Accession Number1983/1.336.3
TitleArticulation: Formulation
Artist(s)Josef AlbersArtist NationalityAmerican (North American)Object Creation Date1972Medium & Supportscreenprint on paperDimensions 15 1/16 in x 20 1/16 in (38.2 cm x 51 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Marvin Felheim CollectionSubject matterFormulation: Articulation is a two-part portfolio totaling 127 screenprints. The prints are divided into folders that contain their own brief introductions, often describing the design process, a print’s relation to an earlier piece by the artist, or various perspectives from which to view the print. Josef Albers spent two years working on the piece towards the end of his lifetime. The series can be viewed as the summation of his life’s work since it draws on concepts that he developed throughout his career. In the introduction to the portfolios he writes, “Our aim is not a retrospective report; the book aims at Art itself, meaning: no retrospective in the usual sense. These are visual realizations here presented outspoken in silkscreen.” Arguably, Albers’s most memorable body of work is his
Homage to the Square, which he began in 1950 and continued to add to until his death in 1976. Thirty-eight of the prints in
Formulation: Articulation are part of
Homages. Another important contribution Albers had to color theory was his analysis
Interaction of Color that he published a decade before
Formulation: Articulation. The piece is more of a scientific examination of color while
Formulation: Articulation is more of an artistic set of portfolios that draws on the theories he explored previously.
Physical DescriptionOn a long horizontal piece of white paper a green square sits on the right side. Within it, vertical undulating lines create shapes within which horizontal bands of darker and lighter shades of green make op-art like patterns.
Primary Object Classification Print Primary Object TypeabstractCollection AreaModern and ContemporaryRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
Abstract (fine arts style)
color (perceived attribute)
geometric shape
geometric shapes
modern and contemporary art
squares