Assignment 5- Colour

The experimentation of colour has changed the understanding and use of different ways we use it. We now use techniques such as light and shading to create realistic interpretations of what we are trying to create. Experiments such as the colour wheel which was created by Newton in 1704 helped us realise which colours work well with each other and which are opposite. After a while there was a change in which people thought colours were a science ( Newton) to what you felt the colour should be or should not be or more of a emotional interpretation (Van Gogh)

Van Gogh took this in to account and painted what he felt colours looked like in “The Night Cafe’”. The colours in the painting are off but it is his emotional interpretation of what he saw. He used contrasting colours in the empty space to create tension .Van Gogh said "Everywhere there is a clash and contrast of the most disparate reds and greens…” (Gage, 1993) which shows why he used contrasting colours in the space.

Even though Newton and Van Gogh had to completely different views on the topic of colour I believe that they have both revolutionised the way in which we see colour and how we use it in everyday life and design.

References
Gage, J. (1993). Colours of the Mind in Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction (pp.191-212) New York: Thames and Hudson.