KoЯn is on tour to honor . . .
. . . the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut released in 1994. After Gojilla opened, and after noticing the top cover of the urinals at the Prudential Center are engraved with the Jersey Devils logo, a discussion about color opened and my friend asked,
“Are you familiar with Josef Albers?”
“No.”
My response, per usual, came before a beat to think, the surname was familiar. Anni Albers is a recent and immediate obsession, a published pattern journal of hers sits at this desk for when inspiration wanes. I know little about Josef Albers. Familiar that he was Bauhaus connected. Married to fellow artist and Bauhaus student, Anni Albers. Maybe he was involved with that school... Black Mountain College? (After review, integral to school.) Beyond that I’d have to reference the screen in the pocket of my jeans.
“Anni Albers is widely considered to be the foremost textile designer of the 20th century... She was an adventurous graphic artist who took printmaking technique into previously uncharted territory.”
“Josef Albers, initially a teacher of elementary school, was one of the foremost art teachers of the 20th century. His approach to color and drawing now informs art education universally.”
A step of Anni Albers’ process for textile creation is what drew me in. Albers would freehand draw a pattern and weave the design on a loom. What started as geometry on pages of her dotted journal informed how the warp and weft would interact on a future piece. Start with something simple. Pencil lines connected to supplied ink points on a page. A page accessible to most. A page between the margins of math class notes, we would play Pigs in a Pen and attempt to out box the opponent. I wonder if Anni and Josef ever played… show me that journal entry… and textile. A map of human chance and luck, order and chaos, battled out between titans of color and design.
