Josef Albers was an extraordinarily accomplished printmaker (see examples in previous galleries), and his collaboration with Ken Tyler continuously pushed the envelope in the graphic arts. The present series, Embossed Linear Constructions, was based on Albers’s Structural Constellations, which use the interaction of line and surface to play with reality and illusion. To develop these prints, Albers, Tyler and an engineer devised a way to engrave a plate based on Albers’s drawings, taking into account the thickness of the paper and the exact profile of each drawn line. The plate was mechanically engraved with these calculations in mind and then placed in a hydraulic press, where heat and pressure molded the paper into the engraved areas of the plate. The result is a completely flat surface with impeccably articulated raised lines.
Details
- Artist Name: Josef Albers (American, 1888-1976)
- Title: Embossed Linear Constructions
- Date: 1969
- Medium: One of eight embossed lithographs
- Edition: Edition of 100, No. 47
- Dimensions: 20-1/8 x 26-1/8 in. (51.1 x 66.4 cm)
- Publisher: Gemini G.E.L.
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Gemini G.E.L., 1969
- Accession Number: P.1969.105.2
- Copyright: © The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object Information
Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California
- Norton Simon Museum, 2011-10-02 to 2012-04-02
Additional Artwork by Artist
Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.
Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.
Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.