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3 - Colour and Vision

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2021

By
Anya Hurlbert
Edited by
Andrew Fabian ,
Janet Gibson ,
Mike Sheppard  and
Simone Weyand
With contributions by
Andrew Blake ,
Carolin Crawford ,
Paul Fletcher ,
Sophie Hackford ,
Anya Hurlbert ,
Dan-Eric Nilsson  and
Carlo Rovelli
Andrew Fabian
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Janet Gibson
Affiliation:
Darwin College, Cambridge
Mike Sheppard
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Simone Weyand
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Andrew Blake
Affiliation:
Samsung AI Research Centre
Carolin Crawford
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Paul Fletcher
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Sophie Hackford
Affiliation:
Wired Magazine
Anya Hurlbert
Affiliation:
Newcastle University
Dan-Eric Nilsson
Affiliation:
Lunds Universitet, Sweden
Carlo Rovelli
Affiliation:
International Centre for Theoretical Physics
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Summary

When Turner daubed a red buoy in his seascape Helvoetsluys, what did he mean? In nature, red may repel or attract, signalling toxicity or ripeness, anger, ruddy health or sexual readiness. For Turner, the red created contrast, and in making that mark, he meant to generate salience and arouse interest, to dominate his rivals and draw in his admirers. Colour has long excited emotions and intellectual debate, not only for visual art, but also in philosophy, psychology and physiology. In contemporary vision science studies, colour helps people find objects faster, discern material properties, learn, conceptualise and memorise. Yet colour is made in the mind, not out there in the world. It is a subjective phenomenon, a personal possession, one that varies between individual eyes, and one that people cling to with ardour when challenged: witness the public divide over the 'blue/black', 'white/gold' dress. So the question is not only what does colour mean, in life and in art, but how does it mean anything? How does the human brain create colour, stabilise it, and make its meaning? And why does it evoke emotion and aesthetic appreciation?

Keywords

colouremotionaestheticscognitionartilluminationdisegnocolorelight spectrumcolour wheel
Type
Chapter
Information
Vision , pp. 57 - 106
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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