Why does Anni Albers seem to be trending on art sites? it may just be my search history since I rely, heavily, on her wise words about art making and weaving.
Anni Albers was a revolutionary weaver who changed the way art critics and collectors look at textiles. When she joined the Bauhaus in 1920s Germany, she was discouraged from studying architecture, her first interest, and directed to the weaving department. She spent her life exploring the possibilities of weaving as structure, design and an art medium.
She influences other artists, including Shiela Hicks and Agnes Martin. Here are some ways to learn more about her and her work:
Adorable video called How to Weave like Anni Albers .
Some Essays and images to enjoy.
She wrote a useful and encouraging book: On Weaving. I have two copies, the “newly expanded update” and my treasured early edition with black and white photos. I confess, I shouted for joy when I found it at bookstore in Santa Fe, NM. Both are available to read in the studio library.
An excerpt from the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation webpage:
“Beginnings are usually more interesting than elaborations and endings. Beginning means exploration, selection, development, a potent vitality not yet limited, not circumscribed by the tried and traditional. . . . Therefore, I find it intriguing to look at early attempts in history, not for the sake of historical interest, that is, of looking back, but for the sake of looking forward from a point way back in time in order to experience vicariously the exhilaration of accomplishment reached step by step. . . . This is learning. And I try to take my students also on this journey back into early time, to the beginnings of textiles. How did it all begin?”
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing!