“[Josef] Albers’s remarkable ability to use words to prize the character of color was a vital component of [his color] course. . . . ‘This one smells like Cuban cigars,’ he might say, or ‘it tastes like a roast beef dinner with a nice Burgundy.’ A brown, lacy study had ‘a grandmother quality.’ Albers praised one study in stripes [pictured above], saying it was like ‘good aged mellow cheese.’

Along with this, Albers would concoct little melodramas to help his students see the color performances: ‘Look here! This green is creeping in. It’s a monster coming in from the edge and taking over. . . .’ Or ‘This purple knows about this pink. You see, it’s happy to be next to it, and it keeps it from running away.‘ A certain red ’wants to take control, to be a fascist.’. . . One student recalls a conversation between yellow and orange: . . .

“Look! The color orange is at the door and says to the yellow, ‘You go first.’ But the yellow is also polite and says, ‘No, you go first.’ They are like good friends, and their conversation is very charming.’”

—Frederick A. Horowitz, from Josef Albers: To Open Eyes, by Frederick A. Horowitz and Brenda Danilowitz, 2006.