Anni Albers by Adrian Liuzzi

ANNI

ALBERS

Contents 4 What was the reason you chose to do weaving as opposed to becoming a Painter?

6 Why wasn’t your work being displayed in exhibitions in Germany?

8 If you were working today do you think you would still face mistreatment as a female artist?

10 What was the significance behind creating the piece called 6 Prayers?

12 How would you like the Women’s Workshop to be remembered?

2

(Claude Stoller, 1931)

3

What was the reason you chose to do weaving as opposed to becoming a Painter?

I always wanted to be a painter and I was excited to enroll at the Bauhaus.

I was disappointed to found out they wanted me to do weaving, I was not enthusiastic or thrilled to join the weaving workshop at first. I wanted to do a real man’s job and not some sissy job which involved working with threads. I wanted to learn about something that I felt I could conquer and accomplish, but ultimately I was placed into a craft I had no interest in at first. Fate brought me with limp threading which was the start of my future.

4

(Albers Foundation, 1959)

5

Why wasn’t your work being displayed in exhibitions in Germany?

The galleries and museums thought textiles are not considered as art but instead classified as just a craft.

Although it broke my heart I wanted to continue weaving and I knew one day my work will be displayed in front of millions of people across the world, who will be inspired by my legacy that I have created.

Not long after leaving Germany, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to showcase my crafts in museums across America.

6

(Samuel McCune, 2020)

7

If you were working today, do you think you would still face mistreatment as a female artist?

I believe it will be different from what I experienced during my time as an artist. I think more women will be involved with the art industry, ladies will be strong and not take criticism.

Women will create brilliant and artistic work and most importantly be proud of who they are. It was hard for me when I was an artist during my time at the Bauhaus, I lived in a society where men did not appreciate women. Men didn’t respect us, they looked down on us. Men advised women not to work in heavy craft areas.

8

(Tate Photography, 2019)

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What was the significance behind creating the piece called 6 Prayers?

The 6 Prayers was my tribute to all of the 6 million Jews that lost their lives from the Holocaust. This piece was personal to me as I thought of my friend Otti Berger when I was weaving the piece. I felt the fear and suffering that she must of experienced during the awful times she faced in concentration camp at Auschwitz.

People believe the piece looks similar to a Jewish scroll, many people interpreted in different ways. It was my job as a proud Jewish person to complete this intimate piece and pay tribute to those Jews who suffered in sorrow and pain. This piece I created was recognised in the Jewish Museum in New York.

10

(Bauhaus,1927)

11

How would you like the Women’s Workshop to be remembered?

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Woman’s Workshop was truly the place I believe I belonged, I will never forget the constant hours I spent weaving and fighting through the pain my hands and my feet experienced. I was surrounded by women who were inclusive and who were innovators. As a group we helped one another to become a better artists.

We had no rules on how we should weave and that’s what made the Women’s Workshop so impressive, we were allowed to experiment and be creative.

As a strong group, we prove to the men who looked down on us, that weaving was not some feminine craft it was a form of art. I was so proud that all the women who work beside me in the workshop made an impact during our time at the Bauhaus.

I believe that the Women’s Workshop can be considered as being leaders of the Bauhaus Movement.

(Josef Albers, 1940)

“Art makes you breathe easier.

Gives you space.”

Quoted by Anni Albers

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References Stoller, C., 2012. Introduction Of Anni Albers. [image] Available at: <https://albersfoundation.org/teaching/anni-albers/ introduction/#slide14> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

Albers Foundation, (1959), MIT New Gallery, Anni Albers: Pictorial Weavings, 11 May–21 June 1959. Exhibition traveled to the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh; Baltimore Museum of Art; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, 10 December 1959–10 January 1960; and Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, 4 February–7 March 1960 [ONLINE].

Available at: https://albersfoundation.org/sources/exhibition-history/anni-albers-solo/#tab6 Samuel McCune, (2020), Lady at the Loom [ONLINE]. Available at: https://nbmaa.org/exhibitions/anni-albers Albers, J., 2020. Patzcuaro. [image] Available at: <https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/anni-albers-exhibition-davidzwirner/> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

1927. Bauhaus Movement. [image] Available at: <https://bauhaus-movement.tumblr.com/post/163566292719/lottebeese-life-at-the-bauhaus-group-portrait> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

2019. “Domestic Spaces” — Out Now!. [image] Available at: <https://www.surfacedesign.org/domestic-spaces-outnow/> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

Anni Albers: A Life in Thread. 2019. [video] Directed by A. Harding. Britain: BBC Studios.

Foundation, A., 2020. Anni Albers Solo. [image] Available at: <https://albersfoundation.org/sources/exhibition-history/ anni-albers-solo/> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

Foundation, A., 1982. Material As Metaphor. [image] Available at: <https://albersfoundation.org/artists/selectedwritings/anni-albers/#tab4> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

Weber, N. and Asbaghi, P., 1977. Anni Albers. [ebook] Guggenheim Museum, p.range of pages. Available at: <https:// archive.org/details/annialbers00webe/page/n1/mode/2up> [Accessed 28 May 2020].

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By

Adrian Adrian Liuzzi Liuzzi