Week 2: Color Studies – Rosie (Parren)

Name Haoyu Gao (Rosie)

Instructor Eric Parren

Assignment 1 & Assignment 2

Make a small collage using 3 to 6 painted color shapes, not including the background color Prepare for the assignment by creating a page of chromatic gray swatches in a broad range of values and hues. All the colors in this study must fall in the chromatic gray saturation range. The value range should be broad, including values drawn from all over the value continuum. There should also be broad hue representation (colors that come from across the color spectrum). Use no color more than once.

Make a collage using 3 to 6 painted color shapes, not including the background color. All the colors in this study must fall in the prismatic color saturation range. Both hue and value ranges should be broad. Again, use no color more than once. Remember that you can pull more than one color from each hue zone. Use the same motif/design as your previous study.

Reflection

As a first touch of the concept of saturation, hue, and value of colors in the form of real-life painting, I have to admit that the joy of working with paints the first time took my concentration away from the requirement and the purpose of the assignment, that I spent too much time on the assignment 1 and failed to use the same design for assignment 2. It was also challenging to make the colors in my plan on actual paper, and after pasting colors to the background, the way they interacted with each other also went out of my expectation. It seems like colors in similar saturation range are more likely to form a great harmony with each other, though I failed to keep it in assignment 2.

Assignment 3

Try to make a single color appear as two different colors by altering its surroundings. These experiments require close observation, repetition with small adjustments, and a conscious engagement with what you encounter. As you observe color effects, try to reason out the cause. This work demands full submersion into the visual experience of color. Use two adjacent rectangles of varying colors with two smaller rectangles of the same color inside them for each of the following:

1) Use only grays try to alter the value (brightness) of the single center color. What you learn about altering value will continue to apply when working with full colors.

2) In color, alter the hue of the single center color. Saturation and brightness should stay the same.

3) Try to alter only the saturation of the single center.

4) Try to alter the hue, saturation, and brightness.

5) Make two different colored center squares look like the same color by modifying the surround squares.

Reflection

Assignment 3 is an interesting experiment for us to experience the illusion caused by color collaborations. It is also a personal lesson for someone who did it twice for misunderstanding the instructions like me: when you have questions in class, ask immediately.

Assignment 4

Create two separate sequences of color made out of 11 rectangles. The width of each set of bands does not need to be uniform. Each progression should involve at least two structural factors.

Also, experiment with varying the range of contrast among the factors you are bringing into play.

When you have completed the two sequences, reassemble them with the two sequences interspersed.

Assignment 5

Use what you now know about after images, simultaneous contrast, color interaction, optical mixing, color harmony and progression, and color experience and color interpretation to create a kinetic “painting” in Illustrator at size A3 in CMYK color mode. Look at the work of opart and kinetic artists such as Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, Philippe Decrauzat, Marina Apollonio, Francois Morellet, Jesus Rafael Soto, Antonio Asis, Alberto Biasi, Walter Leblanc, Wolfgang Ludwig for inspiration.

Reflection

The three main inspirations I have for assignment 5 is prism and François Morellet ‘s work, Random Distribution of 40,000 Squares using the Odd and Even Numbers of a Telephone Directory 1960. Prism reminds me of how a shoot of sunshine can be distributed into different colors, like magic, embracing the most mysterious and dazzling beauty in something we are used to by changing our perception. I drew three pairs of lines with similar hues and mix them with different background colors to call out different effects. I used red and blue specifically, as I was really impressed by how François Morellet used these two colors to create a powerful impact with simple components. I am not satisfied with the printed version, as I did not have a print test in advance, and the interactions between background colors weren’t really harmonious. Still, I consider such a first try as a great experience of understanding kinetic art better, which used to be something I considered as simple and abstract, but actually has much more behind it.

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