Interaction of Color was originally published in 1963 by Yale University Press as a limited edition of 2,000 copies. The work comprises two volumes (text and commentary) and over 80 folders, all housed in a large, hinged portfolio and slipcase. 150 of the folder images are silkscreen color plates.
The contents of this work derive from experiments done by students taking Josef Albers' color course at Black Mountain College and Yale. The images seen on the plates reproduce in ink what were originally experiments done using colored paper. The work is not a theory of color but, like the course Albers taught, creates a laboratory for the study of color as a visual phenomenon.
The publication is dedicated by Albers to his students, who stated that "my students in color have taught me more color than have books about color." The text closes with a list crediting his student collaborators.
In 1971, Yale University Press published a paperback version of the tome, which continues to be printed. The most recent edition was released in 2013 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the 1963 work. This version of the publication was accompanied by the launch of an iPad app.
Interaction of Color (4th ed., paperback) by
The 50th anniversary edition of a classic text, featuring an expanded selection of color studies. Josef Albers's Interaction of Color is a masterwork in art education. Conceived as a handbook and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students, this influential book presents Albers's singular explanation of complex color theory principles. Originally published by Yale University Press in 1963 as a limited silkscreen edition with 150 color plates, Interaction of Color first appeared in paperback in 1971, featuring ten color studies chosen by Albers, and has remained in print ever since. With over a quarter of a million copies sold in its various editions since 1963, Interaction of Color remains an essential resource on color, as pioneering today as when Albers first created it. Fifty years after Interaction's initial publication, this new edition presents a significantly expanded selection of close to sixty color studies alongside Albers's original text, demonstrating such principles as color relativity, intensity, and temperature; vibrating and vanishing boundaries; and the illusion of transparency and reversed grounds. A celebration of the longevity and unique authority of Albers's contribution, this landmark edition will find new audiences in studios and classrooms around the world.
Joseph Albers: To Open Eyes by
This volume provides a fascinating study of the revolutionary painter and teacher, Josef Albers (1888-1976). Albers began his teaching career in 1923, when Walter Gropius invited him to join the faculty of the Bauhaus in Germany, where he quickly replaced the school's standard course curriculum with his own innovative methods. After moving to the United States, he taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and then at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut until he retired in 1954. Overall, Albers's passionate commitment to teaching was matched only by his devotion to his own artistic development. While he is widely perceived as a strong-minded theoretician, he was, in fact, as this volume reveals, against rigid dogma and he encouraged his students to develop lively and original solutions to his many and varied design exercises. On their first day in his classroom, Albers's students were informed that his goal was to educate their eyes and that he was going to teach them how to think and to see, an agenda belied by the somewhat prosaic course names "Basic Drawing" and "Basic Design." Overall, as a thinker, writer (Albers's important volume The Interaction of Colorwas published in 1963 by Yale) and educator he has directly and indirectly influenced generations of established artists, including Robert Mangold, Robert Rauschenberg, and Donald Judd, among many others. This book provides not only a compelling study of a key figure of 20th century art, but also ponders what constitutes art and how it is made.
Josef and Anni Albers: Designs for Living by
A comprehensive book on furniture, textiles and other works of two of the most important and influential artists of the twentieth century, Josef and Anni Albers
Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College, 1933-1957 by
A dynamic new look at the legendary college that was a major incubator of the arts in midcentury America In 1933, John Rice founded Black Mountain College in North Carolina as an experiment in making artistic experience central to learning. Though it operated for only 24 years, this pioneering school played a significant role in fostering avant-garde art, music, dance, and poetry, and an astonishing number of important artists taught or studied there. Among the instructors were Josef and Anni Albers, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Buckminster Fuller, Karen Karnes, M. C. Richards, and Willem de Kooning, and students included Ruth Asawa, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cy Twombly. Leap Before You Look is a singular exploration of this legendary school and of the work of the artists who spent time there. Scholars from a variety of fields contribute original essays about diverse aspects of the College--spanning everything from its farm program to the influence of Bauhaus principles--and about the people and ideas that gave it such a lasting impact. In addition, catalogue entries highlight selected works, including writings, musical compositions, visual arts, and crafts. The book's fresh approach and rich illustration program convey the atmosphere of creativity and experimentation that was unique to Black Mountain College, and that served as an inspiration to so many. This timely volume will be essential reading for anyone interested in the College and its enduring legacy.
In 2013, Yale University Press produced an interactive app that provides access to the content of Interaction of Color, including its color plates and accompanying text. The app is only available for iPad (iOS 10 or later); learn more and download here.
The video below provides more information about the app and its innovative features:
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