Itten and color

Johannes Itten, born in Switzerland, was very influential in forming a new way to classify color. Early in his career he was a schoolteacher, but after becoming bored with this role he enrolled into the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and later studied under Eugene Gillard. In the early 1900's, Itten went to teach at the Bauhaus where his interest in mysticism and color excelled. It was in this new environment surrounded by other avant garde artists that Itten created his color theory.
In the Art Of Color, Itten created color wheels in the shapes of stars, spheres, and circles where he hoped to, " to provide a clear and complete map of the world of color." He used his scientific knowledge along with his interest in psychology and mysticism to develop a way to organize color. He emphasized the individual and taught color perception was unique to the individual. Color harmony was also a staple of his teachings which looked into balance and symmetry. Itten was also very interested in the psychological implications of colors.
Itten was an extremely influential person in the forming of the Bauhaus and how we view color today. For various reasons, Itten was forced to resign in 1923 and was replaced by Moholy-Nagy. Later, he went to open his own art and architecture school in Berlin.

Sources: http://www.dezignare.com/newsletter/Johannes_Itten.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Itten
http://members.tripod.com/~FroebelWeb/web2018.html

the color of the universe

What color is the universe? If you could hold the entire universe in the palm of your hands, what would it look like? Apparently scientists have asked this question too, and by measuring the light from 200,000 galaxies from a large volume of space, astronomers have put together a rough idea of what color the universe is. Of course there are many colors that we humans cannot see, so these astronomers used the data that applies to the human eye.
There are other problems that arise too. Under what illumination will we be viewing the universe? From their findings, under illumination D65 (close to the illumination of the setting sun), the universe appears reddish white, and under indoor lighting the universe appears blue. According to these astronomers though, the best answer is close to white. That's why the illumination factor plays such a strong role.
To me, this information seems naturally flawed. If we don't know the size of the universe, how can we determine its color? 200,000 galaxies seem like a lot to us, but do we know this is a good representation? Either way, it's extremely interesting and can probably tell us a lot more about the universe.

Source: http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~kgb/cosspec/

Are colors natural and inherent properties of physical objects? Or does the viewer determine, through the act of looking, the color of an object. Are the colors we see just an illusion manifested in our brains? I do not know the answer to these questions and they are questions that have been asked for ages. In some respects, I think it's a waste of time to ask these questions. A lot of our lives are dependent on our perceiving them and if we were able to answer this question, it would only raise many other questions and leave us just as confused. But there are many fun and interesting color illusion websites that can get you thinking on the topic. Such as this website: http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/color-e.html.
The Illusion Theory of Color puts forth that in our experience, objects have colors, but in reality, color is not an inherent property in the nature of the object. The sky and ocean appear to be blue, but they are not blue in the way we understand it. Some theories say the ocean is blue because it is reflecting the sky, but the sky is not really blue at all, that is just the way we see it. When the sun's rays enter our atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen scatter the rays on the shorter end of the wavelength the most (violet and blue). Since our eyes are more sensitive to blue, that is how we see it.
If objects don't really possess color, then why do we see them? I think color is a human adaptation that allows us to differentiate areas of interest and danger. Don't eat those yellow berries, eat these nice red ones! Although, the berries might not be red, just the way our brain perceives them, it is irrevelent if it can keep you alive. The strongest will is the one to survive, and it doesn't matter where information comes from as long as it's useful.


Sources: http://www.why-is-the-sky-blue.tv/why-is-the-sky-blue.htm
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/color/#Ill

symbols and colors

Color has evolved over the course of the ages to symbolize many different things. Through cultural and social construction, colors have taken on psychological properties of their own, but none of these properties are concrete. For different cultures and times, colors can have very different meanings. For instance, in the United States it is almost ingrained in our heads that weddings are associated with the color white, perhaps alluding to the virginal and pure. In Japan and other parts of Asia though, the color white was often worn at funerals.
Color theorist Faber Birren created categories for the varying levels of color symbolism. These included general appearance, mental associations, direct associations, objective impressions, and subjective impressions. Each color has not only one association, but many when viewed in different contexts. Red can symbolize St. Valentine's day, but it is also often associated with rage. Often green is associated with the eco-friendly movement, but it is also symbolic of money.
There are many people that believe that certain colors will yield a consistent and specific response from people. There are many psychologists though that have found through various studies that there is no clear response to color and that emotional responses to certain colors were inconsistent. Regardless of this information, many people used color to heal. Called "color consultants", these people try to alleviate stress through color. For instance, they've found that babies cry less when the color of there room is not yellow and prisoners are less violet when their rooms are pink. This is not a new fad though. For centuries, people have been using color to heal.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_symbolism
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/color2.htm

What color is the letter A? B? C? Some people hardly have to think and can immediately tell you the color of a letter, a number, or even a sound. This experience is called synesthesia, and for most people who experience it, it is an immensely pleasurable sensation. A sentence can take on a rich array of colors in the mind of the synesthete. The particular form of synesthesia that deals with color is called grapheme and is completely involuntary.
Dr. Richard Cytowic defines synesthesia with the five following factors:

1. Synesthetic images are spatially extended, meaning they often have a definite 'location'.
2. Synesthesia is involuntary and automatic.
3. Synesthetic percepts are consistent and generic (i.e. simple rather than imagistic).
4. Synesthesia is highly memorable.
5. Synesthesia is laden with affect.

Source: (Cytowic 2002, pp. 67-69; Cytowic 2003, pp. 76-77):

Many people to experience this phenomenon are able to utilize it in a creative and helpful way such as painting or as an aid for memorization. One woman recalls learning how to spell by remembering what color scheme it had. The prevalence of this phenomenon is unknown ranging everywhere from 1 in 20 to 1 in 20,000, but most researchers agree the cause is genetic. It is not uncommon to see a large percentage of synesthetes in families. Below is a link about a man who experiences synthesia : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1079759211897095671&q=Synesthesia&total=444&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
http://web.mit.edu/synesthesia/www/

Colors and Others

We don't all see the same, and when we apply that statement towards different species, it becomes something more than a matter of opinion. It's very hard to assess what other animals see when they don't possess the capability of human communication, obviously, but many scientists attribute the ability to see color towards certain genes. For example, a dichromat lacks certain genes and proteins that enable him/her to see color, while a trichromat is able to distinguish colors outside of the white/gray/black spectrum.
It is argued that birds have the most interesting color vision out of any group of animals, and it makes sense when you think about the rich, colorful plummage that many birds have. Most likely an evolutionary mutation allowed them to experience colors in the ultraviolet range. So there are many colors birds can see that we humans cannot. This might be attributed to the extra cone cell that is found in the avian eye.
Cones are the cells found in our eyes that allow us to interpret color. The cone cells found in bird's eyes allow them to see color in bright light and double cone cells allow them to see color in normal light situations. The human eye contains 200,000 cones per square millimeter, while there are 400,000 cone cells per square millimeter found in the House Sparrow. It's amazing to think what it must be like to see like a bird!


Sources: 1.http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/10/16/pandavision_ani.html?category=animals&guid=20061016093000
2. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=23047

commercial colors

Advertisers take into account every detail to ensure their product looks appealing to their target audience. Color is most certainly not ignored. While advertising to the younger crowd, bright, playful colors are used on such items as candy, cereals, and toys. Inside the mind of a frantic, sugar -fueled six year old, bright intense colors signal the way to their next sugar fix. Like a bull seeing red, these young tikes are drawn automatically to those colors that stick out like a sore thumb. And advertisers know and use this information to the fullest.
When advertising to the older audience, more complicated ideas are subtly put into the mix. The simple formula of using bright colors to grab one's attention prove to be unappealing on some products. For instance, the beers shown above might offend a consumer if packaged in bright, pastel colors. So instead, our friends at Bud and Miller pick strong all-American colors that suggest a manly and patriotic brew. The pastels and bright colors are reserved for the wine-coolers.