a gummybear

Moving on from Forrest Gump, we finally ventured into colours for Ego. Colour is a visual perception, projected through the wavelength of light against the biological structure of our eyeballs. There is a wide spectrum of colours that is humanly possible to see, shown below. Other animals like birds can see up to five or seven colours, compared to the three primary colours that humans can see. Some unfortunate ones, mostly sea creatures, can only see up to two, (blue or red) since the ocean has a limited colour scheme. The triptych below shows the comparison of vision between a ferret, human and a ladybird. In this comparison, the inherent feeling achieved from the same flower is different in the three subjects: the ferret sees a heavy setting with a depressed looking flower; the human seeing a purple flower with a pink interior; the ladybird seeing a saturated green flower with a yellow interior. This is the result of colour psychology.

Comparison of animal visions

Colour psychology is the effects of different colour on human behaviour and perception, with different colours having a different inherent effect.

Blue is an intellectual colour that recedes into the background. This is because the colour is inherently cooling, hinting of strong clear thought and light calmness of mind. However, it can also remind people of coldness and loneliness, such as Pablo Picasso’s blue series.

Red is a physical colour that pops out of the foreground, stimulating the eyes. It is visually strong and powerful, no subtlety in the traits. It can be perceived as either friendliness or aggressiveness, depending how the energy is perceived.

Pink is a colour derived from changing the tint of red, thus it is a physical colour. Pink soothes the viewer physically. However, over-usage of pink can be visually draining.Yellow is an emotional colour that stems from both spectrum. It is both optimistic and depressive. This is because the yellow light has the longest wavelength and is visually stimulating. The over-saturation of yellow would incite anxiety, commonly seen in traffic police coats.

Green is a balanced colour, seemingly because it is in the middle of the colour spectrum. It is harmonious, being found in nature. It requires no visual adjustments, thus easy on the eyes. It is a primitive reminder of humans of peace since a lush green reminds of food. water and settlement.

Purple is spiritually aggressive, but also suppressive. It has the shortest wavelength out of all the colours, but having the strong polarity in its effects. Purple can remind viewers of royalty and luxury, but excessive use can bring out introspection, and also inferiority.

Orange is a passionate colour that can be derivative also. Since it is a combination of red and yellow, it is both a physical and emotional colour. It inherits traits of both yellow and red, mostly its vibrancy and energy. However, too much orange can bring frivolity, drawing out intellectual values.

Grey is psychologically neutral, but is also suppressive in nature. It visually draws the audience into a murky space. However, it can be a sign of insecurity and fear of exposure, compared to black.

Black is a strong colour that hints of sophistication. It can also be menacing due to the lack of details. The bold body of black can absorb colour, becoming a protective barrier. There is an absolute clarity, with no subtle nuances in the colour.

White is the opposite of black, being reflective in nature than absorptive. It is sterile and pure, giving a false sense of space, very much like black.

Saturation is the intensity of a colour, how red becomes pink when desaturated, then proceed to fade into a plan white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                  Value is the brightness or darkness of a colour. When the value of black is increased, it becomes grey, then proceeding to become white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Colour harmony is the arrangement of these colours, using their physical properties and placing them in the best combinations.

Monochromatic is used when there is only one colour, creating a composition that is very detailed with a sole focus of the subject matter.

Picasso’s Blue Painting- Celestina

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Analogous are colours adjacent to one another on the colour wheel. They are seen as peaceful and typically can be found in nature.

Analogous Colours

Claude Monet’s Sunrise

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Complementary are opposing colours on the colour wheel, they are naturally pleasing to be paired off together. However, they tend to be used with one colour more predominantly than the other, especially the visually weaker colour.

Complementary Colour
Van Gogh The Starry Night

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Split Complementary is when one end of the complementary colour is split and accompanied with the other end. It creates a joyful and energetic composition.

Split Complementary
Henri Matisse The Dance

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Triadic is when three colours of equal distance on the colour wheel is placed together. It is often cartoonish and surrealistic.

Triadic Colours
Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe

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Tetratic (Double Complementary) is two pairs of opposing colours, best used for background/foreground compositions. Although advised to not used with 25% for each colour.

http://www.tigercolor.com/Images/Tetrad.gif

 

Bernandino Mei Christ Cleansing the Temple

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A jar of ink

After an in depth discussion of the reference artists, i took to understanding that emotions are mainly the vessels at which artists sought out in art, such as Jackson Pollock who painted his feelings directly from his mind (through his kinetic motions) into drips of paint.

Artists also used spontaneity to create a dynamic composition, like how Cai Guo Qiang does, crafting works that are almost impossible to recreate due to the unlikely probability of repeated action.

There are also artists who weigh the balance between emotions and spirituality, such as Hilma Klint, who expressed her worship while paralleling to her own emotions in her work.

With reference to these artists, of course with a pinch of salt, i embarked on a journey of exploration with ink. In my perspective, humanity’s spirituality or mysticism from early ages have always been greatly linked to the emotions of a deitified being (God from whichever religion). For example, a forest fire or lightning storm has always been associated with anger while a river of clear water or light gale by the sea has been an insignia of peace and tranquility. I would want to use this mystic school of thought to experiment with the lines, since the primordial aspect of collecting naturally textured items and spontaneity of paint splatters brings art back to its raw form- i would want to associate my 6 emotions with 6 different elements of mysticism elements.

Ice/Sadness

In this task of investigating Sadness, i am trying to convey the idea of withdrawn isolation as a literal and poetic cold shoulder, forming the artwork’s characteristics as traits i see in Ice. I am trying to portray the sharpness of ice, as well as the glacier’s infinite facades that are very diamond-esque. The first photograph shows a spontaneous attempt using a 30 cm ruler to mark out strong sharp lines congregating in the centre, like a  snowflake. The 2nd photograph is slight more controlled, with a smaller number of long lines flaked with smaller cuts around.  In both attempts, the paper is folded prior to create a background of receding lines. I would also experiment with more paper quality to bring out the sharpness, e.g. sandpaper.

Fire/Fear

In the task of investigating Fear, I wanted to explore the idea of fearing the unknown, thus i drew inspiration from the idea of smoke created by fire- elements greatly inspired by Cai Guo Qiang. I layered patches of ink made by fluffs of tissue, attempting to layer it into a cloud of smoke, concentrating in the middle. However due to time limitations, i was not able to bring out the depth of the smoke.

Electricity/Love

The last of this post, i am trying to convey the idea of Love. In my understanding, it would be intense and paralyzing, supposedly electrifying- as literal as it sounds. I took a wire brush and dipped it in paint, attempting to create a few spirals of magnetic waves undulating around the corners, forming a  dynamic composition of short lines travelling together. The top photograph was an attempt for stronger and heavier strokes, while the bottom photograph was tasked to be more clean cut and curvier.