All About Color LESSON FOUR

“Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, and the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another purposely, to cause vibrations in the soul.” ~Vasili Kandinsky (A Russian expressionist painter linked to Fauvism)

Photography is an efficient method of artistic expression. Rather than spending hours upon hours painting a landscape or sculpting a figure, the photographer taps both sides of the brain, and with seemingly instantaneous results, creates an expressive image. Immediacy is one of photography’s strongest attributes. But to truly understand your options as a photographer, one should understand the history of art and photography. Traditionally, photography has followed the path of art history, either in tandem, in deference to, or in response.

For creative people — whether you’re a writer, a musician, an architect, a dancer, a painter, or a photographer — the process of creating brings us all to the same place. The creative process becomes the vehicle in which we explore and express our vision. Let’s now take a moment to look at the characteristics of a creative person.

Creativity In her inspirational book, Launching the Imagination, Mary Stewart claims that a creative person has the following characteristics: • Receptivity – Creative people are risk takers, they welcome new ideas. They

listen more and talk less.

• Curiosity – Creative people are curious about the “whys” and “what ifs” of things

and nature. Through constant probing and brainstorming, new ideas and

approaches surface.

• Wide range of interests – Creative people call upon many disciplines to express

their visions. For instance as a photographer, you might also play the piano, fly a

plane, or juggle while riding a unicycle.

• Attentiveness – The creative person pays attention to the little things that go

otherwise unnoticed. Art is in the details.

• Connection seeker – A creative person wants to know how seemingly random

events or topics are connected. They look at the world on a spiritual level

knowing that cosmic energy is at play.

• Conviction – A creative person has stubborn persistence. While six hours of work

can seem like twenty minutes, the artist is also willing to throw it all away and

begin again. A creative person perseveres because they believe in an idea.

• Complexity – Creative people learn to blend the rationale with the intuitive. They

know and respect when to rely on the left or right brain hemisphere. Creative

people like and welcome solitude, while at the same time they are often

gregarious. Creative people are not easily pegged as this or that. When they are

analytical or brainstorming, the creative person is often a social person. When it is

time to create, with a deadline looming, the creative person will turn inwards.

Color has always been a powerful source of creative expression throughout the history of art, including black-and-white works dating back to cave paintings. Let’s now turn to a few art movements that embody color’s expressive power and influenced the art of photography.

Fauvism (1898-1906) Fauvism was a brief period in art history, but its bold, and at the time, violent and outrageous use of color, strikes a chord with color enthusiasts. Seurat and other impressionists were enthralled in their realizations of pointillism. But, as we know, every action has a reaction, and the Impressionist soon became tired of the tedious brush strokes required in pointillism — thus the birth of Post-Impressionism.

Van Gogh and Gauguin led this new offshoot, offering a more guttural approach, working with emotive brush strokes producing sometimes a primitive appearance. In 1903, a group of artists

© Cheryl Machat Dorskind All About Color ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Page #3 © Cheryl Machat Dorskind ALL RIGHTS RESERVED All About Color Lesson & Assignment #4 www.cherylmachatdorskind.com founded a salon called the Salon d’Automne as a reactionary alternative to the then popular Salon of Paris. Led by Henri Matisse in 1905, the Son d’Automne organized an exhibition of their own works, which were so radical that the critics dubbed them as Fauves, or “wild beasts.” The paintings abandoned any connections with realism; instead the Fauves painted landscapes, people, and objects in vibrant, straight-from-the tube-colors that were wildly audacious. The paintings represented freedom of color, and it is this freedom of color that epitomizes the Fauve movement. Colors were chosen because they themselves relayed the message, color became liberated and the Fauves created a magical world, one that passionately ushered the viewer into their colorful kingdom.

While short lived, Fauvism was an important conduit to modern art. Fauvism, established the beginning of expressionism, and as a result of Fauvism, artists resolved to believe that the purpose of art was to express rather than depict.

Modernism (1915-1975) Modernism arose in Europe in response to the ruins of World War I. There were many important movements included within this broad era, such as Surrealism, Dadaism, Cubism, the Bauhaus, and the Harlem Renaissance.

Let’s now fast forward to the art that flavored the later years of modernism, and in turn led to the creation of Post Modernism.

Color Field Painting Color Field paintings were a part of the broader category, Abstract Expressionism. Finally, America had an artistic movement it could credit as its own. Following WWII, Abstract Expressionism was founded in New York, known as — no surprise — The New York School. While Western Europe was completely devastated, the United States was becoming a vibrant cultural mecca. Many artists and teachers found their way to New York and The New York School. During this period, also known as Abstract Expressionism, William de Kooning and Jackson Pollack reigned supreme. Abstract Expressionism was known for its work with scale and

© Cheryl Machat Dorskind All About Color ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Page #4 © Cheryl Machat Dorskind ALL RIGHTS RESERVED All About Color Lesson & Assignment #4 www.cherylmachatdorskind.com these artists usually worked on huge canvasses attempting to physically sweep the viewer into the canvass.

As the name implies, Color Field paintings fill large areas with color, sometimes one color, or shades, or tints. This type of work portrays the meditative and emotive characteristics of color that we explored throughout this class. If you have the opportunity, visit a museum where you can view and experience Color Field paintings, such as the works of Mark Rothko. You will learn firsthand how color can alter your thoughts, feelings, and even change you body temperature.

Assemblage In the mid 1950s, Abstract Expressionism had already been around for 15 years and artists and intellectuals were once again looking for new ways to express their vision. Artists began creating art as an affirmation of life, rather than a means to create order out of chaos. Artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns used art as a wake-up call. Rauschenberg created his works by combining material from mass-produced media (newspaper and magazines) and visually unified them with paint. Rauschenberg referred to his paintings as “combined paintings,” but the term Assemblage became the wider movement. Digital photography has clearly found a home in this movement.

Jasper Johns took Assemblage a step further as he chose familiar icons as his subjects; the American flag, the United States map, the letters of the alphabet, became some of his most identifiable motifs.

Pop Art Artists of the popular movement found a gold mine of motifs in American culture, and used everything including, home appliances, food, comic books, and billboards to proclaim their message. The most famous of the Pop movement is Andy Warhol. Visit the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburgh, if you can!

Colors of Night Night photography presents a blank canvass rich with possibilities. Nighttime can be surreal, impressionistic, or embody the quality of Fauvism. Personally, nighttime reminds me of Pop Art where Cool-Aid colors and sherbet neon signs instantly come to my mind.

When we think about light, our mind’s eye automatically sees daylight or the sun’s light. Conversely, when we think about night, our mind’s eye automatically sees dark black spaces. The color black is often associated with night. But nighttime (the terms available light or natural light apply to night photography) is actually rich with colors awaiting discovery. The moon and other stars light the night, as do streetlights, lampposts, window lights, office interiors, car lights, and neon signs. Night photography transforms the ordinary scene into a surreal landscape. Reflections can enhance a night landscape into profound beauty.

Implicit in the term, night photography works with less than ideal lighting conditions. A successful photographer finds ways to solve lighting obstacles. The biggest challenge to successful night photography is “how to record low light intensity on digital film.” Because of night’s characteristic strong contrast, determining exposure is the first hurdle; your light meter will be of little use. Secondly, the challenge is how to convey the emotive quality of night. Lastly, technically speaking, night photography presents challenges; tripods and cable releases are helpful, but a photographer is always resourceful. A flashlight and a companion are also helpful. The flashlight will help you see what you are doing and the companion can hold the flashlight as well as keep you company.

Ideally, when you shoot at night, you’ll use “Manual” exposure mode. If your camera does not permit disabling the flash, then use shutter priority (TV), and select a slow shutter speed. Long (slow) shutter exposures — between 3 and 30 seconds — are essential.

“Manual” exposure mode is the optimal choice since the camera’s light meter will be of little value at night. Manual enables the photographer to select aperture, shutter, and ISO settings. A

“b” (bulb) allows the shutter to remain open for as long as the photographer desires and is a key feature for the serious night photographer.

Night photography commands knowledge of the moon’s angle, position, and cycle. And while on first thought, you might conclude, “I’ll photograph at night when the moon is full,” the bright moonlight might actually be too strong if your goal is star trailing. Many photographers suggest capturing night photographs during twilight, that short gap of time before the sky turns dark. At dusk, you can still see a separation between the scene and the background and this demarcation helps cast a memorable spell enhancing a nightscape.

Successful night photography requires trial and error. As a starting point, consider the following exposure chart:

Subject ISO 100 ISO 400 ISO 1600

Candlelit scenes 1/4secf/2 1/15secf/2 1/30secf/4

Brightly lit city streets at night 1/30secf2.8 1/60secf/4 1/125secf5.6

Neon signs 1/60secf2.8 1/125secf4 1/125secf8

Shop windows 1/30secf2.8 1/60secf4 1/125secf5.6

Floodlit buildings 1secf4 1/2sec5.6 1/4secf8

Skyline at night 4secsf2.8 1secf2.8 1secf5.6

Skyline at dusk 1/30secf5.6 1/60secf8 1/125secf11

Moving traffic (as light streaks) 20sedf16 20secf8 20secf4

Stage performances -- 1/15secf2.8 1/60secf2.8

Stars (as trails of light) 5minf4 5minf8 5minf16

Moonlit landscape 2minf4 1minf5.6 1minf11

Full moon 1/250secf8 1/500secf11 1/1000f16

Source: Hedgecoe, John. New Introductory Photography Course. London: Focal Press, 1996, page 200

NYC: Times Square at night

Assignment #4

Both art and photography share a dependence on space, light, and color. In a sense, their worlds collide. Anything learned in one field, can be absorbed in the other. Both fields not only look at their subjects, but they look at each other. Consider great photography and great art as beneficial resources, and allow them both to inspire you.

Submit one photo for Part A, B, and C as described below:

Part A - In the Fauve Spirit

Fauvism: A style of painting with vivid expressionistic and non-naturalistic use of color that flourished in Paris from 1905 and, although short-lived, had an important influence on subsequent artists, esp. the German expressionists. Matisse was regarded as the movement's leading figure.

Because of copyright laws, I am not able to bring in the pictures from art history to illustrate the wonder of the fauve colors. I have therefore found a few websites that I think you find inspiring.

Refer to these URLs for inspiration: http://www.artinthepicture.com (Select styles and movements, and then select Fauvism)

Fauve examples

Create a series of photographs that exemplify the Fauve’s essence. Consider creating still lifes using discordant or unusual color combinations, or explore your environment and see if Fauve colors already dot your personal landscape. You can also experiment in Photoshop or Lightroom using white balance and saturation sliders to create interesting colors.

Example of Fauve Colors

In the spirit of the Fauves, focus on vibrant, highly saturated colors and allow the colors to take center stage. Upload your best shot.

Part B –Colors of Night

Celebrate the colors of night and submit your best shot. Bring your tripod and bracket when possible.

Night example - Fifth Avenue, NYC

Part C – Color Field Create photographs in the Color Field spirit, where color fills the frame and tells the story in an abstract fashion. Upload your best shot.

Color Field Painting Example