Colour as Sensation in Visual Art and in Science Author(s): Jonathan C. Fish Source: Leonardo, Vol. 14, No.

2, (Spring, 1981), pp. 89-98 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1574399 Accessed: 20/06/2008 07:55
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Leonardo,Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 89-98. 1981. Printedin GreatBritain.

0024-094X/81/020089-10 $02.00/0 PressLtd. ? Pergamon

COLOUR
ART AND

AS
IN

SENSATIONIN SCIENCE

VISUAL

Jonathan C. Fish*
Abstract-Contemporary colour science and colour art are, for the most part, on separate paths in spite of strong reasons for unity and collaboration. It is argued that this schism is not based on any intrinsic incompatibility, but on causes that are symptomatic of a disorientated culture. These causes are recent in origin and may be classified into those that are common to art or to science, in general, and those that are peculiar to the subject of colour. Prominent in the latter class is the failure by artists to appreciate the importance of distinguishing colour sensations from the external causes of these sensations and the inevitable priority given in science to the objective, rather than to the subjective, aspects of colour. It is suggested that material for a common philosophy, deeper than that of medium or technique, can be found in the study of colour sensation as part of the wider problem of relating private experience to external reality. An important example is provided by a discussion of contemporary uncertainties about the number and nature of colour attributes and of the relevance that this problem has for the visual arts. Some of the author's kinetic artworks and colour demonstrations pertinent to the subject are discussed.

I.
Since C. P. Snow first published his 'Two Cultures' lecture [1], the separation of science from the so-called humanities and the arts in western industrial countries has been much discussed. In the words of W. D. Wright, a pioneer of colour science, 'We have in the subject of colour a quite specific example of the two cultures, in which artist and scientist speak a language the other does not understand. We have a responsibility to put an end to this dichotomy, and if, as I now believe, the scientist's concept of colour is incomplete, then it is high time we developed a more adequate philosophy of colour to which both artist and scientist can subscribe' [2]. (For the view that science is not a culture in the traditional sense see Ref. 3.) In the first half of the 19th century, painters were receptive to science and also to the idea, ridiculed today, that there might be precise rules in visual art similar to the laws of nature [4-6]. In that period, black and white photography was invented, which may have caused a shift in the emphasis in painting towards colour and motivated some artists to study its properties. The interests of the painters J. M. W. Turner, Eugene

Delacroix and Georges Seurat in the colour science of their day have been well documented. In spite of their pioneering attempts, a reaction ensued leading to the wide-spread belief that the scientific knowledge of colour is useless, if not harmful, to visual artists. Thus this early attempt by painters to bridge the gap between art and science was premature. II. I believe that one of the reasons for the failure of artists generally to accept colour science as essential knowledge has been confusion between colour as it is subjectively experienced and the external causes of that experience, namely material substances or the light reflected by them. J. S. Mill pointed out over a century ago that the confusion is preserved in the everyday English language. This is still true. Mill wrote: 'We have a name for the objects which produce in us a certain sensation: the word white. We have a name for the quality of those objects, to which we ascribe the sensation: the name whiteness. But when we speak of the sensation itself (as we have not occasion to do this often except in our scientific speculations), language, which adapts itself for the most part only to the common uses of life, has provided us with no single-worded or immediate designation; we must employ a circumlocution, and say, the sensation of white or the sensation 89

kineticartist,teacher,biochemist,21 CollegeRoad, *Painter, Cneltenham, Gloucestershire,GL53 7HY, England. (Received 7 Sept. 1979)

90

JonathanC. Fish and stimuli are commonly a product of colour properties and illumination, it is very easy to confuse them. Three types of confusion can occur: (1) The pigment-stimuluserror-the incorrect identifications of the colour properties of materialswith the propertiesof the light that they reflect(or transmit). (2) The stimulus-sensationerror-the incorrect identificationof colour stimuli with colour sensations. Ewald Hering, one of the pioneers of colour science, wrote: 'The history of physics might also be describedas a historyof struggleagainstthe prejudicesoriginatingfrom this linguistic identification of sensory qualities with their physicalcauses' [12]. Thisdistinction is important to artists, because colour sensations can be evoked and controlled colourstimuli. only by manipulating The (3) pigment-sensationerror-the incorrect identificationof colour propertiesof materialswith colour sensations.Painters commonly refer to colour sensations by the names of pigments-rose madder, chrome green, raw umber, etc. But they frequentlyexperience situationsin which spatial interactionsbetween stimulicause the colour sensationproducedby a particular pigment to be unexpected. Colour constancy, a psychological effect that tends to maintain recognition of, say, black paint in differentilluminations may be destroyedby the influenceof stimulus interactionsin human-madeobjects (see Section IX) [13]. The mechanismof colour vision is thus exposed to a situation for which the biological evolution of vision did not prepareit. IV. The effect of these sourcesof confusionon the visual arts is exemplifiedby the conceptualimbroglioconcerningprimarycolours, a termthat is frequently used without specifying whether it refers to colour properties, colour stimuli or colour sensations. From the time when Jacques ChristopheLe Blon publishedhis ideas on printing in colour (1756) [5], it was widely believed that any colour could be derived from red, blue andyellow. This made sense only when appliedto colour properties, however, since it was thought that red, blue and yellow pigmentswere sufficient to mix any colour, a belief sharedby manyartists, but not borne out on their palettes [4, 5]. In 1831 the physicistDavid Brewsterexpoundedhis belief that red, blue and yellow were the primarycolours for mixing light as well, which was later shownto be untrue-an exampleof the pigmentstimuluserror. Influencedby Brewster, Turner assumedthat red, blue and yellow were the principalcoloursin

of whiteness;we must denominatethe sensation either from the object, or from the attribute,by whichit is excited' [7]. Physiologists have shown that light reflected from a dab of paint and enteringthe retinaof the eye results in the dischargeof electrical signals to certainregionsof the brain that are transmitted causing the occurrenceof colour sensations [8]. These sensations are one meaning of the term colour. But since other meanings are commonly given to it, two of which are discussedbelow, it is sometimes helpful to refer to the sensation of colour as psychologicalcolour. A clearexposition of this approachis given in Ref. 9. When light falls on a dab of coloured paint, part of it is absorbed and the rest is either reflected or transmitted.Usually the wavelength compositionof the light falling upon a coloured materialand that of the reflected(or transmitted) light are different. Because the light fallingupon a materialcan be variedboth in compositionand intensity, it follows that the composition and by intensityof the light reflected(or transmitted) it must also vary. However, the relationship between incidentlight and reflected(or transmitted) light remains constant and can be used to characterizepaintsand other materials.I shallreferto A tiny proportionof the reflected(or transmitted) light reaches the retina of the eye, carrying colour informationto it. This light is termed the colour stimulus.Unlike colour properties,colour stimuli from an object vary not only with its illuminationbut also with movementsof the eye and head. The term colourstimulushardlyoccurs in the literatureof art, but it should, for artists can control colour sensationsonly by manipulating colour stimuli. However, although colour perceptiondepends directlyon colour stimuli, it usually correlateswith colour properties.This is due to the capacityof the brain to utilize spatial and temporal information provided by colour stimuli about the illumination[10, 11], a subject that I shall not discuss here. Because of this correlation and because of the way in which colour sensations are experienced, humanshave come to associate colour with objects and materials. Indeed, the biological function of colour vision is to provide information about colour propertiesratherthan colour stimuli. Unlike colour stimuli and colour properties, colour sensations are wholly private. For example, two persons looking at a painting may agree that one area of the canvasis pale cerulean blue; however, given the present knowledge of neurophysiology,it is an untestable assumption that their colour sensationsare identical.It is not that until recentlymost colour science surprising amounted to the study of colour propertiesand stimuli. III. Since coloursensationsare producedby stimuli
this as the colour property.

Colouras Sensation in VisualArt and in Science sensation and used this triad as the colour structure for some of his paintings [4]. The same pigment-sensation error appears in Piet Mondrian's restricted use of these colours 90 years later. Turner and Mondriansucceeded superbly in their use of colour, despite their incorrect assumption. Perhapsit was the realizationthat 19th-century colour science had not adequatelydifferentiated between stimuli and sensations that led to its abandonmentfollowing its seemingly premature use in Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism. The pseudo-scientifichypotheses of colour harmony of the chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul (1839) and of the painter Seurat may have done more harm than good to the cause that they espoused. Henri Matisse, departing from Neowrote: 'My choice of coloursdoes Impressionism, not rest on any scientific theory; it is based on observation, on sensitivity, on felt experiences. Inspiredby certain pages of Delacroix, an artist like Signac is preoccupied with complementary colours, and the theoretical knowledge of them will lead him to use a certain tone in a certain place. But I simplytry to put down colourswhich rendermy sensation'[14]. In 1959Naum Gabo expressedan opinion that is probablywidely shared amongst artiststoday. He wrote: 'All textbook theories about colours are concerned with their chemical and physical propertiesand have no relationwhateverto their aestheticnature. 'An artistcan be absolvedfrom the necessityof knowing all that the scientist knows about colours. Except for some practical information which it is necessary for him to have about the treatmentof pigmentsand materials,the scientific knowledge of their chemical and physicalproperties is apt to confuse the artist more than to enlightenhim in his art and to distracthim from knowingwhat his experiencesof colour are' [15]. The firstsentence above is untrue. Presumably Gabo had not read Ewald Hering's Outlinesof a Theory of the Light Sense [12] or David Katz's World of Colour [10]. However, to the second sentence quoted, it is embarrassingly harder to find more than a partial refutation, such as presented above. It must be noted that Matisse was wrong to imply that, if colour science were to be useful, it would play a role in the making of aesthetic decisions. Before artists can make colour decisions, they must have a conceptual framework with which to think about colour experienceand also a knowledge of the stimulus conditions by whichthis experienceis produced.
V.

91

use in art. For example, effective compositionin paintinginvolves carefullydeterminedcolour differences-sometimes subtle modulations, sometimes strong contrasts. In each instance painters choosingcolourswill, perhapsunconsciously,ask themselves, 'In how many differentways can two colour sensations be alike or be different?'Surprisingly,this questionis still a subjectof debate, even amongstcolour scientists. Since sensations are subjective and priorityis given to objective measurement, emphasis in colour science until recentlyhas been put on the study of stimuli rather than on the study of sensations. This has resultedin the sophisticated subject of colorimetry,which provides a way of describingcolour stimuli by combiningphysical measurementwith the knowledge, obtained by research,of a typicalhumancolourresponse. This methodis commonlyappliedto an isolated colour stimulus, that is, one that is uniformand has very dark surroundings. For these conditions and for normalcolour vision at daylightlevels of light intensity, it has been determinedthat only three variablesof the stimulus are relevant to a specific colour sensation. These variablescan be expressed in different ways, but the most pertinent triad here are the three that describe light obtainedby mixingmonochromatic light (light of a single wavelength)with white light (light, such as sunlight, of two or more wavelengths that produces an achromatic (hueless) response) to match the given colour stimulus.Thus a stimulus can be specified quantitativelyby the three variables describingthe mixturethat matchesit. The variablesare: (1) luminance-a measure of total intensity of the stimulus (radiation) weighted wave-length by wavelength according to the visual sensitivity of an internationallyaccepted standardobserver;(2) dominantwavelength-the wavelengthof the monochromatic light required in mixturewith white light to matchthe stimulus and (3) colorimetric purity-the ratio of the luminance of the monochromaticlight to the luminance of the mixture. These three variablesare psychophysical variables, and the colour they describeis here called psychophysicalcolour in order to distinguishit from colour sensation or psychological colour. The reasonfor this is that physicalmeasurements of the light are used to calculatethree numerical values. The link with a typical colour responseis made by weightingthe measurements usinginternationallyacceptedcoefficientsthat are obtained from colour matchingdata for a standardobserver. These weighted numericalvalues are then used to calculatethe three psychological variables
[9]. VI.

While contemporary artists generally have made little use of pertinentnew knowledgeabout colour [9], it should be pointed out that there are in colour science that hinderits certaindifficulties

I have selected for discussion here three psychophysicalvariables (luminance, dominant wavelength and colorimetricpurity), which are

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JonathanC. Fish radius(100%saturation).A muchused representation in cylindrical coordinatesis Munsellcolour space (Munsellcolour system) where the coordinates are given as follows: MunsellHue, 1; Munsell Value, 2; and MunsellChroma,3. Helen Thomas has describedin Leonardoher use of the psychophysical Ostwaldcolourspacein her paintings [16]. The Ostwald colour space is cylindrical,but it is bounded by a double cone whose axisis vertical.D. Nickersonhas presented in Leonardoa discussionof the OpticalSocietyof America (OSA) uniform colour scale samples [17]. A colour space has been selected in which coloursof suppliedsamplesare located 'according to a space lattice in which each sample is surrounded by 12 other samples, each at an equal distance from the central sample', and equal distancesrepresentperceptuallyequal colourdistances. VII. There are difficultiesthat arise in the use of three stimulus-oriented variables psychophysical as a conceptualbasis for the descriptionof colour sensations.One arises because, when colour sensations are scaled equally, the corresponding variablesmustbe spacedunequalpsychophysical ly. (Thisproblemhas been partiallyovercomefor the purposesof measuringcolour differences[18; see also 9, p. 83].) Another arises because, associated althoughtotal luminanceis principally with the sensation of brightness, luminance changes also involve shifts in hue (the BezoldBriicke phenomenon) [19]. Similarly, whilst changesin purityof the stimulusmainlyaffectthe sensation of saturation, they also involve small shiftsin hue. More serious difficultiesare encounteredwhen it is desired to describecolour sensationswhen a uniformlycolouredsurfacein view is not isolated. Although three variables may be sufficient to describe an isolated stimulus, such a stimulus does not have the same appearanceas the coloured surfaceswith whichmost painterswork.To elicit such surface appearancesit is necessaryto introduce a surroundingstimulus. When this is done, dramaticchanges occur in the colour sensations that are associatedwith the stimulusthat 21]. This is most easily explainedby describinga simpleexperimentusingtwo slide projectors.Let one projector project a small disc of coloured light upon a white screen. This is the target stimulus.Let the other projectorprojecta ringof white light in such a way that it surroundsand touches but does not overlap the target stimulus (termed the surround). If, to start with, the surroundis very dim, then the target is isolated, and its appearancecan be variedonly in the three ways that have been described. Moreover, the target looks like a patch of light, and its colour does not appear to belong to the surface of the
is surrounded (termed the target stimulus) [20,

coordinates of colour Fig. 1. Cylindrical for the representation by a space. Colourspecifiedby threevariablesis represented point in colourspace.

sometimes used as approximate indicators of three particularpsychologicalvariables, or attributes, of colour sensation, respectively: (1) brightness,the attributethat varies mainly with luminanceon a scale from dazzlingto very dim; (2) hue, the attribute that is suggested by the words red, blue, turquoise,purple, etc. (3) saturation, the attribute that seems to refer to the amountof hue componentrelativeto the total of the hue and the hueless componentsin the colour sensation.Thus a perceivedred may be judgedto be bright,fromits intensity,and to have a red hue with an orange tinge. It may be judged to be ratherlow in saturation,meaningthat quite a bit of white sensation appearsto be mixed with the orange-red,producinga pinkishcolour. These three attributesof psychologicalcolour are commonly described as three continuously varying quantities that can be represented as coordinates in a 3-dimensionalgraph, a colour space, such that a point located in that space designates a perceived colour. A colour space given by cylindricalcoordinates is indicated in Fig. 1. Here hue is commonlygiven by an angular position1 (muchas the hourof the day is givenby the angularposition of the hour-handon the face of a clock). The hues are considered to be arrangedin a continuouslyvaryingmannerfrom violet to red as they are in the continuouscolour spectrum,and the circle is completed by joining red to violet by a continuous series of nonspectral hues (the bluish reds and purples). Brightnessis representedby a verticalscale2 and saturationby a radial scale 3, both increasingin the direction indicated by the arrows. Thus the pinkish colour mentioned above would be representedin colour space by a point on a radiusin a direction designatinghue and positioned at a level designatingbrightness.The point would be located on the radius, possibly at some point at, say, 40 or 50% of the way fromthe verticalaxisof the cylindrical coordinate system (where 0% saturationis represented)to the extremityof the

in VisualArtand in Science Colouras Sensation screen. Now suppose that the luminanceof the white surroundis increasedto about half that of the target. The target now begins to look like a brilliantlycoloured surface that is emitting light (it gives the illusion of being fluorescent).As the luminanceof the surroundis raised further, the target becomes less brilliant and resembles a normalcolouredsurface.As the luminanceof the surroundis made higher than that of the target, two new attributesof the colour sensationappear that are not presentin isolatedstimulibut that are normally present in the colour sensations produced by coloured areas in paintings.Therefore, a stimulus-basedconcept about the attributesof colour sensation as they are experienced by a personviewinga colouredarea in a paintingmust be based not on three psycho/physicalvariables but at least on six, three for the stimulusassociated with the coloured area and three for the surround. (In Leonardo, Ref. 22, a method has been discussedfor extendingthe luminancerange of colours in a paintingby selective illumination of parts of it. A striking 3-dimensionalappearance may be producedby so doing.) In a fascinatingand provocativebook, Evans has suggested that, except when the stimulusis isolated againsta darkbackground,there are not three but five variablesof coloursensationrelated to the six stimulusvariables [21]. In additionto the attributesof brightness, hue and saturation already described, there are two additionalvariables, lightnessand brilliance.Both lightnessand brilliance are related to the luminance of the stimulusrelativeto the luminanceof its surround, but brilliance varies with dominant wavelength whereas lightness does not. The term lightness to the artists'termstonalityand value corresponds of a surface colour. While the attributeof lightness may be indicated by the psychophysical luminancefactor, the relation is not a linear one (Section IX). Brightness in related (that is, non-isolated) colours is the impressionof illuminationand is relatedto the total luminanceof the stimulusplus that of the surround.A piece of coal in strong sunlightlooks both dark and bright, whilstwhite paper in a dark room looks light but dim. This distinctionwas made long ago (1911) by David Katz, who demonstratedthat the visual mechanism is able to separate informationabout illuminationfrom that about the reflectingpropertiesof surfaces[10]. Part of the fascinationof paintingis the way in which the visible lightnessof pigments may generate paradoxicalillusions of brightness. Faber Birren in an article in Leonardo has presented illustrationsshowingseveral differentillusions of illuminationthat may be producedwith the use of paint [23]. On the other hand, artists who work with coloured light rather than pigments know that it is possible to elicit the illusion of pigmentedsurfacesfrom the projectionof light on the back of a translucentscreen. In fact, all surface colours can be produced this way, as

93

of this can be indicatedabove. (A demonstration given with the use of my kinetic light box describedin Section IX.) By itself the additionof lightnessas a variable of colour is not sufficientto invalidatethe use of three variablesto describesurfacecolours,if they are assumedto be viewed under the same illumination, for in this case brightnessis irrelevant. The same cannot be said about brillianceor, in a more limited sense, greyness (as indicated below). (I think the word blacknesswould be more appropriate.)One can readily be convincedthat this is an attributeof non-isolatedcolours, if one notes that the specific colour sensations neutral grey, ochre, brown, olive green, maroon and navy blue are not elicited by isolated stimuli. Those who insist on the use of three attributesto describepsychologicalcolour must explainthese distinctivesensationsby the assumptionthat they are simplydarkeror less saturatedversionsof the corresponding colours, white, yellow, orange, green, red and blue. Whetheror not brownreally looks like a mixture of orange and black or whetherit is 'unique'is anotherquestion[24]. One important point made by Evans is that lightness and saturationare perceivedseparately from greyness. Another is that separate colour attributesare not necessarilyindependent from one another. In the past this has caused confusion. For example, the series of coloursextending fromblackthroughgrey to white has usuallybeen conceived as the variation of a single attribute. Accordingto Evans, however, two attributesare concernedthat vary simultaneously. As the series from black to white the colours progresses become lighter (lightness increases), but simultaneously they become less grey, or more brilliant,(Fig. 2, top). The evidence that lightness is separate from greyness (brilliance) is based on absorbing research to which justice cannot be done here. Briefly, Evans discovered that, when the luminance of a very high puritystimulusis decreased from a high value and the luminanceof a white surroundis held constant, the relativeluminance (the ratio of one to the other) at which greyness first appearsconstitutesa thresholdquantitythat varies greatlywith the dominantwavelength(and hence the hue) of that stimulus.Lightness,on the other hand, varies only with the relative luminance. To comprehend this, compare in 'the mind's eye' the sensations evoked by viewing a chrome yellow and an ultramarine paint sample. Both sensations can be produced without any discernablegrey content and of equal brilliance, yet, when matched, the blue is darker than the yellow. The sensation of greyness of a colour is not the same sensationas its darkness.Evansused the word brilliance to refer to two mutually opposite attributes, greyness and fluorence, the apparentfluorescenceof very brilliantstimuli. Unfortunately, Evans died before the publicationof his book and, since muchof the research

94

JonathanC. Fish (possibly unconscious?) of stimulus conditions, whichmost personsmay not possess, is assumed. Does a light surface appear to reflect a higher fractionof light than a dark surfaceto painters? This method of defining attributesof perceived colour using the verbsperceive,appearandjudge (Hunt) may work better for some attributes,such as brightness,but it does suggest an obstacle to between the objective and subjecunderstanding tive approach.Those who are not concernedwith psychophysicalmeasurementmay also feel that the representationof hue in colour space as if it were a dimensionalattributewith angularmagnitude fails to describe the associated qualitative changesof subjectivehue. Even more puzzlingto most artists must be an hypothesis of colour sensation that describes the positive colour experience black as a colour with zero lightness, zero saturationor colourfulnessand zero hue. The most convincingalternativeframework for the descriptionof colour sensationwas suggested by EwaldHeringover 100yearsago [12]. As early as 1865, H. Aubert had stated that all colour sensationscould be conceived of as if they were mixturesof, or related to, six fundamentalsensations [12]. These psychologicalprimarycolours (commonly termed unique colours) are those referredto by the words black, white,red, green, blue andyellow. They can be imaginedas forming the vertices of an octahedron of which the line joining two vertices represents the possible psychological (visual) mixturesbetween the two corresponding primaries (Fig. 3, left) (Hofler 1897, see ref. 5). Hering developed the idea of the six primarycolours in what he describedas the Natural Colour System (N.C.S.), having declared his intention to classify colour sensations with completedisregard of stimuliandproperties. He pointedout that the black-grey-white(achromatic) series should be regardednot as a single magnitudechange, but as a progressivechangein proportionof two distinct and equally powerful sensations. As any grey approaches black, it appearsmore blackish,as it approacheswhite, it appearsmore whitish(Fig. 2, bottom).

4I
-t
.4

WH 1.rE
<

YESS
ORq7.jEA#YMjIS

>

SAA.ACANEIS

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Fig. 2. (Top) The simultaneous change of lightness and brilliance in the black-grey-white series of colour sensations. (Bottom) Hering's schematic representation showing the progressive change in the proportions of white and black sensations experienced in the black-grey-white series. [Modified from Ref. 12].

that he had initiated needs independent evaluation and continuation, his interestingideas are not yet universallyaccepted. More recently, R. G. W. Hunt and his colleagueshave reintroduced his (Hunt's)term colourfulness [25]to referto the apparent absolute chromatic (hue) content of a colour as opposed to its achromatic (black-white) content [18]. Hunt's definitionsdistinguishattributes of colour appearance(his term) that have absolute magnitude, such as colourfulness and brightness, from those that have only relative magnitude,such as saturation,lightnessand perceived chroma.
VIII.

The variety of ways in which colour sensations are either described or defined in the scientific literatureon colour is confusingfor artists.While it is most unlikely that a colour scientist will confusestimuliwith sensations,in my opinionit is possiblethat the convenienceof the colour-space the stimuconcept for specifyingmathematically lus correlates of sensation may prejudice the definitionand choice of sensation attributes.For example, in the C.I.E. (1970)International Lighting Vocabulary,lightnessis defined as 'that attribute accordingto which an area appearsto reflect diffuselyor transmita greateror smallerfraction of incident light' [26]. By the use of the verb appear the task of defining lightness wholly in termsof its correlatesis avoided, but a knowledge

Fig. 3. (Left) Octahedral arrangementfor visualising the mixture of unique colours proposed by the author. (Right) The Swedish N. C.S. Colour Space after A. Hdrd [Ref. 33].

Colouras Sensationin VisualArt and in Science

95

A unique hueor a mixture of unique hues

Constantblack content

Uniqueblack Fig. 4. A colour specified by a point (Q) in a N.C.S. constant hue triangle.

In the same way, changesof saturatedhue can be thought of as changes in proportion of two uniquehues but not in any combination.Red and green cannot be combinedtogether nor can blue and yellow. Hering called these two pairs opponent colours. The four possible hue ranges (redyellow, yellow-green, green-blue and blue-red) can be imagined to form the sides of a square whose corners are occupied by the four unique hues red, yellow, green and blue, althoughHering himself preferred to position these ranges along the four quadrantsof the hue circle. The advantageof the circleis that it makesthe hues on the perimeterequidistantfrom the centre where an achromaticcolour can be represented. The is that disadvantageof this circulararrangement there is not a geometricalrepresentationof the sharp change that occurs at the positions of the unique hues. Research has confirmedthat hues can indeed be describedconsistentlywith four colour names [19, 27]. Further, Hering described how colour sensations of a single hue may appear to be 'veiled'with black (that is, look blackish),'veiled' with white or with any mixtureof black andwhite (grey). For a given hue, this means that a colour can be specified by a point Q on or within a triangle, the corers of which represent the unveiled hue C, black S and white W (Fig. 4). Crossing the triangle in three directions are dashed lines of constant black content, constant white content and constant hue content. When the positionsof the dashedlines are moved in the directions indicated by arrows, the contents of black, white and hue increases.Of the six primary colour sensations, not more than four (black, white and two unique hues) can be combinedin a homogenous colour sensation. Only relative proportionsof these four primariesare meaningof ful. Thus, the N.C.S. requiresthe specification three quantities and not more than two hue qualities.

Tryggve Johansson (1905-1960) and later others, notably A. Hard of the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation, developed Hering's suggestion into a quantitativemethod of colour sensation specification [28]. The Swedish N.C.S. colour space (Fig. 3, right) and the new atlas of colour based on it embody much importantresearchinto the subjectivescalingof coloursensations and are of realvalue to artists.However,the Swedish N.C.S. also involves the colour space concept, a concept that, as far as I am aware, Heringdid not employ. It has been shownthat in manyrespectsthe SwedishN.C.S. colourspace is similar to the much-used Munsell colour space [29]. R. W. G. Hunt has concluded that 'for a given set of viewing conditions, uniform colour spaces are useful for systematizingthose attributes that are independentof the absolute luminance level' [18]. So, was Evansmistakenin his convictionthat at least four variables are necessary to describe surfacecoloursunderconstantillumination? I do not think so. Across the pages containingcolour chips of constant hue in the Munsell Book of Colour can be seen sloping lines of constant brilliance,which is a variablenot representedin Munsell notation. Similarly,the SwedishN.C.S. colourspace accommodates but does not describe the variable lightness. According to Hard and Sivik [30], 'In the N.C.S., lines for constantvisual lightness are straight and converge at a point P outside the N.C.S. color triangle,the position of P being dependenton hue'. In my opinion, these two examples show that colour sensationcannot be described by one set of three variablesand, hence, that the colour space concept is misleading. In his originaldescriptionof the N.C.S., Hering pointed out that, in additionto those colour changes that are attributableto varyingproportions of the primaries,colours can be either light or dark [12]. He used the word brightnessin a context that makes it equivalentto Evans' lightness. He stated that primarysensationshave an intrinsiclightness (brightness)that is invariant. White, yellow and red are intrinsicallylighter than black, blue and green. It is, therefore, a dependentvariable, since the lightnessof a compound sensation would be intermediatebetween the lightnesses of its constituent primaries. To illustratethis, I have drawn an N.C.S. constant hue triangleinside an imaginary prismthe vertical axis of which represents lightness (Fig. 5). The triangles correspondingto different hues tilt at different angles, although data given by Hunt suggestthat they might be curvedratherthan flat planes [18]. It may be true that three variables suffice to specify colour sensationsagainsta constant background,but it does not follow that they are sufficientto describethem. This distinction,so importantto painting, is made too rarely. Evans maintained that the four variables of surface colour are independant of each other, but his

96

JonathanC. Fish

I.HTtA (HS. II

5vS qs5

4'1X/^rm^&5;ES

Fig. 5. The representation of a N. C.S. constant hue triangle in a prism to include lightness.

Fig. 6. Maxwell discs for demonstrating colour phenomena, metal discs, electric motors, 30 x 120 cm, 1970. The discs are shown at rest (top) and in rotation (bottom).

grounds for making this claim are not wholly convincing(to me, at least) [21]. However, I suggest that Hering's original hypothesis is in agreement with Evans' central contentionthat at least four variablesare necessary to describe surface colours under constant illumination. If Evans was right, then much of what had been written about colour as it is actually experienced has been confusingor misleading. It is unfortunate that early attempts to use colour as a bridgebetween science and the visual arts did not result in the unqualifiedbelief by painters that colour science is relevant. The stimulus-orientated concepts that were used for those early attemptswere inadequate.Sincethen, however, there has been much new knowledge about colour. With the revival of interest in colour sensation among scientists, it is time for anotherattempt to apply colour science in painting. A failure to do this would be a sign that perhaps Colin Blakemore was justifiedwhen he remarkedthat 'society could collapse, because it no longer comprehendsits own culturalinheritance' [31]. Figures 6 and 7 (see colour plate) show two teaching devices I have designed to demonstrate some of the colour phenomenamentionedabove. In one device, Maxwell discs (steel discs with sectorspaintedin two colours)are rotatedrapidly by independentlyactivated electric motors (Fig. 6). The colours are mixed (averaged)by the eye and the appearanceof surfacetexturedisappears. Magnetictape on the back of each disc permitsits easy attachmentto a motor shaft. A collectionof sets of discs of different colour pairs has been for a varietyof demonstrations. For accumulated the black and white sectored example, rotating discs in Fig. 6, bottom, demonstratethat, when the luminance factor (luminance in relation to pure white) is increasedby ten equal steps from a black (4% pure white) to a white (88% pure white), the lightnessincreasesin steps of decreasing magnitude. The colour adaptationbox (Fig. 7, see colour plate) is used to demonstratea stimuluscontrast

phenomenon described by Rayona Scina (1847) [3] (I have modifiedthe design slightly).A black and white painted design is arrangedso that half of it (showing black squares) is seen through a sheet of blue Perspex,whilstthe otherhalf (showing larger black square bands) is seen by its reflection on the blue Perspex surface. In the explanations,attentionis confinedto what is seen throughand on the blue Perspexsheet. The stimulusreferringto the backgroundis a mixture of two stimuli: blue light, produced by daylightpassingthroughthe blue Perspex,reflectof the coveredhalf ing fromthe white background of the picture and passingback throughthe blue Perspexagain, and whitelight, producedby daylight reflectingfrom the backgroundof the uncovered half of the picture to the blue Perspex where it is reflected. The backgroundis seen as lightblue. The stimulusreferringto the squaresis a mixture of white with a trace of blue light; the blue light componentis reduced by absorptionby the blackpaintin the coveredhalf of the picture.The squaresare seen as yellow. The stimulus referring to the black square bands is a mixture of blue with a trace of white light; the white light component is reduced by absorptionby the black paint in the uncovered half of the picture. The squarebands are seen as darkblue. Why are the squaresyellow?The humanvisual system behaves in such a way that information aboutcolouraspropertyis retainedandutilizedin spite of naturally occurring changes in the colwavelengthcompositionof the illumination; ours of surfaces in view are assigned mentally after compensationsare made for the colour of the illumination.Thus, in effect, a pictureshowing black squares surroundedby black square bands is being viewed in blue illumination.Subtracting blue from the blue and white stimulus mixture(background)leaves white and from the blue with the negligible trace of white (square bands) leaves blue. Since white light (daylight) minus blue light normallyproduces yellow (the colour), the white light with the complementary negligible trace of blue (squares) leaves yellow

Colouras Sensation in VisualArt and in Science

97

Fig. 8. Untitled,kinetic artwork,a series of boxes in which colours are produced by additive mixture. Perspex screens controlsystem,1978. (15 x 45 cm), electronic

when the blue is subtracted.The yellow colour occurs as the result of misappliedcompensation by the visual process; it does not cope with surfacereflectionas a separatephenomenon,one that is seldom of consequence to humans in nature but frequently encountered in viewing objects made by humans. Similar explanations can be applied to many colour illusions experienced in paintingand sculpture. Figures8 and 9 illustratemy interestin kinetic art, a likely mediumfor the applicationof colour science. Equipment is shown for the display of kinetic colour compositions that can be written down with the use of a notation or recordedon tape. Figure 8 shows eight (there can be more) colour mixing boxes in which red, green, bluegreen and blue light are mixed and the result displayed.The colour is controlledin each box by an electronicsystem that can be operatedmanually whilstcomposing.The coloursof a total of 36 channels can be recorded simultaneouslyon a channel of an audio cassette player. Each dimming circuit is controlled by a single audio frequency that is separated from the mixture of frequencieson the tape by an electronic filter. I am indebted to Robin Pyewell for technical assistancewith the electronics. Recently I have realized that a more powerful method of prois availableusingmicroprocessors, with gramming which I am now experimenting. Figure 9 shows an earlier kinetic displaypanel that is viewed in moderate daylight. Black lines made on a long band of draughtingfilm that is drawnby a rollerpast light-sensitive switchesthat control the illuminationof the panel. The panel circles displaysa 10 x 10 arrayof smalltranslucent in a turquoisefield. Although the colours of the circles (green, blue or blue-green) are produced by projected light (a green and a blue electric light is enclosed in a tube below each circle), the appearance of the colour produced is almost

Fig. 9. Kineticdisplaypanel. Movingdiscs of colourshaving the appearance of surfacecoloursareproducedon translucent screens.Perspexscreen,draughting lights,electric film, electric motor, 120x 120cm. 1969.

identicalto that of a surfacecolour.The turquoise field consists of a sheet of transparent turquoise Perspex backed by plywood painted white. The ambientlight reflectedfrom the turquoisefield is of high enoughluminanceto producea targetand surroundconditiondiscussedabove. I have used the above artworksand devicesfor demonstration purposesin a courseon sciencefor artistsat the GloucestershireCollege of Art and Design. I shall be pleased to supplyto interested on theirdesign personsmore detailedinformation and operation. I wish to call attention to other devices used in teaching colour to art students discussedin an earlierarticlein Leonardo[32]. REFERENCES
1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

C. P. Snow, The Two Culturesand a Second Look Univ. Press, 1964). (Cambridge: Cambridge W. D. Wright, The Rays Are Not Coloured(Bristol, Adam Hilger, 1967)Lecture2. .ngland: On Science P. Auger, Contemporary Anthropocentrism: andTraditional Cultures,Leonardo13, 223 (1980). J. Gage, Colourin Turner (London:StudioVista, 1969). F. Birren,A Historyof Colourin Painting(New York: Reinhold,1965). C. E. Gauss, The AestheticTheoriesof FrenchArtists JohnsHopkinsUniv. Press, 1949). (Baltimore: J. S. Mill, A Systemof Logic (London:Longman,1843) Bk. I, Ch. 3. D. Jameson and L. M. Hurvich, From Contrast to Assimilation:In Art and in the Eye, Leonardo8, 125 (1975).

98

JonathanC. Fish
the Brain,Leonardo9, 105 (1976). 24. C. J. Bartleson,Brown, Color:Research& Application 1, 181 (1976). 25. M. R. Pointer,Colourfulness: A New Concept,in Color 77, Proc. ThirdCong. Int. ColourAssoc. (AIC), F. W. Billmeyer,Jr. and G. Wyszecki,eds. (Bristol,England: AdamHilger, 1978). 26. International Lighting Vocabulary.PublicationNo. 17 Internationale de l'Eclairage.1970). (Paris:Commission 27. R. M. Boynton, W. Schofer and M. E. Neum, HueWavelength Relation Measured by Color-Naming Method for Three Retinal Locations,Science 146, 666 (1964). 28. A. Hard, Qualitative Attributesof ColorPerception,in Color 69, Proc. First Cong. Int. ColourAssoc. (AIC), (Gottingen:Musterschmidt, 1970). 29. D. B. JuddandD. Nickerson,RelationbetweenMunsell and SwedishNaturalColor SystemScales,J. Opt. Soc. Am. 65, 85 (1975). 30. A. HardandL. Sivik,Distinctness of Borderline Related to the NaturalColor System, in Color 77, Proc. Third Cong. Int. ColourAssoc. (AIC), F. W. Billmeyer,Jr. and G. Wyszecki,eds; (Bristol,England:Adam Hilger, 1978). 31. C. Blackmore,Mechanicsof Mind (B.B.C. Reith LecUniv. Press, 1977) tures, 1976)(Cambridge: Cambridge Lecture4. 32. M. L. Meixner.Instruction on Lightand Colorin Art at the Iowa State University,Leonardo9, 52 (1976). 33. A. Hard, The NaturalColourSystemand Its Universal Applicationin the Study of Environmental Design, in Colourfor Architecture, T. Porter and B. Mikellides (London:StudioVista, 1976)p. 112.

in Art 9. G. A. Agoston, Color Theoryand Its Application and Design (New York:Springer-Verlag, 1979). 10. D. Katz, TheWorldof Colour(trans.by R. B. Macleod andC. W. Fox) (London:KeganPaul,Trench,Trubner, 1935). 11. J. Beck, SurfaceColourPerception (Ithaca,NY: Cornell Univ. Press, 1972). 12. E. Hering,Outlines of a Theory of theLightSense(trans. MA: by L. M. Hurvichand D. Jameson)(Cambridge, Univ. Press, 1964). Harvard 13. H. von Helmholtz, Treatiseon Physiological Optics (1866), J. P. C. Southall,ed. (New York:Dover, 1962). 14. J. Flam,Matisseon Art (Oxford:Phaidon,1973). 15. N. Gabo, Of Divers Arts (A. W. Mellon Lectures) (London:FaberandFaber, 1962). 16. H. Thomas,Applicationof the OstwaldColorSystemin My Painting,Leonardo13, 11 (1980) 17. D. Nickerson,Optical Society of America (OSA) UniformColorScale Samples,Leonardo12, 206 (1979). of Colour Appear18. R. W. G. Hunt, The Specification ance. I. Concepts and Terms, Color: Research and 2, 55 (1977). Application Hue Shift 19. R. M. BoyntonandJ. Gordon,Bezold-Briicke Measured by Color-NamingTechnique, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 55, 654 (1965). 20. H. Wallach, BrightnessConstancyand the Nature of Achromatic Colours,J. Exp. Psychol.38, 310 (1948). 21. R. M. Evans, ThePerception of Color(New York:John Wiley, 1974). of PaintIllumination 22. A. A. Mills, Intensity-Modulated Effect, Leonardo ings andan Unexpected3-Dimensional 11, 213 (1978). in Art: Beyondthe Eye into 23. F. Birren,ColorPerception

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Top left: Jonathan Fish. Colour adaptation box, perspex, wood, 30 x 20 x 20 cm, 1970. (Fig. 7, cf. page 96) Top right: Pavel Kuznetsov. 'Kirghizian Woman', oil on canvas, 85 x 59 cm, 1919. (Fig. 3, cf. page 141) Center: Paul Re. III-9: 'Front and Back', acrylic paint on Masonite 34.5 x 60.5 cm, 1975. (Photo: K. Cornyn, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.) (Fig 7, cf. page 107) Bottom left: Roberto Donnini. 'Immagina in Progress', collage, paper, wood (mahogany), 65 x 135 cm, 1974 (unfinished). (Fig. 2, cf. page 122) Bottom right: Tariffe Raslain. Untitled, acrylic on canvas. 114 x 162 cm, 1979. (Fig. 5, cf. page 132)