Our vision is a very important sense for the human body. It takes responsibility for most stimuli and makes us interact with the universe. All the things that surround us are full of colors and lights that attract us by the eyes. But after all, how does it happen?

Before explaining this process itself, it is worth mentioning the way colors are formed. Color is the impression of the eyes that is made by sunlight and is perceived through its wavelength by our brain.

The color we call white is nothing more than the combination of all the colors visible to our eyes. It is composed of red, yellow, blue, orange, green, indigo and violet spectra. In contrast, the color we call black is the absence of light, which is nothing more than the absence of color, given that it does not have the ability to reflect any light on any object.

This wavelength we talked about above is nothing more than a physical phenomenon that makes us human beings have the ability to differentiate one tone from another. People with color blindness, for example, have some difficulty in differentiating these shades. But the fact is that the colors vibrate at different speeds. This means that the faster this speed, the more bluish it gets, when slow, we have more reddish tones.

Remember the cover of the album Dark Side of the Moon from the iconic Pink Floyd? This is nothing more than an experiment by Isaac Newton. Yes, the same physicist who demonstrated the three laws that bear his name. With a prism, he was able to observe that a beam of light could be divided into seven colors. The same as mentioned above: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet.

The study is so complex that there is a field to elucidate all this better. It is the theory of colors. This theory ranges from the physiology of color, that is, how it is interpreted by our brain to its application and use. Field most studied by those who work directly with visual communication, such as designers.

Art is nothing new. His study is complex and with countless artists who have made their work truly precious to humanity. Color is present in almost all of these works. Currently, many people use black and white to create their works, as in the case of the film Roma, by Alfonso Cuarón. As there are also filmmakers who explore colors so much that they have seen their cinematic characteristic, their signature. A clear example of this is another film director, the renowned Pedro Almodóvar.

Leave it to me. Here, we will talk a little more about other art forms besides cinema. Thus, you will understand the whole process involving colors in art through different examples very present in your daily life.

The encounter of color with art

Understanding that technology does not refer only to electronic or digital things as we mentioned in another text of our blog, it is valid to say that the use of colors in artistic works, whether they are cinematographic, paintings or even in music, is considered a technology which is widely explored in the field of art.

Now that we have created this relationship between colors and art, we make room to talk about the subject in more depth throughout this article. Next, we will explore the theme by bringing here important points that relate colors and art.

Why is color a technology for art?

Art is something that affects our most different instincts. Something that has much more to do with feeling than touching. In other words, art is something intangible. And guess what? The colors too. Because of this, there is already a reason why colors are a technology for art.

There is another field that studies the relationship of colors to our mind. This study is the psychology of colors. And as we are always in the Timelinefy vibe, let's talk a little about the history of color psychology.

Well, the first studies started very early in the year 1666 when Isaac Newton discovered white light with the experiment of the prism that we have already talked about here. It was later discovered that the mixture of colors created new tones. Yellow, for example, is a mixture of green and red.

But the Color Theory as we know it was created by the German Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. According to him, color does not depend exclusively on light and the environment, but also on the perception of the object. That is, the identification of tones is something subjective, but the effects of colors are universal. To better understand this, think of warm colors like red, orange and yellow? They are dynamic and stimulating whereas cool colors like purple, blue and green have calming properties. They are smooth and static.

Colors are so important as technology for art that many use them even in their business strategies, where they use each color wisely to activate a certain desire in our minds. Yes, when this is done well you can understand that nothing is by chance.

The impact of colors on different artistic expressions

Now that we understand the relationship between colors and art and how they are a technology. How about taking a look at all that was said in an applied way? Photography, cinema, painting and printing: things that are very present in our daily lives.

Photography

Photography is really something fantastic. A capture of a moment and that's it, it's eternalized. Of course, in the beginning, photography did not have all the resources that are used today. The colors will even appear in the photograph after many years of its invention.

When it comes to photography, there's no way! The colors have a great impact on the result of a beautiful photo. On an artistic level, in addition to a good framing and the image alone, color is essential. It impacts our emotions and interests more than almost all other elements of photography. The combination of warm and cool colors in a photograph makes a big difference. See more about photography technology in this article, Photography: the technology that revolutionized art.

Movie theater

In cinema, color also plays a role. The colors accentuate emotions, help in the perception of climate and weather, symbolize a character's state of mind and also influence the audience's understanding of the concept of the scene. The important thing is to know that the colors are often not there in the scene simply for the sake of aesthetics, but rather to determine the entire course of a narrative.

For example, have you ever caught yourself watching a movie that, just by changing the tone, did you understand that it was a flashback? Yes, the colors speak! And that for a narrative makes a total difference. In addition to the aforementioned Pedro Almodóvar who reserves great works like All About My Mother, we have another director who does this very well, Wes Anderson. There are several films like Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Royal Tenenbaums and many others.

Painting and printing

It is almost impossible to talk about painting and color without mentioning Frida Kahlo. Her works are full of colors and one of them has its meaning for the artist. But in addition to it, there is a large group of artists who use colors to create unique works. Can you imagine a monalisa without color? Or any other work that impresses us by the richness of colors and exact choices when creating.

In printing, colors are also essential. According to the type of material that will be printed it is necessary to create proof tests, to know if the material is suitable for the color, in short. It's almost a science

Conclusion

So far you can understand more about the importance of colors as technology for art. Whenever you are visiting an art gallery, or even a museum, keep an eye on what colors can provide for your experience. Try to imagine what art would be like if it weren't for colors. This does not take the weight off of the black and white works, but shows how the colors give a new look to art.