Color is an odd element of art that is used to make the art visually appealing as well as influence emotion. What makes color so unique is the fact that nothing really has color, it is just reflected light rays. This can be clearly demonstrated with crystals my mother used to hang in the window or the use of prisms. Prisms have the ability to take white light, or light with no defining color to our eyes, and refract the light into the colors we see. This was discovered by Sir Isaac Newton with his experiments using sunlight and prisms. We are able to see objects such as a yellow car because light that is hitting the car is being absorbed by it, all but the yellow lights. Therefore this gives us the impression that that car is yellow. It is bizarre and intriguing to me that color is just light being reflected or refracted a certain way. It just goes to prove how the human body perceives the world and how art has such an effect on our brains as our brains have an effect on art.
Color is more to art then making the art piece visually appealing, it has the ability to enhance or inspire emotion. To some people blue is used to stand for sadness, however for others blue can stand for stability and order, therefore color is subjective to one’s personal feelings and cultural feelings. For example red, white and blue is symbolic to American because that signifies freedom and patriotism. To other people around the world these colors can mean something very different to them. Color has the capability to enhance a strong emotional connecting with a certain place. For instance the video Color (digital.films.com) , explained a pictured painted by Vincent Van Gogh. In this picture the clash of the colors red and green are supposed to represent terrible, maddening feelings the inside of a small café gave him. To Van Gogh this color scheme was perfectly normal because he was representing his own feelings through his color choices.
The video Color, discussed the history of paint and color dating back to the renaissance age. This video discussed how paint made in this era was a combination of raw materials from the Earth and different techniques when manipulating these items into pain. Beetles were crushed up to make a bright red pigment, while lapis, which is a semi-precious stone, makes an intense blue color. When the paint was finished before the time a metal tubes painters would use pig bladders in order to hold and maintain their paints. This is all fascinating because painters in that era would have to derive their materials from the Earth which would give emotional connections to the process of making art in addition to seeing the finished product.
The video Feelings: Emotions and Art (digital.films.com) focused on the Renaissance era as well as focused on two painters Francisco Goya (1746-1888) and Jacques Louis David (1748-1825). These two artist were the exact opposite when it came to their paintings, however they did share a common thought about the times they were living in. Goya tended to show the darker side of people. With his use of dark tones, shadows, and weird facial expressions Goya was able to represent the monstrous side of people, the unwanted side. His “black paintings” were especially dark with one or two color differences which indicated dark and sinister meanings. Goya represented how reason and knowledge will lead to truly knowing oneself but unreason will always be there through his dark and depressing color choices as well as subject matter. David on the other hand believed humans were not constricted by a gods will but believed in the higher values with man himself. His paintings were to invoke emotions that were motivating and were meant to mirror a man’s noble soul. His realistic way of painting showed he believed religion was irrational and no god’s will were more important than human feelings. Both artists were able to invoke emotions with the use of color by connecting a religious story to a color rich painting or relating the emotion of madness with the use of dark depressing tones.
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