Color & Emotion

Color has the power to evoke complex emotional responses, as well as psychological and physiological responses. Certain colors can have cultural or individual associations, such as on a country’s flag or representing a group of individuals. They can be used as symbols or able to set a mood. Colors often have contradictory associations. For example, red can symbolize danger and anger, yet it can also symbolize love and happiness. Only context can provide clues to a color’s meaning or emotional impact.

I’d say one of the most interesting theoretical aspects of color is the one that proposes black as not being a real color, because it is not found in the natural spectrum. In the 19th century, painters began to stop using black altogether. I think this is interesting, because if you mix all the colors of the spectrum together- you get black. It is the absorption of all colors that creates black; therefore it is a real color. Yet beautiful paintings still emerged and I still know of painters today who refuse to use black.

In the Color video, I was really blown away by the bit on Monet. Monet believed if you looked at nature long enough, you would see only color. The shapes and forms would lose their meaning and merely become defined only by their color. I think that this theory can be applied to objects and manmade things as well. It’s overwhelming to think of living in a world of swirling color.

In the Feelings video, I found the works of Goya the most interesting. Here we see the artist painting strictly from his imagination. He is painting the unwanted and the unmentionable. Naturally, these images depicted are evoking feelings of fear or anger, etc. Goya shows negativity and shows how religion can be changed throughout his paintings. He began to depict hell and darkness. I can imagine how different these paintings were compared to the other works being created at the time.