--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want color and form to have…" description: "\"I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.\" — Josef Albers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg" --- # I want color and form to have contradictorily functions. ![“I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.” quote by Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg) > “I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.” [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should blend color and form so they function in opposing yet complementary ways. **In simple terms:** Combine color and form with contradictory functions. Key Takeaway Experiment with opposing visual elements. Themes art design contradiction Mood creative analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - graphic design - interior décor - painting Key Concepts color theory visual perception balance Questions to Reflect On - How can tension enhance visual interest? - When does contradiction become chaos? A Different Perspective Contradictory functions may confuse viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) ## Related quotes > [I am simultaneously and contradictorily both happy and unhappy: 'to succeed' or 'to fail' have for me only ephemeral, contingent meanings (this does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/i-am-simultaneously-and-contradictorily-both-happy-and-unhappy-to/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [To see color as form means looking at the image in a new way, trying to free oneself from absorption in subject matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-weston/to-see-color-as-form-means-looking-at-the-image-in-a-new-way-trying/) Cole Weston > [Identify in your work opposites of color, form, compositional arrangements, space, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-l-goldberg/identify-in-your-work-opposites-of-color-form-compositional/) [Joshua L. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-l-goldberg/) > [“Right and wrong Black and white And many shades Of gray I want color in my life Color in my dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/right-and-wrong-black-and-white-and-many-shades-of-gray-i-want-color/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [What you seem to find when you get into this biography business is that people tend to have an image of themselves that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/what-you-seem-to-find-when-you-get-into-this-biography-business-is/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [My job, I believe, is to convince you to allow me to be part of your brand. Then when you look to present yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cole/my-job-i-believe-is-to-convince-you-to-allow-me-to-be-part-of-your/) [Kenneth Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cole/) > [I want to show every part of me and every color of me. And I think, growing up Albanian, I wanted to bring that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-rexha/i-want-to-show-every-part-of-me-and-every-color-of-me-and-i-think/) [Bebe Rexha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-rexha/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. 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I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) ## More by Josef Albers > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I paint the way I spread butter on pumpernickel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-paint-the-way-i-spread-butter-on-pumpernickel/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I have taught my students not to apply rules or mechanical ways of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-have-taught-my-students-not-to-apply-rules-or-mechanical-ways-of/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [If one says 'Red' – the name of color – and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/if-one-says-red-the-name-of-color-and-there-are-fifty-people/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I do not like to be a prophet. I like better to paint than to predict what the next painters will do. Though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-do-not-like-to-be-a-prophet-i-like-better-to-paint-than-to-predict/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Therefore art means: you have to believe, to have faith, that is, cultivate vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/therefore-art-means-you-have-to-believe-to-have-faith-that-is/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [The purpose of art is to re-present nature, not represent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-re-present-nature-not-represent-it/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [It was my family that wanted me to be a teacher. That was safe, you see. To be a painter was terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/it-was-my-family-that-wanted-me-to-be-a-teacher-that-was-safe-you-see/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [We never really perceive what color really is, as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-really-is-as-it-physically-is/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Instead of art I have taught philosophy. Though technique for me is a big word, I never have taught how to paint. All my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/instead-of-art-i-have-taught-philosophy-though-technique-for-me-is-a/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [In order to use color effectively it is necessary to recognize that color deceives continually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/in-order-to-use-color-effectively-it-is-necessary-to-recognize-that/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Traditionally art is to create and not to revive. To revive: leave that to the historians, who are looking backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/traditionally-art-is-to-create-and-not-to-revive-to-revive-leave-that/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Art is concerned with the HOW and not the WHAT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/art-is-concerned-with-the-how-and-not-the-what/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is - as it physically is. This fact makes color the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/in-visual-perception-a-color-is-almost-never-seen-as-it-really-is-as/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [What has been said does not simply belong to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/what-has-been-said-does-not-simply-belong-to-us/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) [Explore all 70 Josef Albers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) ## More Color quotes > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/) [Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/) [Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/) > [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) [Browse all 5,594 Color quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josef Albers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradictorily-functions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Color" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradictorily-functions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/josef-albers-9747_color_i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradict_612984.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.” — Josef Albers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Josef Albers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I want color and form to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradictorily-functions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradictorily-functions/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```