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Narrator:
A LOT OF REPRESENTATIONAL ART
ATTEMPTS TO PORTRAY THE WORLD
REALISTICALLY
BY MIMICKING
THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPACE
AND ATTEMPTING TO
FAITHFULLY RENDER OBJECTS
AS WE SEE THEM.
HOWEVER, MANY ARTISTS EMBRACE
A DIFFERENT REALITY.
SO-CALLED COLOR FIELD PAINTERS
OF THE 1950s AND '60s
WANTED TO REINFORCE THE IDEA
THAT THE PAINTED CANVAS
IS A FLAT,
TWO-DIMENSIONAL SPACE.
THEY MADE ENORMOUS,
LARGE-SCALE PAINTINGS
THAT WERE OFTEN COMPRISED
OF JUST ONE OR TWO COLORS.
THEIR ART DIDN'T REPRESENT
THE OUTSIDE WORLD
OR TRY TO TAKE YOU
TO ANOTHER PLACE.
IT REINFORCED THE FACT THAT
YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PAINTING.
THE BOLD,
BRIGHT COLORS THEY USED
WEREN'T MEANT TO REPRESENT
ANYTHING ELSE.
FOR THEM AND THE MANY ARTISTS
THEY INSPIRED,
COLOR IS A BEAUTIFUL
AND WORTHY SUBJECT ALL ITS OWN.
COLOR IS ONE OF
THE SEVEN ELEMENTS OF ART,
ALONG WITH LINE, SHAPE, FORM,
TEXTURE, VALUE, AND SPACE.
WHEN LIGHT HITS AN OBJECT,
SOME OF IT IS ABSORBED
AND SOME OF IT IS REFLECTED,
DEPENDING ON THE MATERIALS
THE OBJECT IS MADE OF.
THE LIGHT THAT IS REFLECTED
OFF OF THE OBJECT
IS WHAT WE SEE
AS AN OBJECT'S COLOR.
RED, YELLOW, AND BLUE
ARE CALLED PRIMARY COLORS
BECAUSE THEY CANNOT BE MADE
FROM THE MIXING OF OTHER COLORS.
HOWEVER,
THE THREE PRIMARY COLORS
CAN BE MIXED TOGETHER
TO PRODUCE
NEARLY EVERY OTHER HUE
IMAGINABLE.
GREEN, ORANGE, AND VIOLET
ARE THE THREE SECONDARY COLORS.
THEY ARE CREATED BY MIXING TWO
OF THE PRIMARY COLORS TOGETHER
IN EQUAL AMOUNTS.
WHEN YOU MIX A PRIMARY COLOR
WITH A SECONDARY COLOR,
YOU GET A TERTIARY COLOR,
SUCH AS RED-ORANGE,
BLUE-GREEN.
EVERY INDIVIDUAL COLOR
CAN BE ALTERED
BY CHANGING ITS VALUE
THROUGH TINTING, SHADING,
AND TONING.
TINT IS SIMPLY ANY COLOR
WITH WHITE ADDED TO IT,
SO RED BECOMES PINK,
BLUE BECOMES LIGHT BLUE,
GREEN BECOMES LIGHT GREEN,
AND SO ON.
A SHADE THEN IS CREATED
BY ADDING BLACK TO ANY COLOR.
ADDING BLACK AND WHITE
TO A COLOR PRODUCES A TONE.
SOMETIMES A WORK OF ART
WILL BE MADE UP OF
THE TINTS, SHADES,
AND TONES OF ONLY ONE COLOR.
THIS IS WHAT WE CALL
A MONOCHROMATIC COLOR SCHEME.
ONE WAY ARTISTS
PERSONALIZE THEIR WORK
IS BY CREATING
THEIR OWN VERY UNIQUE COLORS,
TINTS, SHADES, AND TONES.
NOTICE HOW THE VIOLET COLORS
IN THIS PRINT BY ANISH KAPOOR
DIFFER FROM THE ONES
USED BY PAINTER MORRIS LOUIS.
IS THERE ONE THAT HAS
MORE TINTING OR SHADING
THAN ANOTHER?
WHAT DO YOU THINK
IS CREATING THE DIFFERENCE?
ONE COMMON WAY
PEOPLE CATEGORIZE COLORS
IS BY TEMPERATURE.
REDS, ORANGES, AND YELLOWS
ARE REFERRED TO AS WARM
BECAUSE THEY CAN BE
EASILY ASSOCIATED
WITH A WARM, SUNNY DAY.
BLUES, VIOLETS, AND GREENS,
ON THE OTHER HAND,
ARE CALLED COOL
BECAUSE THEY OFTEN COME TO MIND
WHEN THINKING ABOUT
OVERCAST OR RAINY DAYS.
WHEN COOL AND WARM COLORS ARE
MIXED TOGETHER IN A PAINTING,
WHAT IS THE OVERALL MOOD
OR FEELING THEN?
BESIDES THE WEATHER,
THERE ARE MANY OTHER
ASSOCIATIONS AND FEELINGS
THAT COLORS CAN SUMMON.
IS THERE A COLOR
OR COMBINATION OF COLORS
THAT TRIGGERS A SPECIFIC MEMORY
OR THOUGHT IN YOU?
UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS
COLORS HAVE ON YOU
WILL HELP YOU READ AN ARTWORK
AND DEVELOP YOUR OWN
INTERPRETATION OF IT.
AND WHEN MAKING
YOUR OWN ARTWORK,
KNOWING THE EFFECT COLORS HAVE
WILL HELP YOU CONTROL
THE MESSAGES
YOU HOPE TO CONVEY.
