JOSEF ALBERS COLOR EXERCISES
JOSEF ALBERS COLOR EXERCISES
“Color is like cooking. The cook puts in more or less salt – that’s the difference!”
Think of the color red. Are you thinking of the color of a stop sign? Or lipstick? Or blood? Is it a warm red or a cool red? Is it a light red or a dark red? We all see and experience color differently. The red in your mind is not the exact same shade of red in the mind of the person sitting next to you.
Color is relative – meaning it changes based on the colors around it. Color has inherent value, and it is also dependent on light. Imagine an apple in a dark room; now turn all the lights on. What happens to the color? What happens if you only turn on half of the lights?
- Introduction to color relativity
- Exploration of hue, value, and intensity
- Making 3 colors look like 4
- Introduction to simultaneous contrast
Sketchbook, Colored pencils, NuPastels (chalk pastels)
At least three sheets of sketchbook paper, Strathmore drawing paper, 18”x24” or other cheap white paper
Divide your paper into six squares. Place a 2” square in the center of each square.
Create three strong examples of changing the value of one color (make 3 colors look like 4 colors). Layer the pastel smoothly and evenly; blend if necessary.
Repeat process on second sheet of paper. Create three strong different examples of changing the hue of one color.
Repeat process on third sheet of paper. Create three strong different examples of changing the intensity of one color.
Finish any Albers exercises you did not complete in class.
Begin researching an artist/designer directly influenced by the Bauhaus movement and collect 3+ sources for your research essay
Color. Hue. Value. Intensity. Relativity. Inherent value. Simultaneous contrast.
