Image: Interaction of Color by Joanne Mattera
Yesterday, I met with Amanda Gluibizzi, head librarian of Ohio State University's Fine Arts Library (FIN). It was great to reconnect, hear about what's new @ FIN, and get introduced & reintroduced to some art/humanities electronic databases.
Putting my own recommendations to library & info sci students and newly-minted librarians into practice, I've begun to volunteer at FIN. I'll be devoting 4 hours a week on Fridays to keep my skills sharp and learn some new.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Herb V. Peterson (HVP) and his Color & Com class. Amanda gave a great breakdown to the class of how she and FIN can meet the specific needs of design students. After Amanda gave a short introduction to the organization of FIN and how design thinking influenced decisions of the Eisenman/Trott-designed space, HVP got down to business discussing the various techniques Albers used to create contrast and tonal values.
I had not seen the Interaction of Color portfolio that HVP spoke to. Only 200 were produced, and OSU's is in remarkably good condition. The plates themselves are serigraphs (aka silk-screens) which were produced by Albers and some of his grad students, and they are much more vibrant than in this book--as to be expected. There is also a bit of theatre or spectacle to the plates due to the unveiling of some of the contrasts. In all, Interaction of Color is a masterful teaching tool and great opportunity for students to learn.
It was a great day at OSU's Fine Arts Library, and I look forward to returning next Friday.
