I've been exploring color in my paintings quite a bit lately, so it was quite fortuitous to attend the Rensselearville Writers Conference and hear about the new book The Secret Language of Color by Joann Eckstut and Arielle Eckstut. The book analyzes the role of color in our world, touching upon science, nature, history, culture, and beauty. Essentially humans are able to use their three cones of vision to perceive 10 million colors; however our perception of these colors is contingent upon many subjective factors. Transparency, memory, taste, context, anatomy, even gender influence our relationship to color. The conference comes on the heels of the recent edition of the design magazine Uppercase, which devoted itself exclusively to color. What is it about color that captivates us? The excitement of vibrant color can lift a mood, attract a mate, even relate to evolutionary behavior. Cornell's Lab of Ornithology recently produced an incredible film documenting the beauty of birds of paradise and their use of color in their mating practice. From color bombing to a resurgence of neon clothing, perhaps the world's zeitgeist needs a little color to lift its mood right about now.
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