When it comes to color and how it's used there's a variety of ways to utilize it in a way to express different themes, emotions and symbolism. Although color tends to have a nature of being extremely objective as how colors are displayed and arranged can impact how a viewer will interpret a message for a piece of work. In this journal entry it will be exploring artists such as Josef Albers and Henri Matisse that have become one of the many known artists that have experimented with colors in a way of expressing emotions.
Josef Albers
(Image of Josef Albers)
Josef Albers was a professor that at the start of his career he started teaching at the Bauhaus in Germany in 1933. However, after the rise of Germsn nationalism the Nazi party closed down the school where after he went on to the United States where he taught at a few schools until he finally ended up teaching at Yale University. Alber was interested in the effects of color, which basically implies the idea that color has an unpredictable nature that we as viewers can't always view colors the same each time. Furthermore, the tone of which colors are arranged affect the mood that the viewer gets. Different arrangements and compositions can impact how we view and understand colors by means of the hue, contrast ect. The artwork down below that I have chosen is one of Alber’s pieces that I believe showcases the essence of what Albers theories were about colors.
Albers: "Homage to the Square: "Gained" 1959
Whitney Museum of American Art, 101.6 × 101.6 cm, Oil on composition board, Josef Albers, “Homage to the Square: "Gained"1959
When it comes to the way an artist may use color there are three categorical ways which would be local, optical and expressive. Local is when the natural color of an object shows through and hasn't been modified by creating depth, for example the color of the sky is blue, well without using clouds and shading to express a time of day the color is just optical, solid. While expressive color choice is more deliberate and the color used may not fit the color scheme in the piece, for example if an artist places a yellow line across a cave over a blue background it could symbolize a horizon. Lastly, when optical is when an artist uses multiple colors positioned in a series next to each other that causes the viewers to see colors in a different way, this method can be noted in Josef Albers work as discussed above. In the case of Albers he uses optical color as a way of causing the viewers to see the red as being darker which then causes the yellow to appear darker even though it would be the lightest color displayed.
Futher Experimentation With Color: Matisse's, "Joy To Life 1905"
In “Joy of Life” by Matisse that was created between 1905-06 he was attempting to achieve a high level of expression through the use of colors. His use of color is a clear example of fauvism that can be seen by other pioneers in the venturing art movement. The most notable artists that have used this technique of painting would be André Derain of France, who explored this way of painting as Matisse has in his works. The colors being warmer and lighter hues used were purply expressive in nature to help aid in portraying a particular mood in this case within in this painting the mood could be viewed as a leisurely afternoon in a forest of sorts. Also it's notable to point out that the proportions and proportions of the figures displayed in the painting are not correct however it just adds to the experimentation that Matisse was doing with this particular work.
Final Thoughts
Color is a lense into the natural world where it helps artists draw attention to different tones and moods that come from it or create new themes and tones. Most of the time color is a tool in which that artost can use to express an aura of a given subject in a more expresstive manner. Given the subjective nature of colors there is more than enough room for exprimation just as previous artists have and continue to do to explore the effect that colors have on interpretation and the world around us.
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