The Art of Color - Color Impression and Expression

Introduction

Book cover of "The Art of Color" by Johannes Itten, featuring six colorful square-in-square designs.

Color is life, for a world without color seems dead. As a flame produces light, light produces color. As intonation lends color to the spoken word, color lends spiritually realized sound to form. Harmony implies balance, symmetry of forces.

– Johannes Itten, from The Art of Color

From 1919 – 1922, Johannes Itten developed and taught courses on color theory to students at the School of Applied Arts in Weimer, Germany, or better known as the Bauhaus, the infamous German art school of the early twentieth-century. Initially trained as an educator with an interest in psychoanalytic theory, Itten utilized these ideas into developing his theories on color composition and the relationships of color which became the foundation of his book, The Art of Color.

In the book, Itten proposed that not only was color experienced and understood visually with such considerations as the 12-Hue Color Circle and the Seven Color Contrasts, but also psychologically and emotionally.

Color integration squares from "The Art of Color", showcasing color combinations and their interactions.

While Itten’s ideas on the role and function of color were concentrated and developed for two-dimensional design and painting, these same theories can be applied to developing a visual vocabulary of the integration of space and color within the context of color photography.

The theories in The Art of Color suggest the possibilities of developing a color sensibility and color harmony in photography – a visual relationship and structure between colors that are capable of serving as a basis for composition and revealing content.

Read the following discussion and consider how descriptive color is experienced by the color of light and how this can be used in photography as you begin working on the upcoming Image-Making Assignment.

Connection

Incorporating and applying the terms and concepts of Color Impression and the Color of Light with your approach to photography will be helpful towards successfully completing the following upcoming assignments:

5.9 | The Art and Interactions of Color and Grayscale (Graded Quiz)
6.6 | Proof of Existence (Graded Image-Making Assignment)

Color Impression

Color Impression and The Color of Light is defined by how colored light reflected from colored objects modifies the colors of other objects.

Full Lighting

Type of Lighting Circumstance(s):

Top and/or Front Lighting comes from above and/or behind the camera toward the subject. The top and/or front of the subject is evenly lit with minimal shadows visible.
Side Lighting comes toward the side of the subject and camera. Shadows are prominent and cast at the side of the subject, emphasizing shape, texture and volume.
Backlighting comes toward the camera from behind the subject. Shadows are cast toward the camera and are prominent with the front of the subject in shadow and can make translucent objects seem to glow as well as create a strong contrast between light and dark areas.

How Color is Described: Color is generally vibrant and saturated.

A color photograph of a Pemex gas station in Mexico with people and bicycles, taken by Paul Outerbridge.

© Paul Outerbridge, Gas Station, Mazatlán, Mexico, 1950 (Front + Side Lighting)

A portrait of a woman with a red headband and a green jacket

© Katy Grannan, Anonymous, San Francisco, 2010 (Top Lighting)

Medium Lighting

Type of Lighting Circumstance(s):

Diffused Lighting scatters onto the subject from many directions. Shadows are relatively light and the subject seems surrounded by light.
Directional-Diffused Lighting combines the qualities of direct light and diffused light, allowing for shadows to be visible, but not as prominent.
Fully Diffused Lighting provides an even, soft illumination.

How Color is Described: Color is modified by the color of the light, which can be generally cooler in color temperature (blue/cyan).

A woman sitting in front of a makeshift tent made of plastic and wood

© Joel Sternfeld, Tent City, Houston, Texas, 1983 from American Prospects (Directional-Diffused Lighting)

A close-up of a still life with colorful leaves, plates, cutlery, and kitchen tools

© Jan Groover, Untitled, 1978 (Directional-Diffused Lighting)

Incandescent Lighting

Type of Lighting Circumstance(s):

Light sources that can be found in indoor and/or outdoor lighting circumstances with a color temperature of around 3400 K and less, including light bulbs and fixtures, light emitting from a fire, stove and/or lighter, or fireworks.

How Color is Described: Color is modified by color temperature of light source.

An incandescent light bulb (warm/orange), typically lighting that might be found indoors, has a color temperature of around 3400 K and less.

A lit gas stove with four burners and a striped towel, under a sign that reads "Revelation 21:8."

© Christian Patterson, Revelation 21:8, 2004 (Tungsten Color Temperature)

A group of people gambling, illuminated by vibrant lights, showing varied expressions of excitement and focus.

© Fred Herzog, Jackpot, 1961 (Tungsten Color Temperature)

Mixed Lighting

Type of Lighting Circumstance(s):

Multiple Light Sources (2 or more) that occur at the same time, including Daylight/Natural Lighting Circumstances (Top, Front, Side, Diffused, Backlighting Directions) + Incandescent Lighting Circumstances.

How Color is Described: Color is modified by color temperature of the various light sources.

A solitary house at night with warm light glowing from the windows, surrounded by a white picket fence under a dark sky.

© Todd Hido, #2690 from House Hunting

4 Light Sources, including Natural Lighting/Night + Various Incandescent Light Sources

(2 Indoor Light Fixtures + 1 Outdoor Light Post)

Scene at dusk featuring a phone booth, vintage car, and cottages in soft evening light, against a hilly backdrop.

© Joel Meyerowitz, Roseville Cottages, Truro, Cape Cod, 1976

3 Light Sources, including Natural Lighting + Various Incandescent Light Sources

(Outdoor Lights on Cabins + Fluorescent Light in Phonebooth)

Shadow Lighting

Type of Lighting Circumstance(s):

Fully Diffused Lighting provides an even, soft illumination.

How Color is Described: Color is modified by color temperature of light source.

A portrait of a woman in blue-toned light, displaying a pensive expression, with soft shadows highlighting her features.

© Paul Graham, from End of an Age

Flash / Artificial Lighting

Type of Lighting Circumstance(s):

Top and/or Front Lighting comes from above and/or behind the camera toward the subject. The top and/or front of the subject is evenly lit with noticeable shadows visible falling behind subject. This can include an On-Camera Flash and/or Light Source such as a flashlight.

How Color is Described: Color is generally vibrant and saturated.

A woman with curly hair and red lipstick, displaying a black eye, exuding a somber expression.

© Nan Goldin, Nan one month after being battered, 1984 (Flash)

A man ducks as a cat leaps over him in a cluttered room, capturing a moment of surprise and action.

© Richard Billingham, Untitled, 1995 (Mixed Lighting with Flash and Full Lighting Circumstance)

Color Expression

Color Expression is defined by how color is not only experienced and understood visually, but also psychologically and emotionally.

A woman in lingerie stands by a vanity while a man in pajamas sits on a bed in a dimly lit bedroom.

© Gregory Crewdson, Woman at the Vanity from Beneath the Roses (Links to an external site.), 2004

A man in a brown jacket stands pensively in front of an open refrigerator in a dimly lit kitchen.

© Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Mario, 1978