Color Theory: A Critical Introduction

Description

Giving an overview of the history of color theory from ancient and classical cultures to contemporary contexts, this book explores important critical principles and provides practical guidance on the use of color in art and design. Going beyond a simple recitation of what has historically been said about color, artist and educator Aaron Fine provides an intellectual history, critiquing prevailing Western ideas on the subject and challenging assumptions. He analyses colonialist and gendered attitudes, materialist and romanticist perspectives, spiritualist approaches to color, color in the age of reproduction, and modernist and post-modernist color strategies. Highlighted throughout are examples of the ways in which attitudes towards color have been impacted by the legacy of colonialism and are tied up with race, gender, and class. Topics covered include color models, wheels and charts, color interaction and theories of perception, with over 150 images throughout. By placing under-examined tenets of color theory such as the color wheel and color primaries within the Western industrial context that generated them, Fine helps you to connect color choices to color meanings and apply theory to practice. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS About the cover INTRODUCTION: COLOR IN CONTEXT—PINK IS PRIMARY Color activities Of paradigm shifts Critical principles What is color? References CHAPTER 1 NATURAL RESOURCES AND TRADE: COLOR USE IN TRADITIONAL CULTURES Faber Birren Dark and light Red Environment and trade Mandalas Race, gender, and class Color Use Activity 1.1 Other colors—color as substance Berlin and Kay, and the absence of blue Ancient Egyptian color Esoteric color and the decline of the senses Color Use Activity 1.2 Conclusion References CHAPTER 2 KNOWING AT A DISTANCE: COLOR PROBLEMS IN ANCIENT GREEK THOUGHT Introduction General notes on color in ancient Greek philosophy Attitudes to color in ancient Greek culture Pre-Socratic philosophy, a brief overview Is/Becomes The opposites Color Use Activity 2.1 The achromatic imagination The invalidity of the senses Ancient Greek epistemology Optics Conclusions about Pre-Socratic color theory Color Use Activity 2.2 Socrates and the Sophists Plato Aristotle Color use in Greek art Color Use Activity 2.3 Alternative narratives about Greek culture Conclusion References CHAPTER 3 STAINED GLASS AND ILLUMINATIONS: EUROPEAN AND ISLAMIC COLOR THEORY BEFORE GALILEO Differing color needs, differing color applications The Byzantine period Iconoclasts and iconophiles Color use in Byzantine art Color Use Activity 3.1 Islam Color in Islamic art and architecture Medieval color theory Color use in medieval art Color Use Activity 3.2 Renaissance color theory Alberti Vasari Color in Renaissance art Color Use Activity 3.3 Leonardo Conclusion References CHAPTER 4 PRISMS, MIRRORS, AND LENSES: THE NEWTONIAN REVOLUTION The scientific revolution Galileo on color Rationalism Empiricism Newton’s Opticks Color Use Activity 4.1 Cultural impact of Newton’s Opticks British empiricism after Locke Color Activity 4.2 Color use during the scientific revolution Conclusion References CHAPTER 5 ROMANTICISM AND CHROMOPHOBIA: THE CREATION OF COLOR THEORY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Poetry in the Romantic tradition Ideologies of the nineteenth century Goethe as scientist Goethe’s Farbenlehre Color Use Activity 5.1 The evolution of color models Color theory in the wake of Goethe Color use during the Industrial Revolution The invention of photography Color Use Activity 5.2 Chromolithography and mass visual culture The Crystal Palace and the Grammar of Ornament Color use in painting: Romanticism and other alternatives to the academy Conclusion References CHAPTER 6 THE SCIENCE OF THE INVISIBLE: COLOR CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS AND SPIRITUAL COLOR Color nomenclature for naturalists Contending with disciplinary fragmentation Early childhood education during the Industrial Revolution Smuttynose Island and the origins of the Munsell color system The Munsell color sphere and its successors Evolving uses of the Munsell color system Colorimetry and color forecasting Color Use Activity 6.1 Spiritualism and the occult Rudolf Steiner Steiner on art and color Occult theory, science, color, and race Claude Bragdon Color Use Activity 6.2 Color use: culture and counterculture Color use: from Manet to the Fauves Color use on the Electric Avenue Hilma af Klint and spiritual color use Conclusion References CHAPTER 7 HIGH MODERN: COLOR USE AT THE BAUHAUS AND IN ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM Before the Bauhaus The Bauhaus idea Bauhaus terminology Color Use Activity 7.1 The “Basic Course” Itten’s color whee Ostwald Klee The dadaist counter-narrative The surrealist counter-narrative Color Use Activity 7.2 Early modern color use Migration to the US Black Mountain College Albers Color Use Activity 7.3 Interaction of color Hofmann Pollock Greenberg Color Use Activity 7.4 Photography and color Architecture and color High modern color theory Conclusion References CHAPTER 8 POSTMODERN: CONTEMPORARY DIRECTIONS IN COLOR USE Benjamin and color in the age of mechanical reproduction Ludwig Wittgenstein Wittgenstein on color Language and color Color science in the age of color standardization Chirimuuta Color and information Color use through the turn of the millennium Color in the age of information Color Use Activity 8.1 Postmodernism and post-formal color Conceptualism in postmodern art: pop and feminist art Contemporary exploration of color as racial signifi er Contemporary exploration of color science and technology Vexillogical color Color Use Activity 8.2 The modernist stance among diverse perspectives Approaches to color use Commencement References GLOSSARY INDEX