Transcript Color Relativity and Josef Albers

Color Relativity and Josef Albers
Local Color vs. Relative Color
• Local Color – Actual color on the surface of an object at
full light.
• Relative Color – Local color as affected by light or
surrounding hues.
How does the idea of relativity relate?
• Chevereul – The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of
Colors 1839
• Afterimage (successive contrast) – after saturating the eye
with a color and looking away, the eye will balance itself by
creating an afterimage of that color’s complement even
when the hue is not present.
Other findings:
• Simultaneous Contrast:
– Using the idea of “afterimage,” simultaneous contrast
refers to how a surrounding color affects a local color by
forcing it’s complement.
Contrast Reversal
• Much like afterimage, however an entire design
reverses color when the eye looks away to a blank
area.
Josef Albers
• German Painter and Educator in the Bauhaus
and later in the United States.
• Interaction of Color 1963 – outlines specific
exercises in color for students focusing on
aspects of color interaction.
Principles of Color Interaction
(Can function separately or simultaneously)
• Light/Dark Value Contrast
– Color will appear darker on a lighter ground
and lighter on a darker ground
• Complementary Reaction or Effect
– When the eye “seeks” the complement of
the dominant color in the relative color
• Subtraction
– The dominant color subtracts itself from
the relative color
– Equation based: YO-O=Y, BV-V=B, etc.
Light/Dark Shift:
Complementary Shift:
Subtraction:
Make 2 Colors Appear Similar:
Make 2 Colors Appear Similar: