Josef Albers

American, born Germany, 1888-1976

ELC 2-A from the portfolio Embossed Linear Constructions (ELC)

© The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

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© The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

ELC 2-A from the portfolio Embossed Linear Constructions (ELC), 1969

Artwork Details

Materials

relief print on Arches paper

Edition:

50/100

Measurements

sheet: 20 x 26 inches (50.8 x 66.04 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Credit

Charles W. Goodyear Fund, 1969

Accession ID

P1969:7

Josef Albers typically worked in series, exploring how subtle variations of color, composition, and scale affect the ways people experience his artworks. In the "Embossed Linear Constructions (ELC)" series, which includes this work, his artistic intervention is so subtle that the distinction between art and the real world, or illusion and reality, is almost imperceptible. The process of embossing involves pressing moistened paper between metal plates and reshaping the fibers to create a raised design. The faint design in this print comes in and out of focus as you move your body and shift your perspective. In these dynamic interactions with the work, it becomes clear that Albers intended to make viewers aware of the embodied experience of seeing—an awareness that can inform future experiences with art. 

Label from The Swindle: Art Between Seeing and Believing, May 26–October 28, 2018

Other Works by This Artist