An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers (utgåvan 2009)

We learned about Josef Albers, who grew up in a coal-mining town in Germany and was fascinated by art from an early age. He experiments with many media but eventually came to study colors and the effect of their interactions with each other.

Born in a coal-mining city in Germany, and raised by his handyman father, Josef Albers studied art and design at the Bauhaus school in Weimar, and eventually became a teacher there. When the Nazis forced the school to close, he emigrated to America, where he obtained a post at Black Mountain College, in North Carolina. Eventually, in 1949, he began his famous study of color, which would prove so influential in the world of the arts, and which lasted for twenty-seven years. Painting thousands of squares within squares (within squares), in order to study the effect of different color combinations, Albers pursued his project methodically, eventually publishing Interaction of Color, and becoming the first living artist to have a single-person show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

An engaging book about an artist whose work has been quite influential, although his name is not as well known as some others, An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers also (very appropriately) has immense visual appeal. Julia Breckenreid's bold gouache illustrations are well suited to the tale being told, and emphasize the ideas about color that Albers gained from his "Homage to the Square," and that he communicated in turn in his writing and teaching. The additional information at the rear fleshes out his life story, as well as laying out author Natasha Wing's own connection to the artist (she grew up down the street from his house in Connecticut), and providing a glossary, a bibliography and a list of activities. Recommended to all young art lovers, and to children curious about color, and how it works. ( )

Chickadee Nominee 2010-2011

At first I was skeptical because I've seen Albers' paintings and mostly just thought that they were something that even I could replicate. I'm not sure I feel much differently, but I have an appreciation for the thought he put behind his work. ( )

This book explores the life of Josef Albers and how he spent his entire life studying color, and what he found revolutionized the way people look at art. This book would be good for students who are interested in art and details of paintings.

The story of Josef Albers was an eye opener for me. I never heard of this artist but after reading this book I wish I would have read it earlier. His study of color was amazing and inventive. I tend to read this book to my future class. We will participate in an art activity just like Albers famous art work. ( )