“I think art parallels life. Color, in my opinion, behaves like a man in two distinct ways: first in self-realization and then in the reallization of relationships with others. In my paintings I have tried to make two polarities meet—independence and interdependence, as, for instance, in Pompeian art. There’s a certain red the Pompeians used that speaks in both these ways, first in its relation to the colors around it, and then as it appears alone, keeping its own face. In other words, one must combine both being an individual and being a member of society. That’s the parallel. I’ve handled color as a man should behave. With trained and sensitive eyes, you can recognize this double behavior of color. And from all this, you may conclude that I consider ethics and aesthetics as one.”

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