On Anni Albers

A current fascination = intense sleuthing = discovering good links = with a fresh blog to play in, I can make a post to share some of those. (+ figure how to do my own links + multipics, simultaneously. Here goes.)

I’d pinned some of Anni Albers creations along the way, but only recently properly picked up on her. I always enjoy discovering that a current creative crush has been thoroughly researched + represented online, by many others – it brings a lovely wealth of material to explore.

Anni Albers – Wall Hanging – Double Weave – 1927/1964

The Tate Gallery proved a juicy source, and here are a couple of articles – there are more.

Weaving Magic (by Briony Fer, 2018.)

Seven Life Hacks from Anni Albers

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This from ‘On Weaving’, (more of that, below) – made my Heart sing:

Dedicated to my great teachers, the weavers of ancient Peru – Anni Albers, 1965.

I’ve long loved the ancient Peruvian textiles, too.

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It turns out another of my oft-pinned textile artist crushes, Sheila Hicks, learned directly from AA. Sheila H. wrote about that – what a delightful discovery it was to read. I enjoyed this sentence:

I sat with Anni in the living room on a ripped-out automobile seat that served as a sofa, showing her the experiments I was struggling with.

Sheila Hicks, in My encounters with Anni Albers

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On The Textile Atlas, I found a beautifully presented article: Anni Albers – Weaving a discipline of resilience by Sharon Tsang-de Lyster.

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The Josef + Anni Albers Foundation. There are some selected writings on there which I intend to savour.

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This all led me to discover the astonishing Monoskop site. I suspect I’ll be linking to other Things there, along the way.

There’s an Anni Albers index, – books, articles, catalogues, interviews + literature.

+ an intro to ‘On Weaving’, a book which AA first published in 1965 – and which was updated + expanded in 2017. In that intro, I found these fine words:

In chapter 5 Anni Albers says: ‘Though elaborations are usually thought to be an advance of stage of work, they are often an easy expansion from basic concepts. Intricacy and complexity are not, in my mind, high developments. Simplicity, rather, which is condensation, is the aim and the goal for which we should be heading. Simplicity is not simpleness but clarified vision–the reverse of the popular estimate.’

Anni Albers, “On Weaving” – quoted in a review by Irene Emery, on Monoskop.

AAAaaaand…The 2017 version of ‘On Weaving’ is, generously, entirely visible, online, there. What a treat!

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Study made with Corn Kernels, Anni Albers.

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That’s where I got to so far. I learned that Anni’s birthday was five days after mine – Gemininity can be so eloquent. She came on in sixty-three years before me, though. I like the context that knowing the time-frame brings.

I may report further, as my sleuthings continue. And my vision clarifies. Thank you, Anni.

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I’ll figure more about how the type is looking here – baby-steps in my blogging learnings – I got the link thing down in this – every little helps.

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4 Comments on “On Anni Albers”

    • You’re welcome! I just love thinking of you enjoying all this on your Sunday morning.
      And thank you for this good link. I’m aware of those quilts, but I’ve not had a closer look into them yet. I’ll enjoy learning.
      It’s still exciting to me that we can share these good things so easily, so instantly, no matter the physical distance. ‘It never gets old’. x x x

      Reply

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