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Josef Albers: Meet the Artist


JOSEF ALBERS (1888-1976)
Albers was both an artist and a teacher. 
He taught many famous artists at a school called the Bauhaus in Germany, and then at
Black Mountain College and Yale University after he came to the United States

GRADES K-2
SUPPLIES
  • 8.5 x 11 Construction Paper / 3-4 sheets per student (they choose the colors)
  • For Entire Class: 150 sheets total
  • Templates for S,M1,M2, L  squares /1 set per 4 students
  • Pencils/1 per student
  • Scissors/1 per student
  • Glue Sticks/1 per student
  • Book: Squares and Other Shapes with Josef Albers and K-2 Images Folder
K-2 SCRIPT
Today we’re going to learn about the artist Josef Albers. Albers was born in Germany in
1888, and he moved to the U.S. in 1933. Albers was both an artist and a teacher. He
taught many famous artists at a school called the Bauhaus in Germany, and then at
Black Mountain College and Yale University after he came to the United States. Albers
loved to study color. Most of his work was an exploration of how we see colors and he
liked to combine different colors together to see how they would look. 
Here’s an example of the relativity of color:
Are you surprised to know that the small brown squares are exactly the same color?
They are one strip of paper and the way we see them changes based on the colors
around them! 
Here’s another example:

One of Albers’ most famous series was called “Homage to the Square.” What does homage mean? Homage means to give something a special honor or show respect for it. Albers painted 3-4 nested squares a masonite board using a palette knife and oil paints. Each painting consists of 3-4 squares in one of 4 arrangements and in all different colors. 
Look at a few examples from the K-2 Image Folder
Read aloud: 



Today we’ll each make our own “Homage to the Square.” 
You will each get to choose 3 or 4 colors for your homage. You can choose any color you’d
like. You could choose the colors of a sunset, the ocean, your favorite stuffed animal or just
three of your favorites! 

DEMONSTRATION/ART PROJECT
Choose 3-4 colors
  1. Use the templates to trace 2 squares of each size in different colors (S,M,L) and cut them out. 
  2. Try to make two different combinations using the same 3 colors. 
  3. When you’re happy with your combinations, glue them down. 
  4. The only rule is that your small squares must all fit inside the largest square. 
  5. Student will spend 20 minutes cutting and gluing--if they are having trouble, they can make just one square. Remind them to write their name on the back when they’re done.
  6. For the last 5 minutes, lay the squares out on the desks and have the students walk around and look at all the different color combinations!
GRADE 3-6
SUPPLIES

  • 8.5 x 11 Construction Paper / 8 sheets per student (they choose the colors)
  • For entire class: 300 pieces/ 25 of each color
  • One large sheet of 22 x 28 White Paper per
  • Templates for S, L squares /1 set per 4 students
  • Pencils/1 per student
  • Scissors/1 per student
  • Glue Sticks/1 per student
  • Book: An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers and
  • Grades 3-6 Images Folder

     3-6 SCRIPT
    Today we are going to learn about the artist Josef Albers.  Albers loved to study color and
    he was a very important teacher who helped many of his students become famous artists.
    Albers was born in 1888, in Germany. Albers studied art in Berlin, Essen, Munich, and
    then in 1920 he enrolled at the very prestigious Weimar Bauhaus school. The Bauhaus
    was an important school because it integrated ideas about architecture, painting, and
    sculpture with color, nature, dance and theater. One of the main ideas of the Bauhaus
    was that art and design were equal, and should be infused into everyday life. For example, a well-designed teapot could be just as  beautiful as a painting. Many of the artists and teachers worked together and combined their ideas across different mediums. This structure of research-based art education still informs the way art is taught in universities worldwide. 
    The Bauhaus building was specially designed to be a kind of factory for art, architecture 
    and design. 

    The curriculum for 4 years of study, all students started on the outside and 
    worked toward a specific medium 
    Albers entered the school at the age of 32, as a maker of stained glass. Shortly after
    entering the school, Albers was in charge of running the Bauhaus glass workshop. In
    addition to working with glass and metal, Albers designed furniture and typography. In
    1923 he began to teach a basic design course and in 1925 when the Bauhaus moved
    to Dessau, Albers became a Bauhausmeister (professor). 
    In 1933, the Bauhaus closed (for the older kids--because of WW II: the Nazis shut down
    the school and started arresting Bauhaus professors, so most of them fled to the U.S.)
    and Albers moved to the United States with his wife Anni to teach at an experimental art
    school called Black Mountain College. Black Mountain College teachings emphasized
    art being an important part of everyday life. Albers taught artists like Ruth Asawa and
    Robert Rauschenberg, who would become very famous artists. 


    While Albers was teaching at Black Mountain College, he began to develop theories
    through his art practice, he explored different visual effects made by subtle differences
    in color, shape, and positioning. During this time, Albers also managed to have 20
    different shows in America that included glass work from the Bauhaus period, drawings,
    oil paintings, and graphic art. 


    In 1949 Albers left Black Mountain College, and from 1950-1958 he served as a
    chairman of the design department of Yale University. During his lectures at Yale
    University, Albers began what is considered his most famous body of work, his series
    “Homage to the Square,” this series focused on the optical effects of color within the
    confines of a uniform shape. What does homage mean? Homage means to give
    something a special honor or show respect for it. Albers painted 3-4 nested squares
    a masonite board using a palette knife and oil paints. Each painting consists of 3-4
    squares in one of 4 arrangements and in all different colors. 

    Look at a few examples from the Grades 3-6 Image Folder.


    In addition to painting, printmaking, murals, and architectural commissions, Albers
    published poetry, articles, and books on art theory. His best-known book, Interaction of
    Color, is still a commonly used text in art education. 


    In 1958, Albers was 70 years old and retired from Yale. After retirement Albers was
    invited by a former colleague to design a mural for the interior of the new Graduate
    Center at Harvard University. He continued to give lectures and teach at universities
    all over the country. Between 1965 and 1967 Homage to the Square series travelled
    the United States, South America, and Mexico. In 1971 Albers was the first living artist
    to have a solo retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.


    DEMONSTRATION/ART PROJECT
    1. Read An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers
    2. Choose 8 colors
    3. Use the templates to trace 2 squares of each size (Large and small)  in 8 different colors and cut them out. 
    4. Try to make two different combinations using the same 4 colors on each. 
    5. When you’re happy with your combinations, glue them down. 
    6. Then take that same combination of colors and glue 2 smaller squares on top of the larger squares. 
    7. Student will spend 30 minutes cutting and gluing--if they are having trouble, they can make fewer squares. 
    8. If students finish early, they can use their leftover paper to make another Albers-inspired piece on the back of their paper.  See below for example. 
    9. For the last 5 minutes, lay the squares out on the desks and have the students walk around and look at all the different color combinations! 

    Step 1
    Step 2
    Step 3
    If students finish early, they can use their scraps to make another work and glue
    it to the back of their white poster board. Remind them: they’ll need to trace and
    cut out their shapes neatly like example above in order to leave these strips as
    leftovers.They can also trade colors with other students if they wish. 

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