Not a Box & Homage to the Square/Red Series, Untitled III
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis and Homage to a Square/Red Series, Untitled III by Josef Albers
Featured Book: Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Featured Artwork: Homage to the Square/Red Series, Untitled III (1968) by Josef Albers
In Homage to the Square/Red Series, Untitled III, Josef Albers (American, 1888–1976) painted squares in different shades of red to explore the effects of color combinations. Do you think these squares are stacked on top of each other, or do they seem to sink into each other like a tunnel? By playing with color and shape, Albers transformed simple red squares into something more than meets the eye.
In Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, a little rabbit shows us how a box is not a box when you use your imagination. You can sit in it, stand on top of it, even wear it, and it can become a race car, a mountain and a robot—not a box.
Inspired by Albers and Portis's Rabbit, find a box at home—a shoe box, cardboard box, tea box, etc.—and some colorful papers, scissors, glue and markers. Then use your imagination to transform your box into your very own not-a-box. The possibilities are endless.
If you don’t have access to the featured book, select something similar from your child’s book shelf or your local library. Many of the books are also available as read-aloud videos online.