Anni Albers: Small Works, Big Inspiration

This is Kris with a post that’s been in my head for months. The Bauhaus is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, so it sure was nice to find an exhibit on Anni Albers at the SFMOMA this past June. It was the tiniest of exhibits, all small works, in a little room off to the corner, and Albers even had to share the exhibition space with fellow Bauhaus member and teacher, Paul Klee, but every inch of that exhibit was captivating. So why write about it now?

Albers’ Weaving

If you read our blog regularly, you’ll know I often head off to the restroom for the regular reason only to find inspiration and ideas for something else. Deb has even gotten into the habit of ripping out articles from magazines she thinks I might enjoy reading while there. It was Naomi Wood’s article on the women of the Bauhaus that got me all inspired again. Wood stresses the sexism of the Bauhaus movement, which led most of the women members to start out in the weaving school. But just look at what Albers was able to create from that training. This piece is called “City” (1949).

Albers spent most of her career trying to get weaving accepted as art and not craft, an enduring fight that I won’t address today. But just look at this piece. Its name emphasizes the architectural shape of the weaving, but if you take a closer look, you’ll see Albers’ incredible mastery of color, texture, and pattern.

 

Albers’ Prints

Some of the prints in the exhibit also left me in awe of Albers’ invented patterns. Take, for example, this undated “Study made on the Typewriter.” Yes, Albers created this on the typewriter! It looks like she wove it together. Again, I was in awe of the texture and line of this piece.

 

Featured Image

The featured image at the top of this post, “Study for Triadic 1” (1968) is “simply” ink dots made into triangles and then repeated on paper in a grid-like pattern. I love the quilt-like appearance of this piece. Albers had moved away from the graphic patterns in her weaving only to recreate it on paper. Engaging. Fascinating. Inspiring. Click here to read more about Anni Albers.