new materials such as horsehair, metallic thread, and plastics. She carved a place for herself in the art world.

Josef Albers and Annelise Fleischmann met at the Bauhaus in Weimar, where Josef was her teacher (and 11 years older than her). The couple married in Berlin on May 9th, 1925. Members of both of their families (his parents and her brother) were not thrilled by the marriage. Josef was Catholic and Anni still considered herself Jewish even though her family was Protestant. The difference in religion and age was seen as controversial.

They honeymooned in Florence and said the trip influenced their art. They moved to Dessau when the school was relocated in 1925 and the Albers eventually moved into one of the masters’ houses. They moved again when the Bauhaus moved to Berlin in 1932. In November 1933 they were invited to move to the USA where Josef created the visual arts curriculum at the newly established Black Mountain College in North Carolina. They became US citizens in 1939 and met Anni’s parents in Mexico as they fled from Germany in the same year. The couple taught at Black Mountain until 1949 and went on frequent trips to Mexico. In 1950 they moved to Connecticut and Josef was the chairman of the Department of Design at the Yale University School from 1950 to 1958. He trained a whole new generation of art teachers throughout North America, South America, and Europe. They traveled extensively throughout their careers. He passed away in 1976. Anni continued to weave, write and design. She explored printmaking and experimented with both print and textiles in unexpected ways. She taught students from her home. She oversaw her husband’s legacy and continued to expand her designs until her death in 1994.

HISTORICAL, TECHNOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL CLIMATE

Josef was influenced by Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, and impressionism. Anni was influenced by expressionist artists who were popular and influential in Germany at the time. They lived through WWI during which time Josef was training as an art teacher instead of fighting in the war.

The Bauhaus experimental art with surrealism and abstract expressionism were central to their development as artists. The school was closed in Weimar (1919 to 1925) because of political motivations and moved to Dessau. The school’s heyday was from 1925 to 1932 in Dessau and this time is well known because of the industrial products created for mass consumption. The school dissolved on September 30, 1932, due to mounting pressures from the Nazis and cuts in funding. The master students and teachers reconvened in Berlin in October 1932 in an abandoned telephone factory, but by April 11, 1933, the premises were searched and closed by the police and SA.

It’s very clear why the Albers accepted work in the United States, they were fleeing for their safety. The United States entered WWII in the late 1940s.

They traveled extensively. Some of their visits were to Avignon, Geneva, Biarritz, and Paris. Barcelona, and Ascona. They traveled to Mexico 14 times and visited Mexico City, Oaxaca, Acapulcothe, and the sites of Monte Albán, Mitla, and Teotihuacan. They traveled throughout the US, to Peru, and Chile.

They continued to create, travel, and teach throughout the world during the American civil rights movement, the Korean War, and Vietnam War. They taught and shared their art in a unifying way. It feels like they deliberately responded to prejudice, war, and world upheaval by creating connections and looking for beauty in the world. Living in Germany during its darkest days seemed to encourage them to find and make beauty in the world around them.

ARTIST’S PHILOSOPHY

Josef Albers’s goal as a teacher was “to open eyes.” He felt the building blocks of art education were to develop the capacity to see more acutely. You must mindfully explore the key elements of line, shape, color, and texture to be an artist. He said “Learn to see and to feel life, cultivate imagination, because there are still marvels in the world, because life is a mystery and always will be. But be aware of it. . . . Art means: you have to believe, to have faith, that is, to cultivate vision.”

Anni’s felt that teaching and learning came from experimentation. She said “. . . a free way of approaching a material seems worth keeping in mind as far as the work of beginners is concerned. Courage is an important factor in any creative effort. It can be most active when knowledge in too early a stage does not narrow the vision.” She was also strict. She said “The courses in textile designing and specifically in weaving are thought of as a discipline in thinking in terms of material and process of its treatment, and in an inventive response to these. The weaving workshop is considered a laboratory for experimental work in construction and design. Handlooms allow for the slow operation necessary for experimentation.” She was responsive to the material and her experimentation was thoughtful and deliberate.

https://albersfoundation.org/artists/biographies/ says:

“The Alberses were in some ways like a two-person religious sect, focusing above all on their work and happy to pursue it at a remove from the trends and shifting fashions of the art world.”

“They... shared their profound conviction that art was central to human existence and that morality and creativity were aligned.”

Anni wrote,” . . . to comprehend art is to confide in a constant.” She and Josef lived their lives devoted to that irrefutable, uplifting constant.

Both Josef and Anni Albers were pioneers in the Modernist art movement.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

The Albers felt that understanding and respecting the building blocks of art were central to becoming a great artist. If you understand and connect with the paint, thread, shapes, and colors you will be able to use them in experimental and creative ways. You have to understand and respect the material you are using. I have learned from this that knowledge is power. Once you know the meaning that is conveyed by a circle or by a specific typeface you can use them in respectful but still creative ways. Breaking down and studying the individual shapes and aspects of a design can allow you to view those elements in new ways. Thinking about things differently leads to creativity.

Anni talks about being inspired by ancient and early forms of weaving. She says: “beginnings are usually more interesting than elaborations and endings. Beginning means exploration, selection, development, a potent vitality not yet limited, not circumscribed by the tried and traditional...I find it intriguing to look at early attempts in history...for the sake of looking forward from a point way back in time in order to experience vicariously the exhilaration of accomplishment reaching step by step.”

I found this quote so inspiring! I love the idea of looking back through history to vicariously experience the joy of accomplishing something. Her words make me want to research and learn more about the history of graphic design. I want to know the history so I can respect it but also so I can build on it.

I love looking at Anni Albers’s studies for weaving made on a typewriter. She uses the basic shape of parentheses and s’s to create beautiful print and fabric. The way she looks at things in the world around her is so different than how I usually view things.

I watched a video of Josef Albers teaching a class at Yale and he is so animated! He struggled with learning English and used animated body language because his English skills were lacking. His limited vocabulary helped me be a better teacher, he forced the students to learn in a new way. In the video, he is teaching his students to explore an ellipse by getting up and moving around to explore it from all angles. His approach to teaching relied on direct observation and self-discovery. This idea is so powerful to me! I have been concerned with following rules but I will become a better designer if I allow myself to explore and experiment. There is a lot to be learned from traveling down the “wrong” path for a while. It helps you make new connections and discoveries.

Josef Albers was profoundly sensitive to the relationship between the items in his art. He was considerate of the visual field and every line and color. He was aware of how a line or color affected the lines and colors next to it as well. He was conscientious of the relationships between the elements of his art and how they create the overall message of his work. He was a master at translating the discoveries he had made through observation into meaningful work. I would love to be that aware of my designs! The little details are important in creating the big picture. It takes time and exploration to become a good designer. I want to be aware of art and design so that I can cultivate a clear vision in my work.

Josef and Anni Albers faced many challenges in their lives. They were
both considered outsiders at the Bauhaus when they first arrived. Josef was poor and self-taught. Anni was a woman and was only allowed to work in weaving. Despite prejudices against them, they found ways to excel at school. Their marriage was considered unconventional yet they had a very happy marriage. The German government closed the school, and Josef continued his teaching in Berlin in an abandoned factory. They moved to America so they could continue to create art and teach. They didn’t let any obstacles overcome them. They lived in a time when they faced prejudices and oppression and they confidently rose above it to make the world a more beautiful place. They learned from different people, cultures, and art all over the world. The Alberses unified and changed the world through their teaching and experimental art. I want my designs to be unifying and inspiring like their work. I want to learn about people all over the world so that I can create designs that unify instead of isolate or divide.

Anni and Josef had a unique way of viewing everything around them as art. Josef used glass and metal from a junkyard to create his glasswork. Anni used synthetic fibers, cellophane, and woven copper in her textiles. After moving to the United States they incorporated leaves, corn, and hemp into their designs. They had a way of incorporating everyday items into their art. This inspires me as a designer to draw more inspiration from the world around me. It makes me want to explore and experience more so that I can have more inspiration and material for my design. Art is living and seeing, design can be that way too.

After extensive research, it was time to come up with a theme for my exhibit to represent Anni and Josef Albers. This was a daunting task because they explored different mediums, had different methods, and found inspiration in a variety of ways. How do you combine the art of two geniuses cohesively into one exhibit?