Sanctuary 1942

Editor: We're looking at Josef Albers' "Sanctuary," a print from 1942. The stark black lines create a mesmerizing geometric maze. It's almost dizzying, but also quite captivating. What do you see in this piece? Curator: This work, created during World War II, really makes me consider what "sanctuary" meant at that historical moment. How can geometric abstraction provide refuge during times of immense upheaval and societal breakdown? Consider that the geometric form, seemingly detached from representational reality, offers an alternative system, a controlled, rational space. Editor: That's a really interesting point! So, the hard edges and precise lines… are they a kind of response to chaos? Curator: Exactly! The title, "Sanctuary," becomes incredibly loaded. Is it a sanctuary from the visual chaos of war? From political turmoil? Albers, associated with the Bauhaus, brings a tradition that sought to rebuild society on rational lines. Perhaps "Sanctuary" implies that the search for order, even within abstraction, is itself an act of resistance, of finding a space for reflection. What do you think about the use of only black and white? Editor: Well, the stark contrast certainly reinforces that sense of order, but it also feels a little… oppressive? Curator: Interesting! Yes, there is a visual austerity that can be unsettling. But consider: during wartime, resources were scarce. Maybe the monochromatic palette speaks to the constraints, the limits, within which Albers was creating. Even limitations can provoke the imagination to see further. Editor: I hadn’t considered it in light of the war era. It makes you think about the search for safety in such abstract terms. Curator: Absolutely! And it invites us to ask: where do we find sanctuary today, and what forms does it take?