It’s Hip to be Square
by habituallychic
10 . 14 . 08
Another great marriage of art and fashion are the limited edition Homage to the Square scarves from Hermes that depict six of artist Josef Albers paintings from 1964 and give new meaning to the phrase “wearable art.” The German born Albers, is most well known as a Bauhaus artist but he also designed furniture and typography, accepted architectural commissions, published poetry, articles and book on art, in addition to lecturing and teaching.
“Albers became a prolific artist, known primarily for his “Homage’s to Squares.” Although he disavowed style category labels, he is credited with influencing the movements of Geometric Abstraction and Minimalism. He was also one of the first modern artists to investigate the psychological effects of color and space and to question the nature of perception. Indicative of the impact of his work is the fact that he was the first living artist to have a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.”
“The square was the ideal shape for Albers’ “Homage’s,” series. Squares were mathematically related to each other in size, perfect for superimposition, shapes that never occur in nature–thus assuring its man-made quality. Albers intended that the colours in his “Homage’s” series react with each other when processed by the human eye, causing optical illusions due to the eye’s ability to continually change the colors in ways that echo, support, and oppose one another.”
“I’ve handled colour as a man should behave. You may conclude that I consider ethics and aesthetics as one.” – Josef Albers 
3 Comments
Not sure how to feel about this exactly. My interest in Albers doesn’t quite jibe with my interest in Hermes. I wonder if Albers would have approved of this in his lifetime? This is tasteful, though, unlike the Murakami crass commercialism for LV.
I have never had much use for silk scarves, but I want one of these. I think it is an excellent partnership–why not?
Right after college, and doing many of those color projects along the Albers philosophy these speak to me of precision and careful attention to detail.
They truly are modern. He was so ahead of his time.
So courageous and bold for Hermes!