Bare Bones: Color is the devil, and Why

Okay, no I do not actually believe that color is the devil and the root of all evil, however I do have some major qualms pertaining to its use and perception specifically in the realm of art and design. Color may not be some abstract evil deity, but it certainly has power far beyond those qualities which we normally think of when the concept of color comes to mind. I personally approach each and every one of my visual works, no matter what realm, with a deep fear and respect for value and chromatics. Here are a couple reasons why…

Answers: A) No B) Most likely

Color is deceptive in that it skews the perception of varying values.
Josef Albers already said this, but allow me to reiterate that while human vision is extremely inconsistent, the hues of different color throw off our comprehension of varying levels of value between shifting colors. When I refer to value, I am simply talking about the tints and shades of different hues. Take the above image for example. It's a quiz. Not really. Both levels A and B are identical with the only exception being that A is in greyscale. I think the evidence speaks for itself. Thus it is especially important to take this into account as a designer during the process, not after the fact.

Thread art by Gabriel Dawe

Color distracts from content. If you have ever heard anyone advise to at least start your work in greyscale before moving on to working in color, you will notice that they will likely cite the deception of color in terms of value as I had previously explained. That is a big deal as a technical aspect, yes, but the idea that color distracts from content is far more important as the meaning or message or idea behind a piece is by far the most significant aspect as all the technical details merely act as intermediaries between viewer and content. When I say color distracts, I mean that the core function of a piece can easily get lost in the emotive vibrance and incredible variation of chromatic selections. The compositional structure of any piece is the core, the skeleton, upon which augmentations such as color are implemented in order to elaborate further. Even the above photo of Gabrial Dawe's installation exhibiting a large scale arrangement of threads representing prismatic order. While the focus is indisputably the manipulation of the color, the core structure of each of his pieces is what gives rise to each set of optical interactions they deliver. Without the unique structure, the colors would be meaningless.

Straight on view of Dawe's installation

Color can act as a gimmick for grabbing attention. Lastly, for now, color is often used and abused to snatch otherwise apathetic viewers' attentions. I find this to be an issue as a viewer in that when bright, zany and/or superfluous color is the first thing I notice when I witness a composition, my first reaction (correction: second, immediately following the all too human "Ooh pretty colors~ teehee!" reaction) tends to be a dismissal of the compositions meaning and content on the grounds that it feels far too desperate to catch my attention for the quality of the content to be worth a damn. Generalizations are never a safe bet however, and in recognizing that, my dismissals never last long — at least until the proposed lack of worthwhile content is confirmed. There are countless amazing compositions that fit the description by established creators to prove that color is not necessarily a gimmick for grabbing attention. But the point is that it can act as such, and thus it is important as a creator to be wise and mature about his/her use of color and doubly as important for the viewer (ie. everybody) to be as conscious about the content of that which they are experiencing as the method by which it clasped his/her attention.