color theory

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Art

A Chromatic Installation by Felipe Pantone Turns a Public Walkway into an Architectural Kaleidoscope

Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone (previously) magnifies the prismatic principles that ground his Subtractive Variability series to a phenomenal scale in the newly installed “Quick Tide.” Whether working in kinetic sculpture or large-scale murals, Pantone investigates the vast realm of color theory and its bottomless potential, in this instance transforming the cyan, magenta, and yellow model into a dynamic display. “The idea of creating a system in which I can create endless color combinations within the visible color spectrum by simply rotating or displacing the same image over and over (in C, M, Y)… the results are always random, unexpected, yet always interesting for me,” Pantone tells Colossal.

The site-specific “Quick Tide” wraps the upper and lower levels of an elevated walkway in London’s Greenwich Peninsula with a vibrant collision of light and pigment—see Liz West’s transformation of the same outdoor space previously on Colossal. Angled blocks hold radial gradients to “make obvious where the different colors overlap and how different hues appear. These details are usually easy to find as chromatic aberrations in prints by looking under the magnifier,” the artist shares, noting that the combinations shift in appearance depending on the time of day and position of the viewer.

Pantone will soon open a solo show titled Manipulable at Tokyo’s Gallery COMMON that invites visitors to interact with the works, and you can follow updates on that exhibition and new works on Instagram.

 

Art

Responsive Sculptures by Daniel Rozin Echo Human Movement Through Undulating Objects

A solo exhibition at bitforms gallery highlights the fleeting nature of interaction in a series of responsive sculptures by artist Daniel Rozin (previously). Titled Shades, the show is comprised of multiple imitative works that reflect viewers’ movements through an embedded camera. “Take Out-Chopsticks Mirror,” for example, attaches the wooden utensils to a motorized base, and as someone passes in front of the piece, the components lift upward at a wider angle. In addition to the echoed motion, the undulating works rely on light and shadow to create intriguing, abstract renditions of human gesture.

Also included in the exhibition are two inverse sculptures, “CMY Shadows Mirror” and “RGB Peg Mirror.” Both works reproduce full-color reflections, although the former uses the subtractive color model and the latter additive. Whether animated by human presence or a pre-programmed algorithm, the resulting forms become dynamic displays of kaleidoscopic color.

If you’re in New York City, you can see Shades at bitforms gallery through April 23, and see more of Rozin’s works on his site and Instagram.

 

Art Design

A Kinetic Wall Sculpture by Felipe Pantone Spins in a Hypnotic Reel of Endless Color

Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone (previously) boasts an incredible archive of sculptures and murals that are founded on the principles of color theory. His works range from large-scale glitches and bold pixelations to tabletop prisms that shift with human touch. His most recent project, “Subtractive Variability Compact,” falls in the latter category as it visualizes the full range of the CMY spectrum through stacked, spinning wheels.

The kaleidoscopic kinetic sculpture layers small acrylic rounds coated in gradients of UV paint in within a wall-mounted frame. As the individual modules in cyan, magenta, and yellow rotate, light is subtracted in various combinations, producing an endlessly evolving reel of color.

A limited edition of 200 sculptures will be available on February 15 from Configurable, and you can find more of Pantone’s interactive prismatic works on Instagram.

 

Animation Design

A Kaleidoscopic Animation Explores the Persuasive and Emotional Power of Color in Communication

“Color is a challenge,” says designer and Pentagram partner Eddie Opara in a trippy and instructive animation that explains why certain shades resonate with our emotions and prompt us to act. Directed by Oddfellows as part of Adobe’s Creativity, Explained series, the educational segment explores facets of color theory and its subjective nature in relation to graphic design. Opara shares that while most hues are associated with an emotional response—red, for example, is often tied to energy, enthusiasm, and excitement, while yellow tends to be idealistic and warm—context is always key.

Watch the first episode featuring designer Erik Spiekermann and the importance of typography below.

 

Art

A Kinetic Sculpture by Felipe Pantone Slides into a Hypnotizing Kaleidoscope of Color

Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone makes the relationship between color theory and human action tangible. His latest kinetic sculpture, titled “Subtractive Variability Manipulable 3,” features three translucent slides that shift to create hypnotic gradients. In cyan, magenta, and yellow, each piece visualizes the variances of subtracted color when affected by human touch.

In a statement, Panton said he “evokes a spirit in his work that feels like a collision between an analog past and a digitized future, where human beings and machines will inevitably glitch alongside one another in a prism of neon gradients, geometric shapes, optical patterns, and jagged grids.” Many of his colorful works appear pixelated in the physical form of a mural or sculpture.

A limited-edition run of the artist’s kaleidoscopic sculpture will be released by Configurable on May 26. To see more of his vivid projects, head to Instagram. (via Street Art News)

 

Art Design

Color Problems: A Republished Tome Reveals the Color Wisdom and Poetics of 19th-Century Artist Emily Noyes Vanderpoel

In 1901 artist and historian Emily Noyes Vanderpoel (1842-1939) published the painting manual Color Problems: A Practical Manual for the Lay Student of Color under the guise of flower painting and decorative arts, subjects that were appropriate for a woman of her time. The study provided an extensive look at color theory ideas of the early 20th-century. Her research-based techniques were later used and circulated by men without mention of her name, and are now commonly used in art curriculums. Many of the included studies predict design and art trends that wouldn’t occur for several decades, such as a concentric square format that predates Joseph Albers’s Homage to the Square by fifty years.

In addition to color lessons and guides, the 400-page book features an extensive collection of her original and intently poetic methods of color analysis, from detailing the color relationships in quotidian objects like a found teacup and saucer, to color swatches of wool sorted by a color-blind man. There is also a watercolor series that poignantly observes the nuanced color of her private moments, such as the bruised colors found in a shadow on white ground or the inherent tones of woods that lay on the edge of a meadow.

Vanderpoel was vice president of the New York Watercolor Club, an organization founded in response to the American Watercolor Society’s policy to not accept women as members. Despite the history and visual wisdom detailed in her color guide, the tome never received the audience it deserved. Brooklyn-based publisher The Circadian Press along with their collaborators Sacred Bones Records aim to change this with a new print of the 118-year-old guide. The project just raised funding for more than five times its initial goal on Kickstarter, and plans to go into production in the fall.

Update: Color Problems is now available on Bookshop.