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Josef Albers

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Artist

The Resume

    (March 19, 1888-March 25, 1976)
    Born in Bottrop, Germany
    Best known for his ‘Homage to the Square’ series of abstract paintings
    Designed the murals ‘Two Structural Constellations’ for the Corning Glass Building (1959), ‘Two Portals’ for the Time-Life Building (1961), and ‘Manhattan’ for the Pan Am Building (1963)
    Co-designer of the Architype Albers typeface
    Professor at the Bauhaus in Germany, Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and Yale
    Wrote ‘Interaction of Color’ (1963)

Why he might be annoying:

    Robert Rauschenberg said, ‘Albers was a beautiful teacher and an impossible person.’
    A proclaimed foe of self-expression in art, he painted with a palette knife to eliminate the artist’s ‘signature’ of brushstroke and texture.
    His paintings of squares upon squares can seem repetitive or monotonous.
    He said, ‘For me, abstraction is real, probably more real than nature.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He left Germany for the US after the Nazis closed down the Bauhaus.
    He was married to textile artist Anni Albers for 50 years.
    He was the first living artist given a solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1971).
    His students include Robert Rauschenberg, Eva Hesse, Richard Serra, and Ruth Asawa.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying