#colour complex

[estudio-de-color]

Floor Plan Exploration 

Dissecting sections of the WW level 5 space and associating it with the colours used in the previous assignment - using colour and feeling to organise the space. Upon reading Josef Albers’ Interaction of Color, each section talks about a specfic colour theory with a corresponding diagram and/or exercise. I decided to interpret these exercises as a way to organise the space within WW level 5. Intrigued by the overlapping and interaction between the shapes, I wanted to further explore the possibilities of layering and juxtaposing different materials together to create pockets of spaces. 

[estudio-de-color]

Final Presentation

Final Iteration of curtain on cotton voile (not to scale) - dimensions can be found on the final presentation, top right.

This project revolves around Joself Albers' theories regarding colour, focusing on two main aspects; layering and using light to project colour blending. Albers mainly worked two dimensionally, creating abstract works that focuses on how different colour harmonies which are created through simple use of juxtaposition and layering. The colours used in the preliminary stages of model making and wallpaper designs were derived from Homage to the Square where certain colours were layered together in order to create a form of illusion. He [Albers] uses a lot of linear, sharp edges and qualities to his works; therefore, for the initial wallpaper designs these qualities were highly accentuated.

 This project was originally going to be a wallpaper design to be placed in WW501; however, upon further exploration of the space, it had more windows than walls; majority of the walls were placed in darker, cornered areas. Therefore, I decided to change the course of this project into a curtain. As mentioned, one of Josef Albers’ focus was developing colour theories revolving changes in placement, light and opacity which can produce a significant change in the outcome of colours projected. The colours used for the proposed curtain design was focused on one of his theories and experiments done with Yale University (pictured below); where by overlapping colours, it creates a new spectrum and/or scheme. The proposed curtain is composed of two layers; each piece focusing on different hues present in his experimentation and to see how colours interact with each other through light and layering. For the final curtain design, darker purple hues are on the first layer; placed on the edge and across the middle to show tonal change and new spectrum of colours; adding depth and dimension to the curtain. The yellows and orange hues framed by deeper purples and reds are placed in the second layer. These colours give vibrance to the space; hence why it is situated in the middle. The material plays a vital role in order to make it operative. Because this project is exploring light projection and layering, a thinner material like cotton voile is preferred in order to maximise its effects. The final output will be placed in WW505 as that is the room that receives the most amount of light.

[estudio-de-color]

Models inspired by Josef Albers’ theory using layering different coloured materials 

[estudio-de-color]

Colour Complex Quickfire Models

This week we were asked to create a series of quickfire models made within 3-5 minutes. 

For my conceptual models, I decided to start off with base colours; using two tones of blue, two tones of red and two tones of grey. Keeping Le Corbusier’s influence in mind, I decided to play around with  material choice, placement, layering, combinations and juxtaposition of different materials. A challenge that occurred while making these models was the constant rethinking and trying to quickly come up with something to make. I am guilty of overthinking preliminary models like these and end up spending more time on them than I need to. Originally, I wanted to focus on how colours would interact with each other if I were to just quickly place dollops in no particular order and spread it out. As seen below:

Overall, this exercise was helpful because it challenged my thinking and model making skills. Being able to generate different models within a short amount of time gave me a reason to explore various materials and colours which are something that I rarely do. 

[whitewashingindia-blog]

Different words for the same experience

Colourism, shadism,  pigmentocracy, colour complex, skin tone bias and many other terms are all different ways of portraying the discrimination of the same “race” people in regards of their skin colour.