JAVA Mar-2019

see the influences in shape, texture, and hue. “He
started experimenting using the colors of Mexico,”
Danilowitz said, pointing out details of some of his
older paintings.
Some credit Albers for inspiring the Minimalist
movement in art, and he is often noted for his work
in color theory. Though Donald Judd called him the
godfather of Minimalism, Albers probably wouldn’t
have labeled himself that way, Danilowitz said. However,
his teaching at Black Mountain College and Yale
directly influenced a generation of artists, including
Cy Twombly, Eva Hesse, and Robert Rauschenberg.
“All of the ’60s artists knew about Albers. That
is when he began to be seen as this old master,”
Danilowitz said.
Albers joined the Bauhaus school of art, design, and
architecture in 1920 at age 32. He was one of the
first students to become a meister, or master, Hinkson
says. Due to pressures from the Nazi government, the
school was forced to move from Weimar to Dessau
and then Berlin in its final months. Josef, Anni, and
many others fled Germany. After relocating to the
United States, Albers became active at Black Mountain
College in North Carolina and later settled in
Connecticut to teach at Yale. He and Anni continued
their travels through Mexico into the 1960s.
Over the decades of their travel, the development
of the tourism industry in Mexico is also chronicled.
“When they first arrived in the 1930s, there wasn’t
much,” Hinkson said. “In one of his tiny contact
prints, you can see Josef Albers standing in front of
a streamlined car, right next to a pyramid, because
you could drive right up to the pyramids and walk
right in.”
At the Zapotec site, Monte Alban, in the 1940s and
1950s, Mexican archeologist Alfonso Caso was
in the process of excavating for years. This was
particularly exciting to Josef and Anni because each
time they returned, there was something new to see,
Hinkson said.
Another interesting part of this exhibit is the collection
of a few well-preserved Pemex travel maps.
These maps were produced by the state-run oil company
to support the travel industry and designed as
highly visual souvenirs.
“Josef Albers in Mexico”
Heard Museum
Jacobson Gallery
Through May 27
heard.org
Josef Albers (1888-1976), Study for Homage to the Square, Closing, 1964,
Acrylic on Masonite, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Gift, The
Josef Albers Foundation, Inc., 1996
Anni Albers (1899-1994), Josef Albers, Mitla, 1935-39, The Josef and Anni
Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut, 1976
Josef Albers (1888-1976), Study for Sanctuary, 1941-1942, Ink on paper, The
Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut, 1976
Josef Albers (1888-1976), Ballcourt at Monte Alban, Mexico, ca. 1936-37, Gelatin
silver print, The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut, 1976
Josef Albers (1888-1976), The Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, 1950, Gelatin
silver print, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Gift, The Josef Albers
Foundation, Inc., 1996
Josef Albers (1888-1976), Luminous Day, 1947-1952, Oil on Masonite, The Josef
and Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut, 1976
Josef Albers (1888-1976), Tenayuca I, 1942, Oil on Masonite, The Josef and
Anni Albers Foundation, Bethany, Connecticut, 1976
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MAGAZINE