Why does it need a title? I'm not writing a novel.

Synesthesia research

2008-04-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Women: in the U.S., studies show that three times as many women as men have synesthesia; in the U.K., eight times as many women have been reported to have it. The reason for this difference is not known.

Left-handed: synesthetes are more likely to be left-handed than the general population.

Neurologically normal: synesthetes are of normal (or possibly above average) intelligence, and standard neurological exams are normal.

In the same family: synesthesia appears to be inherited in some fashion; it seems to be a dominant trait and it may be on the X-chromosome

Statistics on the exact number of people who have synesthesia run from 1 in 25 to 1 in 100,000. The kind of synesthesia where people associate numbers and letters with color is more common than synesthesia where sound and taste are associated with color.

The exact definition according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: 1: a concomitant sensation; especially : a subjective sensation or image of a sense (as of color) other than the one (as of sound) being stimulated2: the condition marked by the experience of such sensations

I myself do not have true synesthesia although I do have synesthete experiences. For example I swear that "L" is a naples yellow.

Information from wikipedia and http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/syne.html

An interesting website with a personal account of the author's experience with synesthesia as well as a program that allows the viewer to get better insight into what it is like to have synesthesia :
http://www.otherthings.com/uw/syn/

Whatchya gonna do when they come for you?

2008-03-26T12:53:00.001-07:00

Okay, so even if you commit a crime they probably still won't come for you. With all the modern technology we have and despite all of the episodes of Law and Order and CSI that indicate otherwise, only about 66 percent of all murder cases are solved.
What does this have to do with color?
Everything, if there are bodily fluids present at the scene.
If there is what appears to be blood stains visible to the human eye at the scene of a crime, it is often put through the Kastle-Meyer test to determine whether or not it is, in fact, blood. The stain is mixed with a phenolphthalein reagent and hydrogen peroxide. If it is blood, the hemoglobin will react with these chemicals to produce a deep pink color. Unfortunately there is one problem with this test...the chemicals will occasionally react similarly if they come into contact with either horseradish or potatoes. No, I am not kidding.
If blood is NOT visible at the crime scene but investigators suspect that blood was once present (before the perpetrator cleaned it up), they conduct the luminol test. Luminol is chemical sprayed directly onto the surface where blood was thought to have been. Luminol reacts with blood to produce light. It quite literally glows in the dark, and is capable of detecting blood that has been diluted up to 10,000 times. A chemical that works similar to Luminol but is preferred by some investigators is called Bluestar. Like luminol, it is sprayed onto the area where blood would have been and reacts by turning blue in color (hence the name) if blood is present. However, unlike Luminol the blue color Bluestar produces can be seen without the room being thrown into total darkness.
Another color test is used to detect the presence of semen at a crime scene. Anyone that watches television can tell you that semen flouresces under a UV light. Similar results occur when the stain is mixed with the chemical 4-Methyl Umbelliferyl Phosphate. Another way to determine if a stain is semen is to moisten filter paper with water and rub it over the suspected area. A drop or two of Sodium Alpha Naphthylphosphate and Fast Blue B solution are placed on the paper. The Acid Phosphotase in semen will react with these chemicals and turn purple in color.

All information taken from old notes acquired in my Forensics class. If you don't believe me I can bring them to class.
And I used this website: http://www.spexforensics.com/productSubclasses.asp?categoryID=16&subcategoryID=18
for info about Bluestar

Don't Eat This

2008-02-28T12:49:00.000-08:00

Even with the present craze of labeling every last ingredient and health hazard on common food and household items, many toxic artist materials fall outside of this jurisdiction. For about as long as artists have been using pigments to create works of art, they have been killing themselves in the process.
One of the most notorious artists, Vincent Van Gogh, was subject to spurts of madness (for lack of a better term) that have been contributed to everything as wide-ranging as syphillus to bipolar disorder to epilepsy and, of course, the obligatory accusation that the paints made him do it. Lead-based paints seem like one of the most likely culprits in this scenario. Lead poisoning is known to cause swelling of the eyes, which would cause the afflicted person to see halos around light...a technique that makes Van Gogh's paintings among the most unique and beautiful.
As of late, much of the lead once used to produce paints has been removed and replaced with less toxic ingredients. However, there is still a variety of hazardous chemicals present in paints, the most commonly known being cadmium pigments, a carcinogen. Less well known are the dangers present in the phthalo green and blue paints. During the manufacturing process of phatholcyanine, a chemical known Polychlorinated Biphenyl, or PCB is produced. Due to the expense of removing this toxic chemical, it is most commonly done only when the phthalocyanine is going to be used as a pigment for cosmetics. As well as being a carcinogen, PCB may cause dangerous alterations to the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, and endocrine system. More specific side effects include poor short-term memory, hindered visual recognition, a decrease in thyroid hormone levels, a reduction in birth weight of the fetus in pregnant women, and an increased risk for contracting the Epstein-Barr virus. Pregnant women should be particularly cautious, because Phthalo Green also contains copper which can cause miscarriages. PCB is less of a risk in present day paints, because the US government has restricted the sale of products that contain PCB, including products that are imported from other countries. However, not all countries have established a ruling against PCB and it is a possibility that some Pthalo paints may still contain this toxin.
The jury is still out on certain paints, especially those made up of synthetic organic compounds, most of which are claimed to be safe yet whose toxicity levels have not been tested. Quinacridone Red is a synthetic organic paint which is said to be safe. Lithol Red, also a synthetic organic paint, has proven to be a carcinogen.
No dry pigment of any kind is 100 percent safe, as the dust particles are easily inhaled and adversly affect the respiratory system. Further, it is particularly hard to remove all traces of pigment dust from the area that they are used in, and may travel through the house through the air (albiet in trace amounts...there is no need to get too alarmed about this fact). A way of protecting against harming you lungs and air passageways would be to make sure that you contain your use of dry pigments such as paint pigments and chalk pastels to one area and to use a dust mask while working with them.
http://www.trueart.info/art_hardware.htm
http://www.epa.gov/pcb/pubs/effects.htm
http://www.epa.gov/pcb/pubs/about.htm
http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/arthazards/paint1.html
www.eggtempera.com/toxicity.html

Color Compositions

2008-02-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

Using the color wheel to distinguish nine squares of the same design was a tedious process of color mixing and putting the color down with one of the smallest brushes I have to get straighter lines. It was both a blinding and nauseating experience. I chose to compose something of entirely geometric shapes, using only overlapping rectangles and squares to make an abstract design.
The effect of the varying colors combined with all of the tiny squares gives each tile a digitized look that is reminiscent of the pixels making up a computer image. I think that it is a pretty cool, striking look, and was probably worth the obscene amount of time that I put into it. It is even more evident in tiles that have an interplay of extreme lights and darks. The contrast makes the pattern more obvious and achieves the goal of cutting the tile into larger shapes.
I also like the way that the paint became textured after layering it to make the color more opaque. The texture is rather incongruent with the harsh right angles and straight lines, adding another aspect of interest.
One problem that I have with the project is the analogous colors. They don't achieve the same contrast as the monochrome and complimentary tiles, probably due to the fact that they can't be found on the color wheel. They are also more toned down colors; the blues and greens like those of a Mediterranean ocean and the browns of a rich, earth dirt. I find it interesting that the differing colors can either add to a design or detract from it.

Take once daily on an empty stomach

2008-02-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

Color seems like it would be completely unnecessary when it comes to something as small and simple as a the little pills that we swallow. However, once you take a moment to think about how medication permeates just about every aspect of American life, the details of those pillls begins to take on a whole new importance...especially if you happen to be taking more than one medication, which is becoming more and more commonplace as technology progresses.
Images of these pills assault you from every angle: magazine pages, newspaper blurbs, 30-second clips on the television and even blown up to a monsterous size and displayed on a billboard. Taking pills has become a cultural norm, whether it is something as innocent as a daily vitamin or to treat prevent much more grave symptoms such as the rejection of an organ in a transplant recipient. Advertising agencies along with pharmaceutical laboratories have capatilized on societies acceptance of pills as a cure-all, and to make them even more attractive they often come in an assortment of bright candy colors which appeal to the child in all of us.
Of course, aside from advertising and memory related purposes, the color of our pills seems to have a pronounced psychological influence, perhaps even extending to the point where the effectiveness of the pill may be compromised by an ill-suited color. If you are skeptical. Try imagining "fire red capsules for acid reflux or murky bile green for nausea." A pill that is a visual representative of the distasteful symptom that a person is experiencing does not indicate relief of that symptom. If a person takes a pill that they do not believe will work, or that they believe will not work well, the person will have less relief than they should, regardless of how biologically well the chemicals in the pill should treat the symptoms. Treatments are considerably more effective when the colors of the pills are in accordance with the feeling that they are supposed to promote. A soothing pale blue is often the color of choice for sleeping pills, and the earthy green of Excedrin capsules seems to suggest tranquility and relief from pain.

All extraneous information and quotes take from :

"Taking the Color of Medications Seriously
Pharmaceutical Color – A New Frontier!"
www.colormatters.com/body_pills.html

On Ghosts

2008-02-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

It strikes me as a good day to contemplate the supernatural: the sky overcast, the streets slick with rain, and the faint whistle of wind outside my apartment window. Perhaps the most notable relation ghosts have to color is that such apparations often (if not always) are described as appearing either white or black. They can be opaque, transparent, mist-like, having a shape that merely suggests the human figure, or fully formed and detailed images.
It does not matter whether the account is given by the person who saw the ghost or by a friend-of-a-friend, passing on the story in one of the rawest forms of oral tradition...the color never varies between white and black.
It's likely that this has to do with the stereotypes of white and black that strongly persist in modern North American culture. Women apparitions are the ones often appearing in white; usually clothed in a white gown of some kind, tragically killed on their prom night, wedding day, or before their debutante ball. Men who held some kind of power during their lifetime: high-ranking soldiers, judges, or barons take the form of black mists, angered by those who dare enter their house and otherwise intrude upon their property.
Black and white are colors associated with mystery and intrigue as much as they represent evil and innocence. Few people can tell you the true definition of either white or black. Even if you choose to consult different color theories upon the matter, each one seems to disagree with the other. Are they the presence of all colors? The absence or absorbtion of all light? It may be for this reason that black and white have been inextricably linked with the unknown, the ethereal. Certainly there are other colors that could also do the duty of representing these spirits: green is often associated with power, greed and force, purple denotes things of a spiritual nature, and it seems more likely that red would be the color of choice for those who met a violent and untimely death. Still, black and white elude definition in all but the wildest depths of our imaginations and persists to manifest as otherworldly forms.

Playing Favorites

2008-02-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

What is your favorite color?

That is one of the most common questions that people ask. It is a relatively safe, simple inquiry throught which we attempt to get a better grasp of the person that we happen to be stuck with.
Blue seems to an almost equally common answer. Blue is used in many advertisements, with the general purpose of luring in and creating soothing, positive associations within the person that is looking. However, blue is also used in commercials for depression treating drugs to impress upon the viewer feelings of cold, bleakness, and despair. I cannot get past my own prejudices against the color blue; I find it to be distasteful in almost every shade unless mixed with another color.
Blue has come to symbolize mediocrity: a color for someone with no imagination and without the ability to look anywhere but skyward, ignoring all of the other wonderful colors around them.
Green is my color of choice. When I think of green I am always reminded of spring, when everything is more alive. Green always calls to mind the new shoots of grass, forests thick with leaves, and the running water of the river I grew up near. It also brings to mind slightly more incongruent and abstract things: new possibilites, laughter, and joy. Green surpasses the description afforded to colors. It is a scent, a taste, a feeling, a specific sound (like that of music, rain, and birds chirping).
In choosing our favorite, we are all making a small declaration about which color causes us this synesthesia; capturing all of our senses in the most positive of ways.

Color and its social implications

2008-01-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

The red of the fire alarm is used so often that the familiar sight of red as an indication of danger has become almost cliche. First and foremost, it is an attention grabber. With the frequent assault of images rendered in red, most people have been programmed since birth to respond to it in some way, whether it simply by drawing their attention to the object to read or look at or even by producing a more emotional reaction such as love, anger, fear, or panic. This is probably the reason why red is now so frequently used as a way to direct a viewers attention to something.
The red of the fire alarm is used so often that the familiar sight of red as an indication of danger has become almost cliche. First and foremost, it is an attention grabber. With the frequent assault of images rendered in red, most people have been programmed since birth to respond to it in some way, whether it simply by drawing their attention to the object to read or look at or even by producing a more emotional reaction such as love, anger, fear, or panic. This is probably the reason why red is now so frequently used as a way to direct a viewers attention to something.This photo of a pawn shop's sign is done in colors of green and gold. The green is a darker, forest-like green, and the gold is more subtle and subdued. It seems likely that these colors were chosen either consciously or subconsciously because of their association with money. The green brings to mind the green tint of paper bills, and the gold signifies (quite literally) gold; a valuable metal that suggests wealth to those that behold it. Also, the fact that the colors chosen are not bright and agressive, but rather dark and toned down gives the pawn shop a slightly more sophisticated and serious feel.

Performance art research

2007-12-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

One of the leading art movements in performance art is called Dada. It began as an art form that represented a sort of anti-aesthetically pleasing viewpoint. Dadaists believed that the barbarism of world war 1 was caused by logic. They did not approve, and therefore sought to remedy the problem by creating and performing art that was illogical and irrational. Their performance art was also typically anti-upper class. One such performance art consisted of the participants walking past urinals while being read poetry. Dadaists would also create music that was generally nonsensical and not very pleasing to listen to.

All information provided by:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada

conceptual art activity

2007-11-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

I don't really know the purpose behind this activity, or if there really is one at all. All we did was make lines and put them up in the order in which we chose our shapes from the hat. I did, however, like the bit about Rauschenberg's piece where he exhibited one of De Kooning's drawing that he erased. That is an "oh snap" moment if I ever heard one. As of yet, I cannot think of any concepts to propose. Hopefully I will have one by class tomorrow

Performace art

2007-11-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

For all intents and purposes, I am brain-dead today (perhaps because I haven't slept in two months). I guess this made the activity slightly more interesting, as everything I think and experience is slightly fuzzy, and not processing quite as fast as it is happening. I think the activity I came up with went really well, and it was interesting that as they got towards the end, each person started responding to the other person's mark very rapidly.

Happening

2007-10-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

This activity was real awkward. Most of the time I felt uncomfortable and overly self conscious. It is freezing outside. I just remember not wanting to copy someone else's facial movements. Usually people naturally mirror other people during a conversation but it felt wrong and weird to be doing it consciously. Also, the faces were funny so it was hard to concentrate on actually performing the activity rather than giving in to the absurdity of it.

Critiquing Duchamp

2007-10-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

While I do not find Duchamp's piece The Bride to be visually appealing or to be clearly telling a narrative, his explanation of it seems valid and thought out. However, I would hesitate to call it a successful work of art, as the explanation required is not only extremely long, involved (and somewhat boring); but the same conclusion cannot be reached by an outsider merely looking at the piece.
For a work of art to be successful, it should be able to be "read" or understood coherently without the aid of multiple notes and pages of in-depth analysis. If this cannot be done, the viewer can neither connect nor react to the piece, and it may as well be completely meaningless.
Furthermore, Duchamp has also failed to produce the comedy that he claims it to be. If too much explanation is required of a joke, it becomes ruined. Humor is something that is intuitive, causing reactions first and then, later on, thought about more clearly. This aside, I would not even consider The Bride to be humorous though I do have a (vague) understanding of its meaning.
It seems to me that the message the piece sends is more depressing than anything else. It trivializes the pursuit of love and desire, suggesting that it is a meaningless, animal instinct, prompting actions that are futile and equally meaningless. The figures are not people that the viewer is allowed to connect to. They are mere types...the virgin bride, the bachelors with unquestionably masculine careers. Their actions are mechanical, part of a game, and they are propelled forth automatically, without having any concept of why or how.
The ultimate outcome of The Bride and her fate are never given, perhaps adding even more to cynical feeling that this work stirs in the viewer. She and the bachelors have come to the end of the game and are stuck in a standstill, unable to go forward or backward, with no future.

Patterns

2007-09-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Patterns exist in many different forms and functions. They can exist purely for aesthetic purposes, such a patterns printed on floor, ceiling and wall tiles. Patterns can be used for religious purposes, like the patterns in stained glass on cathedrals or the complex patterns created in Islamic art. They can also be celebratory such as the patterns of henna tattoos, which are often used to signify events like marriage.
Patterns can be intricate and dizzying, or they can be simple and soothing. They can also be used to create optical illusions and give the viewer a sense of motion, depth, or latent images.
The term pattern may be used in reference not only to visuals but to certain behaviors that individuals repeat over the course of their life.

Gestalt

2007-09-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

My painting professor at BCCC used to walk around the room, expounding upon the importance of "gestalt". Good story, I know.

She explained it as "the overall image, parts coming together to form a whole, the bigger picture". In greater depth it refers to the way in which positive and negative space come together to form the entire image.

While you can see definitive positive and negative shapes in my Illustrator drawing, it is probably not the most clear example of gestalt because it is abstract.

And I still dislike/am afraid of computers. My laptop totally owns me.

the picture is from "http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm"

Value Composition

2007-09-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

Value Studies

2007-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

The first part of this project was mostly....frustrating. It was frustrating because it is difficult to get seamless transitions, and frustrating because it was about the thirtieth time in my life that I've had to do a value scale. Once I got the value scale done, the second part came a little easier. Thinking about composition is always more interesting. I chose to do a high contrast theme of value, and the only problem I came across was that when I added white sections to the drawing it looked bizarre, so even though I wanted to keep them as part of the design I ended up having to darken them a little.
That and my fixative is stuffed in my locker at the downtown campus...

the string incident

2007-09-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

The thought of having to unravel all of the string at the end of the project was enough to keep me from fully enjoying the activity. I did not unravel my entire ball of twine, and I did not think about composition when I was unraveling it. However, looking at every one's string wrapped together it doesn't seem to have mattered whether or not we thought about composition. Despite the spontaneity of the project, patterns started emerging in certain spots throughout the room, making it appear as though it was planned and purposeful.
I don't think it was a lame or useless activity, because it definitely encouraged teamwork, and caused many people to remark that people going to other colleges would not have gotten to experience such a thing. This is a valid point because in art related fields it is important to be able to free yourself from rigid thinking in order to come up with solutions that are unorthodox and creative. It's important to be able to have fun and work at the same time because if you aren't enjoying yourself it translates into the work you do.

Line & Shape

2007-09-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

Of these images, I think that A, B, and C can be lines, and of the same images all of them (A, B, C, and D) can be shapes.

A line is a mark that is made to describe another object, one piece of a whole.

A shape represents only itself, it is the object being viewed, and can be composed of multiple lines.

Sculpture Analysis

2007-09-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

This sculpture is composed primarily of right angles and straight lines. The fact that it is a strongly geometric figure that has been covered in a uniform coat of black paint gives this sculpture the feeling that it is mechanical in nature. It has a very powerful presence, and though you cannot tell the size from the photograph you imagine that if you were to stand before it, it would tower over you.

I like that you have to look closely to see all of the detail that is in this piece. If you walked by it, you would not be able to catch everything in one glance. The uniform color makes it seem as though everything is supposed to go together, rather than being random objects the artist slapped together. I also like that despite its very structured appearance, it still seems fragile, as though some of the boxes have been stacked very precariously on top of the others.