Week 13 - Music Video Comment

Hello Class, 

as discussed previously with Julia, I'm going to base this assignment on a video different from the one you discussed, since I wasn't able to see the Yellow Submarine video due to German copyright restrictions. 

I must admit it wasn't as easy to find a video to discuss once agin due to the copyright laws and also due to the lack of imagination and artistical composition of the videos nowadays. Finally I chose to discuss the music video of "You are a Tourist" from Death Cab for Cutie. I think this video could have had a lot of creative potential because of their usage of light reflections and geometrical figures. Sadly I think the color blocks and the more filigree lights used in the video don't really match. For example I love the bird perspective of the floor in minute 2:40 in which they showcase a city filled with different options while showing circles in complementary contrasting colors over a crossroad. Also minute 3:33 is amazing with all the more muted colors contrast so well with the highly saturated green of the moving windows. But the contrast from minute 3:33 to 3:36 is just too much, although one might argue that the difference of the geometrical forms to the more filigree ones could be seen as a contrasting complement, I think both of them tell a different kind of story. In my opinion if they would have used only the color blocking/geometrical idea the video would had been much better. All the room's, ballerinas and led lights on the musicians are just distracting elements which are not really necessary. I would love to know what you think about it. Here is the link where you can see the video: http://vimeo.com/24569549

Geometrical

Filigree

Metamarism

The first time I got in contact with this term was while working at a design / advertising agency. We were producing a catalogue for a local department store and our client was obsessed with matching the colors of the printed catalogue with the actual fabrics. 

I remember going to the printing factory in order to make sure that all the surfaces, textiles and paper, were reproduced exactly under some specific light. (The one they got in the store and daylight) At first I thought it was going to be an easy job, but when I got there almost every color differed from the actual color in the textiles. What I thought would be the work of one day become a week, we constantly had to print out samples and compare them to the textile swatches under a "light source" which simulated different lights. 

After having matched almost all the colors exactly, I realized how important this part of the work was. Because, if we hadn't done that many clients would have been disappointed while coming to the store to find the garment they had see in the catalogue.  

Info Graphic about Colors

Click here to see a larger overview of the photo. 

Pointillism - Neue Pinakothek Munich

For this weeks assignment, I decided to go on a Museum trip to the "Neue Pinakothek" here in Munich, Germany. Since this one displays a variety of European Art paintings of the 18th and 19th century. It is known as one of the most important museums of art of the nineteenth century. 

Here my finds about Pointillism: 

Theo van Rysselberghe (1862 - 1926) "Springbrunnen im Park Sanssouci in Potsdam, 1903" 

Study of a Fountain / Sanssouci Palace, Germany 

Georges Pierre Seurat (1859 – 1891) "The Seine and la Grande Jatte - Springtime 1888" 

Normally exhibited at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium 

In my visit to this museum, I realized how Seurat´s Pointillism technique had evolved in time. For example in Vincent van Gogh's and Henry van de Velde's paintings you can see that the brush strokes become more comma shaped than dotted. Here some examples: 

Henry van de Velde (1863 - 1957) "Garden in Kalmthout - 1892"

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) " View of Arles - 1889"

Looking forward to see your paintings! 

Inv. Nr. 8662

Mehr zu diesem Werk

Lightness Perception - Monica Ramirez

Edward Adelson's reading clarifies the way our visual system perceives light. Every day our visual system faces thousand of objects waiting to be defined, so it  uses a complex (stringent) processes to recognize them. But given that this process is so strict it can also be deceived, since not always what we perceive corresponds to the reality. I wonder if this is a learned process or if our visual system would react different while being in another environment. 

While reading this abstract I also couldn't stop thinking about how this explanations relate to the work of MC Escher a dutch graphic artist which experimented with optical illusions using mostly shades of grey.

African American Quilt's

While researching for a trend assignment for another of my classes, I came across this exhibition about "African American Quilts" and thought that perhaps some of you might like it :) It is so colorful and  inspiring! Here is the website for the exhibition. Perhaps if you are in the Seattle area you go and take a peek. http://www.bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/current/bold_expressions/index.html

Monica Ramirez - "Munsell's Color System"

I'm a very visual person, so while reading the text about "Munsell's Color System" I got quite confused. At first, I totally understood why he saw the necessity of inventing a system in which all the colors that we see could be classified. But then when they started to describe the color qualities and the operation of the globe, I got totally confused.  This was till I researched the system on the web and saw the tridimensional globes, after this all made sense. I really like how precise this system can be!

After having read our lecture note, I decided to research a bit more about this system to find out if it was still actual and in use. I was pleasently surprised to see that "modern day color theory and mathematical color system is based on Munsell's theory color". In fact, there is a company which has decided to continue its legacy. http://munsell.com Take a look at this nice site to dip even more into this color world. I recommend their blog, which is very interactive and informative. 

The only question I have after this reading, is why this color system is so common in the US and in other countries like China but not in Europe? Here we only hear about Pantone and it's color System... Does someone know?

Color Green by Monica Ramirez (Week 2)

Introduction to the color Green

The color green is a one of the primary colors of the additive color mixture (beside red and blue). In subtracting color mixing, green is achieved by mixing the colors cyan and yellow. Its complementary color is magenta in the RGB (additive) color wheel and red in the RYB color model. 

            

              - RYB Color Model - 

What does the color green symbolize?

As the main color of the vegetation, green is associated with life and growth. Ancient knowledge tells us that our survival is assured only if once again fresh green sprout from the earth. Which is why green is a symbol of hope and confidence. This explains, why in our culture, it is a tradition in the winter to have an evergreen Christmas tree in the living room. (So it was already in pre-Christian pagan times.)

Also, the greening in the spring stood in the middle ages as a symbol of the nascent love, which is why green is also considered a color for the new love. In Old Palestine brides wore a green wedding dress to the hope of a happy life and fertility. 

Green is the color of the Islam. The Prophet Muhammad is said to have dressed preferably in green. Which is why you can notice several green  decorative elements held in mosques. The flags of many Muslim countries contain green, among those, the flags of Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and the former flag from Libya (1977 to 2011).  

In Christianity, green is the color of the resurrection. Which is why green is the color of easter, green as in the spring green. 

Green is also the color for signalizing that something is normal, positive or proper. It is used to identify processes that work or are allowed. Although intense shades of green are referred to as "poison green". This is because, as read previously, most of the developed green pigments were toxic. Green is also associated with the evil, many medieval poets drew connections between the color green and the devil. 

Green Pigments! 

It is believed that the egyptians were the first ones to create a green pigment, the malachite. Found mainly in their tomb paintings. 

- Osiris - The Great Green - 

(In ancient Egypt green represented protection)

- Malachite (basic copper carbonate) is a secondary mineral of copper which is found in many parts of the world.  The natural pigments of this mineral were made by crushing the mineral, ground to a powder. 

But there is also an artificial way of creating this pigment, this method was commonly used in the middle ages in Europe, is to be added potash, lime and salt ammoniac to a soluble copper salt such as copper sulphate or sulfite. And so the copper sulfate reacts with the sodium carbonate to produce a basic copper carbonate, which is finally the pigment. This artificial pigment is mainly known as copper green.  

- Another natural pigment which is used since ancient times is, Green Earth. This pigments is also seen in the late Egyptian art, but it was more frequently used in medieval paintings. Green Earth is made out of the natural material glauconite or celadonite, which are micaceous structures found in submarine elevations of ancient seabeds and in sedimentary rocks of different geological systems. The pigment is produced, as in the case of many of the natural pigments, by grinding the natural material. 

- The Greeks were the first ones to create an artificial pigment, which they called Verdigris. This was then often used through the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque because of its unique vibrancy. Verdigris was discontinued in the 19th century due to its toxicity. 

This pigment was commonly made in wine growing areas because one of the components needed for doing Verdigris is a sub product of winemaking. Verdigris was done by resting copper plates into wine mark, because the resulting acetic acid, from the wine mark, reacts with the copper forming a green / blue crust which is then scraped of and ground. 

After that, most of the green pigments that were produced were artificial ones. This was due to the intense improvements in chemistry. In the late 18th century a new generation of greens was introduced. These were cobalt green, emerald green and viridian. 

Cobalt Green:

This pigment was created by the Swedish chemist, Rinmann in 1780. Cobalt green was made by mixing the compounds of oxides of zinc and cobalt with an alkaline carbonate. Then the mixture had to be heated and after washing the sediment that resulted, the pigment was ready to be ground.

Emerald green:

Emerald green was a pigment, that was quickly embraced by society in the 19th century due to its beautiful color and its inexpensive production costs. This pigment was used not only for artistic purposes but also for painting homes. The problem was, that this pigment contained many toxic fumes which caused many cases of poisoning among the population. 

This pigment is produced as a reaction of sodium arsenate with copper-acetate. Emerald green is also known as "Schweinfurt Green" due to its commercial origin in the little town of Schweinfurt, Germany. Justus von Liebig and Andre Bracconot are known separately for being the ones who invented this pigment. 

Viridian

It is said, that Viridian is one of the best green pigments ever made. This is due to its very stable powerful cold green and its lack of toxicity, since it doesn't contain copper. Viridian pigment is made by calcining a mixture of boric acid and potassium bichromate and washing the material which is formed. The first one in creating this pigment, was Pannentier, a parisian color maker.

Melachite - Green Earth - Verdigris - Cobalt Green  - Emerald Green - Viridian  

(Pigments described above)

Green in Nature

- Malachite Stone - 

Since many plants contain Chlorophyll, green is the main color of the vegetation. In nature it is seen especially in the spring, aside from the tropics, where the plants are constantly green. Green is a color which also appears in various components of nature such as in animals, stones and gem stones.  

What is the best possible way to use this color in design field?

After reading so much about the this color, I would say that green would be an excellent color for the use in any space that has to be filled with confident /positive thoughts. Which is why I would recommend to use this color in space like living rooms, "creative rooms" in offices and in hotel lobbies. All this spaces need the good energy that green provides.

What is the worst possible way to use this color in design field?

It depends on the hue of the green, but mostly I wouldn't recommend to use green in bedrooms since it is a very impotent color which would disturb the calmness of the room.

Resources: 

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green

- http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/greens.html

- http://www.naturalpigments.com
- http://www.cornelissen.com/
- http://www.hobby-island.co.uk/

Nice Video About Pink!

Julie, perhaps this might help you for your research :) 

Holton Rower - Color Inspiration

I just came across this video by searching something for another class and I could not stop sharing it with all of you because it is amazing! Isn't it incredible how color can influence our mood? Don't you feel happy after seeing this video? Enjoy!

Introduction Monica Ramirez

Hey everyone, 

my name is Monica Ramirez and this is my second semester of Fashion Marketing online. I live in Munich Germany but I come originally from Bogotá, Colombia. My background is in Graphic Design and I became aware of my deeper interest in fashion marketing trough a graduation project for my program in which I created a bikini brand (photo). My dream is to some day open a store were I can sell and market my own products. 

Looking forward to increase my knowledge about color!