171 Assignment 5

Artists have developed and influenced our understanding of "colour vision" through vast experimentation and investigation in the understanding of how colours work in conjunction with the science of vision, with light and shadow and through representation. There is an ongoing debate of colour in relation to objective and subjective truth.

The understanding of colour began with Newton's colour wheel. Newton was a scientist and had investigated the properties of colour through understanding the spectrum and white light breaking into the colour spectrum through a prism. His way of thinking about colour was scientific and rationalised, and it wasn't until another scientist, Michel Eugene Cherreul, investigated his theory of simultaneous contrast, that colour was related more to the way we perceive it. For example, the same tone of orange will look darker on a yellow background than on blue, when compared next to each other.

Goethe was the first to publicly appose Newton's scientific take on colour measurement theory, as he belived it was more subjective and less rational. Goethe states, "Painting is truer for the eye than reality itself . It presents what man would like to see and should see, not what he habitually sees." (Gage, 1999) Phillip Otto Runge and J.W.M. Turner were both artists that experimented with Goeth's theory and ideas of colours by perception and the effects of light and dark. Turner's work especially works began to develop a real sense of emotion, a sense of what it was like to be there in that moment and this was very abstract compared to the usual representational works of the time. It was an innovation as the works were more representations of the emotions rather than the actual subject matter. For example, darker colours expressed negative emotions, whilst lighter colours showed positive emotions.

With the impressionism art movement, came optical mixing of colours. This was about capturing a vision and recording what was seen directly giving a vibrant vitality to paintings. Optical mixing created true colour representation. Next the post-impressionism movement had artists like Vincent Van Gogh, who colour vision became very subjective for. Expressive colours were used to portray feelings and often the artist's psychological state. Van Gogh explains his work, "The Night Cafe" painted in 1888, "I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green." (Gage, 1999)

It is clear through modern times that these experiments and explorations of colour have influenced our understanding of colour vision. I believe especially the investigations into the subjective truth of colour has influenced us, as emotions, abstraction, expressions and representativeness with colour remain large parts of innovative design today. Without the investigations of the past we would not have the same understanding of colour that we currently have.

References:

Gage, John (1999). Colour and Culture; Practice Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction. (1st Edition). California, United States of America: University of California Press

171 Assignment 4

"The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use." - Adolf Loos, 1908

Adolf Loos's thoughts on modern design were similar to those of other design reformists, talked about in previous blog assignment. He believed that ornamentation of objects was seductive, a way of hiding bad construction underneath, distracting, and takes away from the user experience. He also believed that ornamentation and decoration of objects in his time period, early 18th Century, held back the cultural development of civilization. In his essay, "Ornament and Crime", he says "Ornament is not merely produced by criminals, it commits a crime itself by damaging national economy and therefore its cultural development." Taking into account the culture and values of this time period, I somewhat agree with Adolf Loos. After reading his essay, I agree with his thoughts on society at the time, wasting their money and damaging the economy on expensive embellished objects when modern and simple objects were cheaper, as well as overworking craftsmen when manufacturing could take less time without the embellishments. Loos states in "Ornament and Crime", "Decorated plates are expensive, while white crockery, which is pleasing to the modern individual, is cheap. Whilst one person saves money, the other becomes insolvent. This happens to entire nations."

Saying this, I do not share the same passion as him for this point, when he explains that those who endorse ornament are "criminals" I cannot agree. With his point, "If I want to eat a piece of gingerbread I will choose one that is completely plain and not a piece which represents a baby in the arms of a horse rider, a piece that is covered over and over with decoration." I disagree. It feel as though ornamentation and decoration can increase your experience with the design. Ornamentation and what the object looks like can aid how inviting it is to interact with and use. In modern times, ornamentation of it can add pleasure to the experience, through visual stimulation and engagement, and has no relation to the culture of society or someones education. I believe an object will always be more inviting and exciting to use if it is aesthetically pleasing. 

I can understand how in his time period, the past embellishment seemed unnecessary, expensive and a waste of resources and man power but bringing his thoughts into the modern times that I live in, I can argue that sometimes a little ornamentation can add to an experience, and those who use it and like it are not "criminals". I do not believe the evolution of culture was effected to the extent that Adolf Loos describes in, "Ornament and Crime" with the removal of ornamentation. Over 100 years on from when this essay was written, ornamentation and aesthetics are still an important part of design, as designers are forever pushing the boundaries, with utility and aesthetics of designs. Examples of this can be seen in a lot of footwear today. I have chosen an image of some high-heels that are more like works of art! Jeffrey Campbell is a well known fashion footwear designer and has designed these "Spicy Platform Boots". They are covered in ornamentation with the design of the union jack embellished over the shoes in glitter. The ornamentation does not relate to the utility of the shoes, but is more for the aesthetics of the design. This shows that ornamentation and aesthetics of design are still important and even with ornamentation, culture and society has evolved successfully into modern times.

Spicy Platform Boot, Jeffrey Campbell
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