Professional Documents
Culture Documents
UWRT 1102
Professor Thomas
April 28, 2015
The picture seen above is the piece by Pablo Picasso called The Old
Guitarist. This piece is a great example of colors being used to show a
specific emotion. In the piece the guitarist looks beat down and tired of life. It
is a very depressing piece, which is why it is painted with only the color blue.
Just like the music genre the blues, when blue is used in a painting it
usually stands for hard times or sad feelings.
With the idea in mind of specific colors having specific meanings
associated with each one, I decided to research more in depth about this
idea to find more information on how colors can affect a persons state of
mind. Most of my information came from psychology related works. I looked
for information about specific colors having certain observable effects on
emotions.
Physical effects of color on the human organism will result in
psychological reactions. John Otts, a cinematographer, explains, Behind the
psychological responses to color are more basic responses to specific
wavelengths of radiant energy (Light, Color and Environment 27). Its
obvious that a person is more likely to feel cheerful on a sunny day
compared to on a rainy day. Colors also have this effect, for example red may
cause someone to become more excited, and blue may cause a person to
become down or calm (Light, Color, and Environment 27).
Studies on similar ideas continued to be conducted to gain more
knowledge on the subject. Felix Deutsch, a physician in the 1900s,
Ancient Chinese and Egyptian cultures are just two examples of how colors
can be used. However, these beliefs may differ when examining other
cultures beliefs.
Some interpretations of colors come from the general public, but those
interpretations dont necessarily mean they are correct. For example the
general public may believe the following ideas associated with specific
colors:
beginnings
This may be the general publics ideas of color, but what kind of ideas would
be associated with each color if you were to ask another person with a
different cultural background?
In most cases if you were to ask someone to describe the devil, they
would most likely have an image of a red dude with a pitchfork, horns, and
maybe furry goat legs. If a personality was to be placed with that image
most would probably say that the Devil is evil, unmerciful, and monstrous.
We see the Devil with the color red because red in most cases is interpreted
as bad or unpleasing. How would a person whose cultural background causes
them to see red as passionate and sensual react if red was associated with
the Devil? That person definitely wouldnt see the Devil as being as evil, the
color red wouldnt match the image of the Devil (Luber, Jodi).
Now that we have seen examples of how there isnt one 100% correct
answer to the question What kind of attributes are given to certain colors,
its time to show some specific examples of certain colors having multiple
attributes. It is believed that yellow is considered dual natured, which is
when there are two contradictory attributes associated with a color. Yellow
can be seen as a good thing, like sunshine or accomplishing something
great. Your teacher may put a yellow smiley face sticker on your assignment
if you did a good job. Yellow can also be interpreted as a bad thing; for
example yellow is often associated with skin issues and bad hygiene (Pung,
Corey). Obviously the first example is more pleasant than the second, which
is exactly what it means to be dual-natured.
Obviously, there are many ways to interpret color, there isnt one
single correct answer. Colors do affect emotions in many ways, and they are
often associated with many various things, but it all depends on who you are
when youre looking at them or reading them. Another way to say this is;
color is arbitrary. There isnt one way to look at it. The feelings or emotions
you feel from seeing colors really depends on who you are. Every person
may have a different interpretation.
Works Cited
Birren, Faber. Color & Human Response. New York, NY: Litton Educational
Publishing, Inc., 1978. Print.
Birren, Faber. Light, Color and Environment. New York, NY: Reinhold Book
Corporation, 1969. Print.
Cherry, Kendra. "Color Psychology." About Education. About.com, 2015. Web.
23 Mar. 2015.
Gage, John. Color and Meaning. University of California Press Berkeley and
Los Angeles, California, CA: Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1999.
Print.
Luber, Jodi. "Different Hues in a Narrative." Color Symbolism in Literature.
Womans forum, Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
Pung, Corey. "The Use of Color in Literature and Film." Coreys Books Essays.
wordpress.com, 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2015
Valdez, Patricia, and Albert Mehrabian. "Effects of Color on Emotions." Journal
of Experimental Psychology: General123.4 (1994): 394-409. EBSCO
Host. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.