Zettl explores the use of color in visual design and its effect on the audience in chapter 5 of “Sight, Sound, Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics.” The use of color is a crucial component of art and design, and it has the power to communicate a wide variety of feelings, meanings, and details. I will examine two instances of color photographs and one example of a black-and-white photograph in this piece and discuss my decision to use them.
“Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh is the earliest illustration of a color painting distinct from a black-and-white one. This picture is the ideal illustration of how color in the art can evoke feelings and express meaning. The artwork uses vivid blue, green, and yellow hues to portray a starry night. These hues stand in for the moon, stars, and sky. The vivid colors in this artwork give it a dreamy, ethereal feel that carries the observer away to another place (Zettl, 2017). One of the things that make “Starry Night” so memorable is the unusual color scheme that was chosen. The picture was chosen as an example because it exemplifies the power of color in art. The colors in this picture are not chosen randomly but have a definite significance and purpose. The hues produce a sense of tranquility and tranquillity, which van Gogh intended with this painting. It exemplifies how art can use color to communicate emotions and convey meaning.
Hokusai’s “The Big Wave off Kanagawa” is the second example of a color picture that varies from black and white. This artwork exemplifies how color may be utilized in the art to create movement and depth. The picture displays a large wave in action with bright blue and white hues. With the wave in the front and Mount Fuji in the backdrop, the use of color in this painting provides a feeling of depth and distance (Zettl, 2017). “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” was chosen as an example because it demonstrates how color can create movement and depth in art. The use of bold blue and white colors in this painting creates the illusion that the wave is moving toward the viewer, creating tension and drama. The use of color also creates a sense of distance, with the wave in the foreground and Mount Fuji in the background, contributing to the painting’s overall effect. “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” demonstrates how art can use color to create movement, depth, and drama.
Consequently, Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” is an example of a picture that would not work in color. This photograph exemplifies how black and white can be used in art to evoke emotion and convey meaning. The photograph depicts a mother and her children during the Great Depression, and the use of black and white conveys sadness, poverty, and despair. The photograph is timeless and has become an iconic image of the Great Depression’s struggles. I chose “Migrant Mother” as an example because it demonstrates how black and white can be used in art to evoke emotion and convey meaning. The use of black and white in this photograph creates a sense of sadness and despair, which Lange intended to convey. If this photograph had been in color, it would have lost its emotional impact and would not have become the iconic image it has become. “Migrant Mother” illustrates how black and white can convey emotion.
Reference
Zettl, H. (2017). Structuring Color: Function and Composition. In Sight sound motion: Applied media aesthetics (pp. 73–84). Cengage Learning.