--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Simultaneous contrast is not just a…" description: "\"Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon – it is the very heart of painting. Repeated experiments with adjacent colors will show ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg" --- # Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical… ![“Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon – it is the very heart of painting. Repeated experiments with adjacent colors will show that any ground subtracts its own hue from the colors which it carries and therefore influences.” quote by Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg) > “Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon – it is the very heart of painting. Repeated experiments with adjacent colors will show that any ground subtracts its own hue from the colors which it carries and therefore influences.” [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. Colors affect each other; adjacent hues change perception of each other, shaping the overall visual impact of a painting. **In simple terms:** Colors influence each other. Key Takeaway Consider color relationships in design. Themes art perception visual theory Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - painting - graphic design - interior decor - fashion styling Key Concepts color theory optical illusion contextual perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you test color combos? - What emotions do contrasting colors evoke? A Different Perspective Color interaction can be misinterpreted without careful study. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carrie/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Contrast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrast/) [Contrast Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrast-just-1601554/) [Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hue/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Optical Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optical-phenomenon-1601555/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Simultaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simultaneous/) [Simultaneous Contrast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simultaneous-contrast-1601553/) ## Related quotes > [Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon - it is the very heart of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curious-optical-phenomenon-it-is-2/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Suffice it to say that black and white are also colors... for their simultaneous contrast is as striking as that of green and red,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/suffice-it-to-say-that-black-and-white-are-also-colors-for-their/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Yeah, I think to make art and horror successful you need a strong contrast. Otherwise, it just becomes titillation and shock value. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/yeah-i-think-to-make-art-and-horror-successful-you-need-a-strong/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) > [Whatever comes from the brain carries the hue of the place it came from, and whatever comes from the heart carries the heat and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-comes-from-the-brain-carries-the-hue-of-the-place-it-came/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any ground subtracts its own hue from the colors which it carries and therefore influences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/any-ground-subtracts-its-own-hue-from-the-colors-which-it-carries-and/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Repeated similar experiments with adjacent colors will show that any ground subtracts its own hue from colors which it carries and therefore influences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/repeated-similar-experiments-with-adjacent-colors-will-show-that-any/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [The historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones, but with a feeling that the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-historical-sense-compels-a-man-to-write-not-merely-with-his-own/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The completely simultaneous and perfect possession of unlimited life at a single moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/the-completely-simultaneous-and-perfect-possession-of-unlimited-life/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [Where to start is the problem, because nothing begins when it begins and nothing's over when it's over, and everything needs a preface: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/where-to-start-is-the-problem-because-nothing-begins-when-it-begins/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [You cannot separate the onset of a disturbing moment in life from the appearance of some simultaneous new possibility to know a deeper and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/you-cannot-separate-the-onset-of-a-disturbing-moment-in-life-from-the/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [It seems to be the special peculiarity of human beings that they reflect: they think about thinking and know that they know. This, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-seems-to-be-the-special-peculiarity-of-human-beings-that-they/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Transmitted at the speed of light, all events on this planet are simultaneous. In the electric environment of information all events are simultaneous, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/transmitted-at-the-speed-of-light-all-events-on-this-planet-are/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am intrigued with combining the remnant of memories, fragments of relics and ordinary objects, with the components of technology. It's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betye-saar/i-am-intrigued-with-combining-the-remnant-of-memories-fragments-of/) [Betye Saar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betye-saar/) > [To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/to-me-photography-is-the-simultaneous-recognition-in-a-fraction-of-a/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## 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/) > [I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradictorily-functions/) [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/) [Explore all 70 Josef Albers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) ## More Carrie quotes > [Each person carries an entire world within himself, and everything exists twice: once the way it is, the other the way he perceives it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korczak/each-person-carries-an-entire-world-within-himself-and-everything/) [Janusz Korczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korczak/) > [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Genius finds its own road and carries its own lamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/genius-finds-its-own-road-and-carries-its-own-lamp/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I don't think anybody who carries a rifle carries the future. Because I don't believe that you can really change the world by killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/i-don-t-think-anybody-who-carries-a-rifle-carries-the-future-because/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Your graciousness is what carries you. It isn't how old you are, how young you are, how beautiful you are, or how short your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/your-graciousness-is-what-carries-you-it-isn-t-how-old-you-are-how/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [If God was the owner, I was the manager. I needed to adopt a steward's mentality toward the assets He had entrusted - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/if-god-was-the-owner-i-was-the-manager-i-needed-to-adopt-a-steward-s/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [Every man carries his kingdom within, and no one knows what is taking place in another's kingdom. 'No one understands me!' Of course they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/every-man-carries-his-kingdom-within-and-no-one-knows-what-is-taking/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The footnote would seem to be the smallest detail in a work of history. Yet it carries a large burden of responsibility, testifying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-himmelfarb/the-footnote-would-seem-to-be-the-smallest-detail-in-a-work-of/) [Gertrude Himmelfarb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-himmelfarb/) > [Whatever brings you to your knees in weakness carries the greatest potential for your personal success and spiritual victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/whatever-brings-you-to-your-knees-in-weakness-carries-the-greatest/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn't likely to grow dim or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-who-carries-a-cat-by-the-tail-is-getting-experience-that-will/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A timely and incisive look into the history, politics, and future of the Muslim Brotherhood by the foremost expert on Islamism in Egypt. Carrie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vali-nasr/a-timely-and-incisive-look-into-the-history-politics-and-future-of/) [Vali Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vali-nasr/) > [Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/man-must-speak-then-sing-then-dance-the-speaking-is-the-brain-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [from one minute to the next the present is merely an honorary past. It must be filled unceasingly anew to dissemble the curse it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/from-one-minute-to-the-next-the-present-is-merely-an-honorary-past-it/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The human qualities of the raw materials show through. Naivety, error, contradiction, even (as in the cursing Psalms) wickedness are not removed. The total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-human-qualities-of-the-raw-materials-show-through-naivety-error/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The name is not important anymore - it's the tone that counts. I feel like an old dog I know. He will come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/the-name-is-not-important-anymore-it-s-the-tone-that-counts-i-feel/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) [Browse all 703 Carrie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carrie/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon – it is the very heart of painting. Repeated experiments with adjacent colors will show that any ground subtracts its own hue from the colors which it carries and therefore influences.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josef Albers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curious-optical-phenomenon-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carrie" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curious-optical-phenomenon-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/josef-albers-9747_carrie_simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curi_1750424.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon – it is the very heart of painting. Repeated…” — 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": "Simultaneous contrast is not just a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curious-optical-phenomenon-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/simultaneous-contrast-is-not-just-a-curious-optical-phenomenon-it-is/#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 } } ] } ```