Both Alberses loved the vibrant colors of their acquisitions, as well as their repetitive, geometric forms. They also admired the ingenuity of pre-Columbian artisans in working with meager materials. Josef liked to paint on cheap wooden board, preferring its hard surface to canvas, while Anni incorporated paper and cellophane into her weaving, and made jewelry from corks, washers and paper clips.
And when Anni published her book “On Weaving” in 1965, she paid a formal tribute to some of her favorite pre-Columbian artisans by dedicating it to “my great teachers, the weavers of ancient Peru.”