Josef Albers' Interaction
of Color, was first conceived
of as a handbook and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students, presenting
Albers' ideas of colour experimentation. Originally published by Yale
University Press in 1963 as a limited silkscreen edition with 150 color plates,
Interaction of Color first appeared in paperback in 1971, featuring ten
representative color studies chosen by Albers. The paperback has remained in
print ever since and remains one of the most influential resources on colour.
Last week, to commemorate the book’s 50th anniversary,
Yale University Press released the Interaction of
Color app for the iPad, a modernized, interactive presentation of Albers’
teachings. With fingers instead of paintbrushes and a touch screen instead of
paper, users can move and manipulate over 125 color plates in 60 interactive
studies. Concepts like colour relativity and vibrating boundaries come to life.
The app’s developers used paper, scissors, and glue to complete the exercises, as Albers’s students would have done, in order to experience Albers’ process
and methodology. The text was then meticulously translated into app form--they
even preserved his original typeface and text columns.Alongside the book’s full text are two hours of video footage including interviews with noteworthy practitioners such as textile designer Christopher Farr, graphic designer Peter Mendelsund, painters Anoka Faruqee and Brice Marden, product designer Brian Mullan (director of sourcing and production at Fab), quilt and fabric designer Denyse Schmidt, architect Anabelle Seldorf, and cultural historian Nicholas Fox Weber (executive director of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation).
The free download allows you to view Chapter X, including text, commentary, and two interactive plates, and to experiment with all the features, including the color palette tool. The full version of the app includes the complete text, over 125 color plates, over 60 interactive studies, and a wide range of video commentaries, interviews, and additional features. The full version is available as an in-app purchase for $9.99.
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