Vibrating Boundaries (work of art)

The vibrant colors and geometric patterns in this installation were inspired by artworks in the NCMA collection. These include traditional egúngún masquerade costumes from Nigeria that feature overlapping layers of fabric. Other works at the NCMA that influenced the artist’s design choices include 20th-century abstract paintings and handmade quilts from the American South.

The title of this work comes from a chapter in a book by artist Josef Albers. His 1963 book, Interaction of Color, explores color theory, perception, and experimentation. To create this installation, Clippinger drew from Albers’s ideas about color and the ways that colors interact with each other. This work is an example of an optical illusion known as simultaneous contrast. It works like this: when two complementary colors of similar brightness are placed side by side, one of the colors appears to be darker or lighter than the one beside it.

I’m interested in how formal relationships of color, shape, texture, and scale can both reflect and inform emotional states. As an abstract artist who works with geometric shapes and patterns, I’m drawn to motifs that span cultures, and I think about how such symbols can produce a universal or shared visual language.

Martha Clippinger

• Read an article about the optical illusion known as simultaneous contrast.
• Watch a video that highlights connections between the work of Martha Clippinger and the work of artist Josef Albers.
• Read an article about Albers’s ideas about the ways in which colors interact with one another. 

Resources for Students

• Watch a video of the installation of Vibrating Boundaries at the NCMA.
• Visit Clippinger’s website to read her artist bio and see more examples of her work.
• Watch a short video of the artist discussing the process she uses to design and create woven, geometric-patterned works.