FYP 2016/2017
Sem 1 Review, 4 Nov 2016
SEEING COLOURS Goh Shuhui / U1330346B
TOPIC
“In visual perception a colour is almost never seen as it really is – as it physically is. This fact makes colour the most relative medium in art.” – Josef Albers
Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://albersfoundation.org/teaching/josef-albers/interaction-of-color/ publications/overview/
TOPIC
Abstract Is seeing colour always believing? This project will be placing emphasis on observation and articulation of colour through urban media art experiments into colour deception (illusion), the relativity and instability of colour. The basis of this project is influenced by 20th century German-born American artist, poet, printmaker, and educator Josef Albers and his revolutionising studies into the art of seeing. In particular, the project is seeking to cultivate a new way of understanding and appreciating colour in public art setting. Through exploration of the art, science and psychology, the outcome will be visual mind-bending media art piece featuring colour optical illusions.
Josef Albers Portfolio 'Homage to the Square', 1967 Screen Prints 620 x 620 mm
JOSEF ALBERS, Portfolio 'Homage to the Square', 19 [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9980841_josefalbers-portfolio-homage-to-the-square-19
TOPIC
Aims The aims of this project is to: t &YQMPSF UIF USBEJUJPOT PG DPMPVS TUVEJFT JUT JMMVTJPOT relativity and instability t %FMJWFS IJHI JNQBDUGVM QSPKFDU UIBU JT OPU BFTUIFUJDBMMZ beautiful but also brings awareness of colour to public t %FWFMPQ QVCMJD BSU JOTUBMMBUJPO UIBU CSJOHT DPMPVS CBDL to people t &YQBOE QFSTPOBM WJTVBM WPDBCVMBSZ BOE HSBQIJD design skills with the use of mix new media (motion graphics, animation, illustrations) on a large scale within the new media platform
Mark Chavez The Rose, 2016 Urban Screen
t 5SBOTMBUF UIF PVUDPNF PG QVCMJD BSU UP QSJOU The Rose [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://mediaartnexus.com/man/featured/the-rose/
RESEARCH
Methodology / Literature Review
Brain Perceives Colour 1SPGFTTPS (FSSJU .BVT %JWJTJPO PG 1TZDIPMPHZ JO /56 )44 NFOUJPOFE UIBU PVS brain does not measure colours but it perceives based on given information from the eyes. Our visual field captures colour with its surroundings as “the brain forms colours by comparing objects to their background” as it does not “operate with the mechanical faithfulness of a camera which records everything impartially”. The appearance of colour is also dependent on the state of the perceiver and the conditions of viewing. Thompson, E. (1995). Physiology and psychophysics. In Colour Vision: A Study in Cognitive Science and Philosophy of Science (p. 57). Routledge. Arnheim, R. (1974). Shape. In Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye (Expanded and revised ed., p. 43). University of California Press. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://aminotes.tumblr.com/post/596122630/mark-changizi-on-brains-perception-of-the-world
RESEARCH
Methodology / Literature Review
Experience of Colour “To perceive colours means to “experience”; to become conscious or aware.” Many factors are involved in this process in both conscious and unconscious level that makes it hard to define the experience in a systematic way. Frank Mahnke, an environmental designer and consultant for architecture created Colour &YQFSJFODF 1ZSBNJE XJUI BO BTTVNQUJPO PG six basic interrelated factors that influence the experience of perceived colours.
Mahnke, F. H. (1996). Chapter One, The "Colour Experience" Pyramid. In Color, Environment, and Human Response: An Interdisciplinary Understanding of Color and Its Use as a Beneficial Element in the Design of the Architectural Environment (pp. 10-18). John Wiley & Sons.
RESEARCH
Methodology / Literature Review
Josef Albers’ Colour Theory & Human Perception Colour theory is a body of practical guidance to colour mixing and the visual effects of a specific colour combination. German-born American artist who is known for his studies and exploration of colour. Interaction of Colour explores human perception and psychological effects of colours through relativity, transparence, spatial illusions and more.
Colour Relativity The receptiveness of a colour to the influence of a neighboring colour –; how much its appearance is subject to alteration by another colour.
The Logic and Magic of Color. (2012). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.albersfoundation.org/teaching/josef-albers/interaction-of-color/illustrated-lecture/ Albers, J. (2006). Interaction of Colour (Revised ed.). Albers, J. (2006). (Revised ed.). Yale University Press. Interaction of Color App Demo Trailer [Mp4]. (2013, July 25). Yale Press.
RESEARCH
Methodology / Literature Review
Gestalt Psychology & Laws of Perceptual Organisation Gestalt Psychology is the study of how humans perceive things in patterns rather than separate components. The word ‘Gestalt’ is a German word for shape or form of which embodies the idea of grouping or unified whole. It is a theory about visual perception that were developed by psychologists and has certain laws of perceptual organisation to outline the principles of it.
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Proximity
Similarity, Closure Continuity
Wagemans, J., Elder, J. H., Kubovy, M., Palmer, S. E., Peterson, M. A., & Singh, M. (2012, July 30). A Century of Gestalt Psychology in Visual Perception: I. Perceptual Grouping and Figure–Ground Organization. 1174. Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22845751. Starbucks [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://plus.google.com/u/0/ starbucks Adidas [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adidas_Logo.svg Coca Cola [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/the-logo-story
SECONDARY RESEARCH Case Studies
Secondary Research Case studies on artists that use colour to create three dimensional illusions. t +PTFG "MCFST t +PIBOOFT *UUFO t 0TDBS 3FVUFSTWÊSE t .BVSJUJVT $PSOFMJT &TDIFS
SECONDARY RESEARCH Case Studies
Colour and Sense of Three Dimensional Space )PNBHF UP UIF 4RVBSF JT +PTFG "MCFST TJHOBUVSF series among the other works where he examines colour interaction through the use of relativity to generate the illusion of weight, movement as well as to invoke a sense of three dimensional space. Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow 1964 Oil paint on fibreboard 762 x 762 mm Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow 1964 [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-departing-in-yellow-t00783
SECONDARY RESEARCH Case Studies
Josef Albers Never Before a – l 1976 Portfolio of 12 screenprints 279 x 385 mm
Josef Albers Never Before [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.alancristea.com/collection-26-59-Never-Before
SECONDARY RESEARCH Case Studies
Characteristics of Colour Effects “Our sense organs can function only by means of comparisons.� Colour effects can be intensified or weakened by contrast. The seven kinds of colour contrast: t $POUSBTU PG )VF t -JHIU %BSL DPOUSBTU t $PME 8BSN DPOUSBTU t $PNQMFNFOUBSZ DPOUSBTU t 4JNVMUBOFPVT DPOUSBTU t $POUSBTU PG 4BUVSBUJPO t $POUSBTU PG &YUFOTJPO
Simultaneous Contrast The effect colours have upon each other in a composition as the eye stimulates the complementary colour that is not objectively present. Eg. Gray appears bluish when surrounded by intense orange.
Itten, J., & Birren, F. (1970). The Seven Colour Contrasts (F. Birren, Ed.). In The Elements of Colour (pp. 33-59). John Wiley & Sons.
SECONDARY RESEARCH Case Studies
Oscar Reutersvärd’s Impossible Figure 0TDBS 3FVUFSTWÊSE JT LOPXO BT UIF 'BUIFS of Impossible Figure where he pioneered in % ESBXJOHT *NQPTTJCMF 'JHVSF JT EFĕOFE as a drawing or other representation of an object that could not exist in actual three-dimensional space. )F VTFE DPMPVST BOE TIBQFT UP DSFBUF UISFF dimensional impossible figure effect.
Penrose Triangle, 1934
Oscar Reutersvärd Impossible Figure Oil on Canvas 910 x 730mm
Penrose Triangle [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Penrose_triangle OSCAR REUTERSVÄRD IMPOSSIBLE FIGURE. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.bukowskis.com/sv/auctions/S190/662-oscarreutersvard-omojlig- gur Colman, A. M. (2015). A Dictionary of Psychology, Oxford Quick Reference (4th ed., p. 368). OUP Oxford.
SECONDARY RESEARCH Case Studies
Mauritius Cornelis Escher’s Impossible Construction . $ &TDIFS JT B GBNPVT HSBQIJD BSUJTU UIBU explores on infinity, architecture and tessalations. One of his well known work is the Impossible $POTUSVDUJPOT 4FSJFT XIFSF IF RVFTUJPOT QFPQMF PO their perception of reality )JT XPSLT XFSF JOTQJSFE CZ 0TDBS 3FVUFSTWÊSE It is an optical illusion that protrays depth with much complexity.
Relativity, 1953 Lithograph 294 x 282 mm
Relativity [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/back-in-holland/relativity/
SECONDARY RESEARCH Summary of Case Studies
2D
Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow, 1964 Oil paint on fibreboard, 762 x 762 mm
3D
Oscar Reutersvärd Impossible Figure Oil on Canvas 910 x 730mm
Relativity, 1953 Lithograph 294 x 282 mm
Monument Valley, 2014 Game
Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow 1964 [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-departing-in-yellow-t00783 OSCAR REUTERSVĂ„RD IMPOSSIBLE FIGURE. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.bukowskis.com/sv/auctions/S190/662-oscarreutersvard-omojlig- gur Relativity [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/back-in-holland/relativity/ [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/
Primary Research Approach
Primary Research Basis of this project takes inspiration from Josef Alber’s colour studies and M.C.Escher’s Impossible Construction to produce colour illusions in an urban environment.
Primary Research Prototype 1
Prototype 1 Memphis design inspired colour studies. Memphis is a design movement began in Milan during the early 1980s as a reaction towards minimalistic designs during the 1970s. It was inspired by Art Deco and Pop Art as it focuses on the creation of bright, colourful and innovative furnitures, lamps, ceramics and small objects. Its colour scheme and graphic elements are used to portray the dynamics of colour in terms of its flexibility and the ability to influence how colour is being perceived and felt.
Primary Research Prototype 1
Additive Colour Direct mixture of projected light (RGB) that produce white.
Subtractive Colour Indirect mixture of reflected light (CMY) that produce dark grey.
Munker White Illusion Luminance elicit different perception of brightness.
Bezold Effect A colour appears different depending on the colours that encircle it.
Colour Relativity A colour appears as two different colours.
Primary Research Prototype 2
Prototype 2 Oscar Reutersvärd and M.C. Escher inspired impossible figure – A drawing or other representation of an object that could not exist in actual three-dimensional space. It is an optical illusion that protrays depth with much complexity.
Colman, A. M. (2015). A Dictionary of Psychology, Oxford Quick Reference (4th ed., p. 368). OUP Oxford.
Primary Research Prototype 2
Primary Research Summary
Summary of Approach The project that deals with the sensory experience of vision and perception and explores how colour illusion and depth shape our views of the world.
Primary Research Summary
Outcomes t $PMPVS PQUJDBM JMMVTJPO ยบ Produces depth in virtual space. t 1VCMJDBUJPO ยบ Introduction of Josef Albers colour theory, 0TDBS 3FVUFSTWร SE *NQPTTJCMF 'JHVSF BOE M.C. Escher Impossible Construction. ยบ Personal colour studies ยบ Experience of people (through survey).
Primary Research Summary
Colour Illusions and Depth Media Art Nexus (MAN JT POF PG /56 .VTFVN initiatives that aims to bring art to people. It is located at the intersection that connects the future -FBSOJOH )VC ! /PSUI BOE UIF FOHJOFFSJOH TDIPPMT the library as well as the eating places. This is one-of-a-kind media platform in the world as it is made for community and features only art and OP BEWFSUJTJOH 4JUVBUFE JO BO VSCBO TQBDF UIBU IBT traffic flow (40,500 people), it becomes a potential place to increase awareness of own seeing and own perception of colour through the exploration of colour illusion and depth where it changes reality of seeing in a subconscious way.
Mark Chavez The Rose, 2016 Urban Screen
The Rose [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://mediaartnexus.com/man/featured/the-rose/
Timeline Nov - Jan
Feb - Mar
Apr
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Bibliography Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://albersfoundation.org/teaching/josefalbers/interaction-of-color/publications/overview/ JOSEF ALBERS, Portfolio 'Homage to the Square', 19 [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9980841_josef-albers-portfolio-homage-to-the-square-19 Thompson, E. (1995). Physiology and psychophysics. In Colour Vision: A Study in Cognitive Science and Philosophy of Science (p. 57). Routledge. Arnheim, R. (1974). Shape. In Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye (Expanded and revised ed., p. 43). University of California Press. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://aminotes.tumblr.com/post/596122630/mark-changizi-onbrains-perception-of-the-world Mahnke, F. H. (1996). Chapter One, The "Colour Experience" Pyramid. In Color, Environment, and Human Response: An Interdisciplinary Understanding of Color and Its Use as a Beneficial Element in the Design of the Architectural Environment (pp. 10-18). John Wiley & Sons. The Logic and Magic of Color. (2012). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.albersfoundation.org/teaching/josefalbers/interaction-of-color/illustrated-lecture/ Albers, J. (2006). Interaction of Colour (Revised ed.). Albers, J. (2006). (Revised ed.). Yale University Press. Wagemans, J., Elder, J. H., Kubovy, M., Palmer, S. E., Peterson, M. A., & Singh, M. (2012, July 30). A Century of Gestalt Psychology
Bibliography in Visual Perception: I. Perceptual Grouping and Figure–Ground Organization. 1174. Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22845751. Starbucks [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://plus.google.com/u/0/ starbucks Adidas [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adidas_Logo.svg Coca Cola [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/the-logo-story Josef Albers Study for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow 1964 [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-departing-in-yellow-t00783 Josef Albers Never Before [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.alancristea.com/collection-26-59Never-Before Itten, J., & Birren, F. (1970). The Seven Colour Contrasts (F. Birren, Ed.). In The Elements of Colour (pp. 33-59). John Wiley & Sons. Penrose Triangle [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Penrose_triangle OSCAR REUTERSVÄRD IMPOSSIBLE FIGURE. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.bukowskis.com/sv/auctions/S190/662-oscar- reutersvard-omojlig- gur Colman, A. M. (2015). A Dictionary of Psychology, Oxford Quick Reference (4th ed., p. 368). OUP Oxford.
Bibliography Relativity [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/back-in-holland/relativity/ [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/ The Rose [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://mediaartnexus.com/man/featured/the-rose/