The Interaction of Color by Josef Albers in its original form is a masterwork of a brilliant colorist and artist. The original hardcover edition has 150 color plates to illustrate the often complex explanations of the characteristics of color and as the title implies the interaction between colors.
When the book was revised and put out in softcover it only included 10 color plates. If the book is used in conjunction with a color theory class the missing examples aren't as much of an issue since an instructor could explain or illustrate a particular phenomena of color to help the student grasp the theory. For the independent reader however the reduced number of illustrations may make it difficult to fully understand some of the concepts Albers reveals.
This spring a new softcover edition of the book was released and it includes more color plates than the original softcover which was a step in the right direction. Recently I was delighted to learn that the originally published Interaction of Color is soon to be available for the first time in a CD-ROM edition, "extending Josef Albers`s color teaching into the realm of the computer and revealing a range of miraculous color effects in a new medium, including the way that one color can appear as two and how disparate colors can appear alike in varying settings," according to the publisher.
I spoke to Jessica Csoma, Curatorial Assistant at the Josef and Annie Albers Foundation and she confirmed that the CD-ROM edition will include all of the original color plates. At $39.95 the cost is considerably higher than the revised paperback edition but far less expensive than the going price for a used copy of the original edition if you can even find one. This book(CD) is packed with information that is invaluable it you truly want to understand how color works.
The Interaction of Color CD-Rom Edition is not scheduled for release until next summer but you can place a pre-order from Amazon so that you can be among the first to secure a copy.
