Reflections of Josef Albers

Reflections of Josef Albers For anyone with an interest in teaching, When graduates from Yale are asked how they 133 Josef Albers was, and still is, an exemplary role most beneted from studies with Josef Albers, model. He had enormous experience and insight into they invariably reply, “Albers taught me to see.” The teaching and students. He was the most effective and word see has several meanings. One is in the optic inspirational teacher I encountered in my career. sense using the eyes and another denition of see is I came to Yale during 1953 from Minnesota so naive to discern, to understand. I believe that students of and visually ignorant as to cause others to wonder Albers are referring to both denitions. how I ever got there. The truth is that I came to Yale through the good graces of Dean Charles Sawyer Among those things that I learned from being a rather than through admissions. The East coast and student in classes taught by Albers were: to see Yale University were total cultural shock for me. nuance in color and drawing; to use color with Perhaps even more so than for students coming there con dence and differently than before; to understand from much more exotic parts of the world than spatial relationships; to better understand the illusion Minnesota. I did not understand anything that of form; to see nature abstractly; to understand was happening, but I did recognize that it was activation of color or space and to realize that all very important. suggestion is more powerful than delineation in visual art. In viewing Albers the teacher, there was Joseph Albers, Self-portrait I, 1914 I am certain it was Albers, and not coincidence, much to be learned in terms of beginning with that led to so many of his graduates going into simple exercises with criteria being understood by teaching. Graduates gained enormous condence students and the sequencing of related problems and inspiration from Albers and were eager to where one builds on another. Also, awareness of the share their newfound understanding with others. teacher knowing what can and cannot be taught. Yale graduates were often resented by colleagues at other institutions as their self-condence was interpreted as arrogance. My experiences at Yale were the foundation for Upon returning to Minneapolis, I was the only what I was to do as a teacher, and it prepared me at faculty member with a graduate degree. a later date to better appreciate the teaching of Consequently, whenever there was a faculty opening, Armin Hofmann. My views and appreciation of I was always asked if there was someone I could Albers, and his contribution to education were not recommend. My strategy was to recommend anyone shared by all my colleagues in graphic design. Most from Yale that I felt understood what was happening felt influenced more by men such as Alvin Lustig, there. Within a relatively short time, we had about Herbert Matter, Leo Lionni, and Lester Beall. six Yale graduates on faculty. At every opportunity, I found these men to be interesting, they presented each was pumped for every bit of understanding challenging problems and were excellent role models, I could get. but they did not teach. Albers did. When you completed an Albers’ course, you learned, you Visual education can be broken down into at least To design is could apply what you learned, and you viewed three broad areas such as history and precedent, to plan and organize, your work and that of others in an entirely new technical knowledge based on equipment, processes and materials and perceptual understanding. Some to order, to relate way than before. might include professional practices as a separate and to control. Being a graphic design graduate student, I did not segment. An effective education requires an have as much contact with Albers as did the Fine appropriate balance between the various emphasizes. Art students, but there was a great deal of interaction The various concerns are taught both in sequence between painting and design students in printmaking and sometimes concurrently. In the most general where I was an assistant to Gabor Peterdi, and I sense, perceptual studies are at the beginning and heard stories from painters and sculptors about form the foundation for the other areas. Technical Albers. I was teaching at The Minneapolis School instruction is strongly emphasized during the second of Art before entering Yale, and knew that I would and third years. Professional practices is concentrated return to teaching following graduation. It is likely in the last year with history and craft being taught that because of vested interests, I focused more throughout the program. attention on teachers, the problems, critiques and methods of instruction than did my classmates. Perceptual understanding is the most confusing, While I did not actually understand everything, misunderstood and the weakest link in visual I made notes regarding problems and comments by education. Too often the educational emphasis is instructors. The notes became my bible during the focused in technology or professional practice. early years of teaching. Style and example are substituted for perceptual understanding and students are expected to learn through imitation. Too many instructors admonish Pedagogy students “to just keep drawing and painting – it will Albers approached instruction through a pedagogical come.” Other instructors impress students with the scheme employing principles, sequence, criteria notion that only feeling, emotion or mood can lead and learning through doing. Albers either said or to real art. wrote “that basic studies incorporated only those elements and principles that were in common to all Albers’ peculiar genius was in formulating a visual arts including painting, drawing, sculpture, pedagogy that resulted in student abilities to grasp design and architecture.” Within my experience, and incorporate perceptual factors into their work he never made any distinction between students and to recognize them in the work of others. Albers’ in one discipline or another, they were all treated color course is a pedagogical model that can be equally. Albers remarked several times, that as a applied to introductory studies in drawing, design, teacher, he had to treat all students equally because ne arts or crafts. The unique qualities of perceptual regard-less of individual performance, he had no understanding in visual education are that they are way of knowing which ones might become artists 135 applicable to all areas of art – architecture, ne arts, in the future. design, photography and all the crafts. The terms problem and exercise are often used Perceptual understanding is always relevant as it interchangeably, but they are really quite different. transcends all styles and time frames – it is never in Problem implies a solution while exercise is dened or out of date. Albers would be as valid today as he as experiential learning without solution and it has was during the 1930s at the Bauhaus, Black innite variations. In graphic design we were given Mountain in the 1940s or Yale in the 1950s. problems, but under Albers we did exercises. Albers compared learning to the crystallization My observation was that Albers utilized two process where one crystal forms on another. different types of presentation. I would identify He believed that in the rst year, students should one as demonstrations to illustrate a point and the learn simple, uncomplicated concepts, and as they other as exercises. Albers had strong feelings about moved through the program, the work becomes the need for concentration when drawing. His progressively more complex. Each bit of new introduction to basic drawing was to make a few learning is added to the rst until a body of remarks about mental concentration and control. knowledge accumulates, and from there on, students Then he would take a piece of chalk in each hand, are expected to grow as a result of their experiences. and simultaneously draw two circles on the Albers was fond of saying that if he did his job blackboard – one from right to left and the other properly from the rst day of class, he was beginning from left to right (try it sometime!). a process that would put him out of work. The import of his remark was that if he was effective in his teaching, by the time of graduation, students no longer required his input. Reflections of Josef Albers To further make his point, he asked students to write little over three dollars a sheet, and three dollars was their name and hold up a hand when completed. quite a bit of money for most students in those days. The response was nearly immediate. Next students Upon returning to the studio, he had us pin the were asked to write their name backwards and hold paper on our easel, and we were instructed to resume up a hand when completed. This took longer. He our quick sketches. You never saw such mental then asked students to write their name upside down concentration as this group of students making quick and backwards. This took a considerable amount of sketches on three dollar plus sheets of paper. When time. He used this demonstration to talk about we nally went back to newsprint pads, he would automatic drawing which is done without thinking. frequently remind us that we were sketching on Writing their name backwards called for mental D’Arches paper. Knowing that he might make a visualization and concentration, and it was this state reality of it, we gave our drawing the attention and of mind that he felt essential to drawing. I believe focus he demanded. Albers effectively conveyed to this demonstration was effective because students students the mental and physical attributes requisite experienced what he wanted to communicate.

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