Color & Emotion

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Color & Emotion

Postby AratiRao » Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:25 am

Thought this might interest some of you - Ganesh, especially, since you were on this exploration...

Goethe, on the Psychology of color and emotion.

thanks,
A
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Thu Jan 31, 2013 11:35 am

Thanks Arati, just bought the Kindle version.. Hope to start reading soon !
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby nirlep » Sat Feb 02, 2013 4:32 pm

Thanks Arati!
Had a chance to read Goethe's Theory of colours a few months back and it was so stimulating. Would definitely read this one too.
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Soham Sarkar » Sun Feb 03, 2013 9:43 pm

There has been a bounty of works on light & space as an Art movement, truly inspiring, mostly done as installations. I was thinking of simplifying light into spectrum and space into ambiguity of contour. Definitely colors work on Mood but perception of the felt emotion possibly depends on something more than mood -a fuzzy zone, extensively defined yet never readable symbolically. Think of an object that is personified- you can feel it while looking at it but how can you break it and table it with the exact sentiment, yes spectrum is needed to create the mood that aids in reaching the same sentiment when the shape is broken down.
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Soham Sarkar » Sun Feb 03, 2013 10:54 pm

I was thinking if derivation of any liner relation between Emotions and Colors are really necessary... Theories of color perception would definitely help but there are so many other factors, the utmost of it has been interpretation and predisposition of the mind. Predisposition means readiness of the mind to accept and recognize an object (color is an object in that sense) as it is- and there is no as it is- everything is relative. Anyway, if we have to start with color theories then why not starting with Young-Helmholtz and Herring as well! As well as, we might deal with little bit of physical properties of spectrum thus we could accurately evaluate how achromatic properties might stand really important in interpreting chromatic experiences. So, its hue, saturation, brightness, contrast- four fundamental psychological properties of any Colour. Hue gives the symbol (how much pure the color is), Saturation gives the body (how much color is present in that color- its somewhat similar to gravity due to mass), Brightness works with attraction (not necessarily every healthy person would be attractive, brightness opposite to gray but not to black). Now, contrast, it is really important because it determines edges- cues for brain to work with (it depends on the individual how he wants to use contrast in order to make others' brain work. Contrast can affect mood because it makes our mind toil over decoding the difference). Now mix our gray scale- the range of it, as needed, with the hue- it will result in sombre or neutral feeling (mind it that it is neither mood nor emotion but an immediate virgin feeling) at the other end, change the saturation to make the matter either demanding or 'floating on surface'. Change brightness according to the desired level of color shock that you want your viewers to experience. I have already talked about the contrast part. But no, even at this point we are far for achieving emotions by mean of any color, for that we have to deal with the concept of Gestalt achieved by any of the numerous combinations possible by these four psychological properties of a single color particle. It does not end here, Chomsky says that culture determines perception- the way Eskimos perceive white we do not, they have different names for different types of white, that are associated with different emotions as a part of living. We will never be able to achieve that sense, our brains had not been trained as per because of the environment. So there is no Universal cultural symbolism present in colors- but yes, we can definitely make associations between colors and felt emotions to a certain degree- personally I am more keen on experimentation. (I am very happy for being able to share my thoughts with respected members.) {*In this write up Perception is essentially used as the interpretation of virgin sensations gained via different sensory organs* *Mood is the prevailing psychological disposition of the individual, mostly unrecognized unless called for, whereas emotions are acutely felt conditions, and awareness of emotions are essentially interpretation of that acute sensation at immediately later period- any recognized emotion is heavily tied up with our cognition*}
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Nilanjan Das » Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:24 pm

This is brilliantly written Soham. I am particularly very much in appreciation of Chomsky's statement :-). Though in my images I heavily rely on the emotional factors, but as of now I have never ever thought of indulging colors to bring in the flavor or elements which can compliment the emotional aspect. I doubt if I ever will venture in this direction. But I really enjoyed reading your interpretations. Helps to understand and feel the images you are trying to create. Art probably begins with visual appreciation of lines, curves, colors and many other aspects, but as the journey gets deeper and deeper towards the core, the principal element appears to be emotion. and ??? a perception towards that emotion. A perception which begins with science but ends with sensitivity, ends where logic can not reach. Probably this is the reason why most scientists feel that Science after a stage is only art. We begin to understand initially with our cultural perception but soon the journey lands up in the world of unknown senses....as what you referred to as Virgin senses Soham. It is that virginity which can not be flowered with the help of our experiences. Perceptions are based so much on experience and memory...which can be as elementary as muscle memory too. To interpret the inexperienced space and then convert it to perception so that we can relate to it.....wowww, that is a task Soham :-). Shall we soon hear or read that Art is a STATE ?? Like a state of mind ?? A state of mind where emotions reside ?? Wonderful read Soham. Thanks and keep the journey going, both with your images and articles.
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Soham Sarkar » Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:13 pm

Chomsky is a psycholinguist, had worked profusely on the structure of language and its cognitive ground, beside his writings on US's foreign policy. I am sure that you would like him. Yes, you can say that Art is a state of mind where emotions reside, there are many agents in art but only emotions, also emotion happens to transgress the realm of art and flow into other mundane areas. I must say Art could be a second order guided interpretation of all the agents that reside in the set of Art. Once I took two photos of a roadside dustbin and an open drain- mouth. Both of these subjects had their tremendous strength to blow your mind, one was Orange, another was Brown in their overall color depiction. What I discovered later was- instead of the colors the real challenge lied in the acceptance of matters that are conveniently coded as shocking by our brains. That would be filthy things inside the dustbin and the drain in this case. So I have been trying to dissolute the shapes as a challenge. I have noticed that only colors have not been so much effective as to produce the same sensation ( better say the emotion of disgust). I am still trying, but consciously keeping the liner and the space cues relatively amorphous and subliminal, opposite to the direct cues given by the dustbin and the mouth of the drain. I have not achieved much success yet, so I am keeping my experiment on. (Both of the photos were really child's play, otherwise I would have posted :))
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Nilanjan Das » Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:12 am

I completely refuse to accept that emotions transgress the realm of art, on the contrary I believe that emotions express the PURPOSE of art. There have been many art movements for centuries, some to support cynicism, some to dissolute shapes, some expressed through irrational and saturated colors etc etc. Various groups during various times have tried many a things to establish various reasons and there have been counter groups who rubbished such movements also. Thankfully photography as a genre of art is entirely different though it shares the same visual platform like painting.The biggest asset in photography is the element of reality. These elements of reality are probably the reason why even abstracts in photography reside very close to reality. Coming back to colors and emotions, your creations and the purpose that I saw in art form of photography.
Photography as a genre very much thrives on the factors of presence. Let me use your dustbins as an example here....Yes, they represent very strongly a purpose. To take in and conceal what is not good to look at, smell at or touch may be. The lids are closed and the purpose only stays in the mind, once the shapes become more dissolute, more elements of freedom attach to the perception of purpose. Finally, just by using the colors ( freedom here ) we convert a shape or purpose into a work of art. This is exactly where I would think that the art form of photography would lose it's purpose unless the emotion of the purpose fills the image. My mind will look at things in a different way. The reason why I like your work is that even though a complete structure is missing yet the purpose or presence is well defined through the colors that you use. I do not see it as concealment or even as a counter statement. I see it as an expansion where the colors have been used to represent or mark the presence of a subject as it was. Those colors still connect me to the purpose related to shapes and definitions. For me each of those images would fail if I would not be able to represent the colors with the unseen shape or the purpose ( emotion). I am a person whose convictions strongly refuses to allow to look and understand photography as a visual art from the theories of painting. Photography was not born and can not move forward carrying the tag of being an extension of the painter's world. You can say I rubbish all those isms in photography too.
I do not think making an image of what is beautiful is art . What might not be good to look at might have a good purpose, probably even stronger purpose than beauty. For me the the dust filled hair of a street dweller might be more strong than the shampooed and glistening hairs of a lady going to a club. The reason is the dusty hairs would fill my mind with the inspirations of struggles of survival against all odds than carrying the purposeless and needless presence of beauty, who perhaps does not even know how to fetch herself a glass of water or fix herself an egg . When I see similar emotions being transmitted through colors but without defined shapes , it is then the image begins to serve a purpose for me. But these are strictly my views. I am not a follower of any ism,from dadaism to fauvism, from cubism to orpheus art....my convictions are that they may be whatever in the field of painting, have nothing to do with photography, in any case they did not survive even in their own fields. I hope I could explain why I feel it is extremely necessary to understand colors and emotions in the field of photography as an art form and more so that I see the purpose of art is through emotions. Seeing an image of a very beautiful lady might at the most generate desire in mind, but the emotions of the street dweller will surely inspire many in life. I am also sure there are many who will not look at it thinking there is no beauty in it, with humble apologies I must say that my purpose and sense of art completely differs from them.
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Soham Sarkar » Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:52 am

I do not know what you understood of my reply Nilanjanda but your writing is not in much contradiction from my opinion, only slightly temperamental. There is something I would like to mention that names of the movements may differ for literature, painting, performing arts or for photography etc but sense does not e.g. Stream of consciousness is a kind of abstraction in literature which is not much different from abstract expressionism in painting, and is in fact quite similar to "waiting for godot" type, no? So, watertight compartmentalization does not work for me but anyone is absolutely free to work as they like. I appreciate everything that is quality and done with honest labor. :D (the counter movements you mentioned are unfortunately named as contemporary Lowbrow art, I do actually appreciate alternative photography as an art form executed or non-executed as you mentioned.) Cheers... I am very much eager to learn opinions on photorealism, if painters can adopt and create mesmerizing visual experiences out of adopting photography, then I believe there is a scope for me as a photography enthusiast, as well :)
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Nilanjan Das » Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:52 pm

Soham, since the discussion now apparently looks like only happening between you and me, I think it is better to continue the rest outside the forum. I think we have already discussed a lot on this here. Thanks a lot for your insights Soham, I guess these discussions were very useful for all the members of the forum. Rest later...:-)
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby nirlep » Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:46 am

replying to your concluding response "since the discussion now apparently looks like only happening between you and me......" with a line from Milton "They also serve who only stand and waite" I'd say you should carry on with the thread. I enjoyed every word of this very stimulating exchange from my dugout here at bathinda. Soham brings learned erudition to the topic explaining things in art theory lingo. Nilanjan transgression of emotion into the realm of art is valid in the sense that while creating art we do borrow from emotion but after softening its angularities and side stepping its tangential tendencies.
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Soham Sarkar » Fri Feb 08, 2013 9:55 am

Thanks Nirlep, S.C. would have much appreciated the judgement. :D :D (please do not take it seriously)
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby nirlep » Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:11 pm

Hey Soham...take it seriously!! man I had a hearty laugh and pondered at the same time ..how absence of a line or syllable could make an opinion be read as a judgement :)
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Re: Color & Emotion

Postby Soham Sarkar » Fri Feb 08, 2013 6:39 pm

Yeah, I am very serious Nirlepji. Ummm... proly thats called Personality Factor, more specifically Individual person-perception- Nay leave it psycho-lingo. :D :D
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