The Anthropology of
Turquoise by Ellen Meloy
Ellen has a beautiful way with words, making this excerpt a
delightful read. When it comes to
describing color I often struggle to find the words that even come close to
meaning how they [colors] feel to me, but this is something that Ellen is very
successful in doing. Some of my
favorites are “spring’s exhalation of green”, “vain pinks” and “lavender alpenglow”. She brings colors to life through
personifications that in turn make her descriptions feel rich with life. Her references to materials of color like
waxy crayons and watercolors remind me throughout the article that color IS the
object; the object IS the color. I think that being a ceramic artist is unique
in the way that the colors are applied after the form has already been built and
fired, rather than built with
color. In the end though, the form
still becomes the color. It’s kind of
like we get an extra step with this color choice we get to make so far into the
process of completing a piece of work.
My favorite part of the article is where Ellen writes about
how as humans our moods respond to light, and since color is light, we are
responding internally to our outside environment. This explains why we are drawn to certain
environments and pay no mind to others: the colors of them are appealing to us
at a biological level. She writes,
“intoxication with color, sometimes subliminal, often fierce, may express
itself as a profound attachment to landscape”.
Color subconsciously guides many decisions we make, especially about the
environments we are attracted to reside in.
This article has brought my attention to the importance of
color, which is something I’ve often overlooked in my work and saved until the
last minute to decide. Our second
project assignment makes more sense to me after reading Ellen’s words about the
oneness of forms in the world with their colors.
I also noted "spring's exhalation of green" and "vain pinks", as well as the "silver bark" and "brassy green" of the desert trees. I like how you bring attention to the thought that "...color IS the object; the object IS the color". This is a very direct and simple way of phrasing, or putting words to a sometimes difficult way of thinking about a piece of art. It is sometimes hard to tell whether the form, or the idea, came before the color (or colors) was (or were) assigned to it, or whether a specific color was in the mind of the maker before the form is created. In the end though, a successful piece, in which form and color come together almost seamlessly, can eliminate the need to answer, or even ask this question.
ReplyDelete-Lizzie