White Super Paint, Black Cats, and Colors We Don't Really See

"Big Blue Marble", NASA photo from Apollo 17

 As we transition back into a semblance of normality from the pandemic lockdown, we found ourselves with a few mismatched pieces that didn't quite fit in previous posts, some updates from recent news articles, and a few new questions from readers that we wanted to deal with before we launch several new topic threads in this blog. So, we've presented some of them here in the format of one of our seasonal Q & A posts.

 — J.D.

 

You mentioned a white paint that was somehow "super" in the Psychology of Color article. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes. Engineers at Purdue University have come up with an ultra-white paint. The process took nearly six years. The paint reflects approximately 98 % of sunlight, which has a major cooling effect. The idea is not new. People who live in very hot countries have used light-colored building materials or very white paints to cool their homes for centuries.  The engineers used a compound of barium and sulfur. This isn't new either.  The same compound is used in making photographic paper and in some cosmetics.

Painting roofs with this paint could cool houses and cars more efficiently than any type of air conditioning — and at far less cost. If used on a large scale on roofs and the tops of vehicles, perhaps even on ships,  total energy use could be reduced markedly.  Reduced energy use would reduce climate change over large portions of the planet.

Do you know that I had to look up more words in the dictionary to understand your article on The Psychology of Color than I have had to do for whole chapters of my high school textbooks?  I've got pages and pages of notes!!!! I don't know if I will ever use some of them but I will know them if I see them again!!!! Whew! Should I thank you or what?

No need to thank me. You did all the work. I am impressed and extremely proud of you. I hope you are equally as proud of yourself.  I had a group of girls in one of my classes who decided to learn a new word every day. They would get together at lunch to exchange lists.  By the end of the year they had fat notebooks, too, but they never attempted to do as much in as short a time as you have done — and it was a collective effort. May I suggest one more addition to your notebook? Write a sentence for each word that is not the same as the sentence you may have found in your dictionary, but that is just as accurate. Then you will truly have command of that word. Congratulations!

You showed a picture of a black cat but didn't talk about it. How did it happen that people thought it was bad luck if a black cat crossed your path? Do you know?

That is a long and complicated story, but I will try to give you a condensed version.  Cats, especially black ones, were revered as long ago as 3000 B.C. (BCE). They were often mummified after they died and placed in tombs. They kept the mice and rats out of food storage and were good companions. To kill one was a death sentence. The Japanese also held cats in high esteem.  

Then came the Middle Ages in Europe (500 to 1500 AD). a time when literacy wasn't widespread and superstitions flourished.  The Spanish appear to be the first to associate black cats with witches.  The Irish, Welsh, and Scots didn't seem to take the idea seriously, but the English and Germanic tribes did.  It is an English story that seems to have done the damage. It goes like this: a man and his son were walking along a path one evening when a black cat appeared on the same path. They threw rocks at it to drive it away and struck it hard on one leg. It ran into the house of a lone woman whom some people thought practiced witchcraft. The next day the man and his son saw the woman, who was limping. These two "geniuses" then told everybody that the limp was from a rock they threw at her the night before when she was in the body of a black cat. The story spread like wildfire and became the cause of the idea that it was bad luck to have a black cat cross your path.   During the long pandemic of Bubonic Plague, people killed thousands of black cats. Now that caused REALLY bad luck because the plague was carried by mice and rats, which those cats could have killed and kept the plague from spreading! The Europeans brought their superstitions to America, causing such disasters as the Salem Witch Trials, in which 200 people were accused of witchcraft — and 19 of them were hanged.

There is a story going around that it is difficult to get people to adopt black cats from shelters, but the statistics don't support it.  Of all the many cats my family has lived with, more were black than any other color.  A word of caution, though.  Black cats are still injured and killed at Halloween, so it is a good idea to keep yours safely indoors at that time.  Enjoy your black cats!

 

Some time ago, in the very first issue of this series on Color, we briefly discussed structural color and gave an example or two.  We discussed the fact that some of the colors we think we see are not really there. They are illusions produced by complex layers of structures. Since one of the colors we discussed in Part I of The Psychology of Color was Blue, this might be a good time to warn you that most of the things that we think we see as blue are products of structural color.  The sunny blue sky we see is one of them.  So is the deep blue of the ocean.  And the feathers of the bluebird are not really blue.  Which brings up several questions that I will try to answer briefly. (If you are really interested, there are many discussions of these topics on line.)

Why does the sky look blue to us in the daytime when outer space looks black?

The earth has a thick cover of atmosphere that has been forming for millions of years.  The light from the sun hits molecules of various gases in that atmosphere and they fly off in all directions. The blue color of the sky is the result of this scattering. Because the Earth rotates,  the light changes as the planet turns away from the Sun each day, leaving the sky black at night. If you were on the moon, which doesn't have an atmosphere, the sky would look black both day and night.  Pictures taken by early astronauts show that very clearly.
 
Why does the ocean look blue when water doesn't really have much color?

According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Aimospheric Administration), it gets its color because of the way it absorbs sunlight.  It strongly absorbs long wavelength rays of the color spectrum as well as short wavelength ones, even into the ultraviolet range.  The remaining light that we see reflected from the ocean is mainly made of blue wavelengths.  Objects floating just under the surface, such as algae and mats of seaweed,  often give the ocean a green hue.  If you dive below the surface and continue down the water column, the water becomes darker and darker until all color disappears into the darkness.

Why does a feather look blue if it doesn't have any blue pigment in it?

Hyacinth macaw (public domain)

If you hold a feather of any bright color that does not have any pigment in it up to a light, it loses its color and becomes more or less white (sometimes a slightly dirty-looking white).  It becomes obvious that the color you originally saw on the feather was structural color. Move the feather back and look at it in normal light, and its color reappears.  The structure of the feather itself determines what color it appears without pigment.  Feathers that appear blue are covered with tiny air pockets that reflect short blue wavelengths.  These pockets are actually filled with liquid when the feathers form, but the liquid is quickly replaced by air.  If the pockets are arranged in a very regular way, the feathers will be a consistent color of blue like the wings of a macaw.  If the arrangements are not quite regular, the feathers may show several different blues. (Think of a blue jay's feathers.)

There are very few animals that are truly blue.  However, if you watch for our Frogs for Fun issue this summer, we will introduce you to a true blue one.

Do something colorful!

 

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The Psychology of Color, Part I

Dolls in ethnic dress (Photo by J.J.)

Today, with ethnic clothing and jewelry becoming more popular and special interest groups identifying themselves with banners and logos, color is more important than ever. In this article we explore human responses to the major colors.  A pigment squeezed from a tube onto a palette and not mixed with another one is the only color that is entirely neutral.  Once applied to a surface or mixed with another color, it acquires meaning. We will explore two very important colors which technically are not colors at all.  From a scientific standpoint,  black is the absence of color, while white is the presence of all colors. There are both positive and negative connotations attached to all colors.  

White is usually associated with purity, cleanliness, good hygiene, sterile surfaces. These have have been exceptionally important during the pandemic. White is the color most brides choose for their wedding gowns and parents for christening garments.  Snowflakes and fresh snow are a welcome white. Fluffy white clouds promise a pleasant day. Crisp white tablecloths and napkins lead to expectation of a good meal.  The white page waiting for words and the white canvas prepared for color can represent pleasant anticipation. White spaces may seem more spacious than they are. A new super-white paint is causing a great deal of excitement.

 

Fresh snow (photo by J.J.)

Damaged, dirty white wall (Public domain photo)

Yet white can have negative meanings. It is used as a mourning color in many parts of the world. It can have a touch-me-not remoteness. As a background it can make some bold colors look garish or pale ones look weak or dull by comparison. White surfaces don't stay white and may require a great deal of effort to keep clean and undamaged. That blank page or canvas can be daunting with a deadline looming when you have no inspiration.  Some people find white bland or sterile, while others react to it as cold or stark.  Since I use walls to display art and craft-work, I make the surfaces warmer than white with cream or ecru.

Red is an attention-attractor. It is visible against most backgrounds, especially if illuminated. That's why it is employed as stop-lights and DANGER signs all over the world.  It symbolizes strength, energy, and physical courage. It is a warm color associated with blood. Many sports teams use it in logos or on uniforms. It was long considered a masculine color, but that is no longer so true. It is a stimulating color, capable of raising pulse rate and even making a person feel that time is passing faster than it really is.  

On the other hand, it is also associated with anger and violence — even bloodshed.  Yes, it is possible to physically "see red".  I learned that when I was eleven and saw a boy gleefully stuffing a whimpering puppy into a small ground-pipe. My whole vision turned red.  I raced to rescue the puppy, determined to tear the boy limb from limb.  Fortunately for both of us, his big brother had longer legs than mine.  He shouted for me to save the puppy and sent his brother home with measured blows from his belt.  The puppy was whimpering,  shaking, and bleeding from several cuts. I finally got it out of the pipe and carried it to its home. It was immediately taken to a veterinary. It survived, but with a permanent limp.  I was so shaken by my own reaction that I worked very hard from then on to develop strong self-control over my actions.     

Pink is a special tint of red.  It is associated with femininity, romance, love, physical beauty, delicacy, and — by extension — the continuation of the human species.

From the male point of view it has often been considered demeaning to masculinity. It has been interesting, therefore, to notice that the English Premier Football League (that's "soccer" on this side of the Atlantic) has apparently been experimenting to see if some colors tend to weaken the performance of athletes by forcing them to play in certain colored uniforms. Goalies, especially, have been noticeable in pink, a sickly yellow, and lavender. This has been going on most of the season. I tend to ignore it.  One morning, however, I was confused by the action on the field until I realized that the referee and his crew were wearing vivid purple uniforms. My immediate reaction was: "That's just wrong!" But I soon got used to it and it didn't appear to affect the game.

Sunset photo by J.J.

Orange is generally viewed positively.  It is a good "attention-getter". It expresses energy and enthusiasm. Strong and bright, it implies happiness.  Found in sunrises and sunsets, it glows with beauty and vigor. It makes us think of the smell of citrus fruits.  It is most likely to be seen in autumn, when it is associated with autumn leaves, pumpkins, and — of course — Halloween.  Nevertheless, it can be controversial.  People usually love it or dislike it. Sometimes it seems too bright, to the point of being overwhelming.  Others find it harsh or crude.

Elegant leather loveseat (public domain photo)

Brown is regarded as a part of the orange color family.  Its association with natural earth gives it a sense of solidity, security, strength, dependability and comfort.  It is an integral part of Nature.  We associate it with the soil in our gardens, the ground under our feet, the warm fur of our pets.  But brown can be sophisticated, too.  There is at least one shade of brown that complements almost every color.  This makes it important for clothing, rugs, upholstery, etc. In marketing, it suggests reliability (think UPS,  Hershey's chocolate, etc.)

"War Machines," photo by J.D.

Yet it can also provoke negative emotions.  This is especially true when it is used in large amounts.  It may remind people of the desert, which can be stark, vast, empty, devoid of life.  Or it may summon up a sense of fatigue associated with the endless work of tilling the soil.

Yellow can be a controversial color.  Its connection with sunlight is undeniable and provides associations with light, warmth. activity, stimulation, strength.  It appeals more to extroverts than to introverts, promoting self-confidence and self-esteem.  Many psychologists believe it is the strongest of all the colors in its influence — both positively and negatively.  Personally, there are yellows I don't care for, but they don't upset or depress me.

Conversely, people who already suffer from low self-esteem may find it cause for what self-esteem they have to plummet, even to medically dangerous levels. It has long been associated with cowardice, for example.  It may promote anxiety and feelings of failure.  Introverts may find it depressing or discouraging.

Healthy rainforest (public domain photo)

If any of the colors promotes balance, it is green — the color of growing plants.   I grew up on a farm, took botany courses, worked in the college herbarium and have been planting things all my life. Of course green is my favorite color!  It represents renewal, growth, strength, endurance, health.  And don't forget balance. That is a much more important psychological concept than people realize.  This pandemic has unbalanced populations, civilizations, cultures, economies and — most important  — lives.  Eventually there will be new balances, but they may be very different from what we experienced before.

The case against green features such concepts as monotony, long stretches of sameness, blandness, stagnation.  One very real problem is invasive non-native species.  There are far too many places where such species, both on land and in the ocean, have taken over an area and overwhelmed native species. There must be a constant battle in such places to eradicate or at least control such species.  Fires, floods. and droughts create similar problems.

 

Invasive kudzu near Atlanta (public domain photo)

Blue is considered an intellectual color.  Just as red is associated with the body, blue is associated with the mind.  We don't expect a physical reaction to blue like the visceral one that often goes with red. Blue symbolizes seriousness, study, thoughtful consideration, calmness and concentration.   It is generally conceded that more people choose blue as their favorite color than any other hue.  

On the negative side, blue may be considered aloof, unfriendly, disinterested, haughty, or boring.  Blue objects may seem farther away than they are. I like light blues, and wear all shades of the color, but I have a distinctly physical reaction to dark blue rooms. They make me feel physically cold.  I could never spend any length of time in a dark blue room, nor would I have one in my home or workshop.   

Violet is another of the controversial colors.  It is situated between blue and red on the color wheel and the blue-violets are distinctly cooler than the red-violets.  Violet tones are made by mixing blue and red and the proportions of each determine the appearance and effect of the hue. From a positive viewpoint, violet may represent spirituality, luxury, status, introspection, wisdom.  But when we lived in Panama many women wore violet as a mourning color.  Because it is the closest color to the end of the spectrum — next are ultraviolet emissions not visible to the naked eye — it is sometimes associated with time, space, and the Cosmos itself. Negatively, it may produce a feeling of anonymity, inferiority, or exclusion.

Murex shell (public domain photo)

You are probably familiar with the phrase "royal purple".This refers to a dye, made from the bodies of certain mollusks, that was used to dye the clothing and possessions of ancient royal families. It was so expensive to produce that it was actually worth more than gold. No one outside family members was allowed to wear it or use anything dyed with it.  The punishment for breaking that rule could be imprisonment or death. The first rulers who were supposed to have worn garments dyed with royal purple were the semi-legendary King David and his son, King Solomon. Just recently a sizable piece of cloth in extremely good condition was unearthed at an archaeological site south of Jerusalem.  Scientists had already found fossils of the marine mollusks and ceramic containers colored by the dye.  Now they hope to find out how the fibers were spun and woven.  Radiocarbon dating has already confirmed that the cloth dates back to the time of King David.

Grey is physically neutral.  It is the only color which has no psychological properties. But that doesn't mean that everyone reacts to it in the same way. On the plus side, grays can support just about any hue.  But, unless the tone is right, grey may dampen the effect of the other color.  When the world turns grey, we are instinctively conditioned to prepare for the coming night or the looming storm.  Grey may be associated with monotony, depression, worry, weariness or old age.

Black is treated differently in various parts of the globe. In much of Europe and North America it is a "power color".  Priests, government officials,  prominent men in all walks of life wear black business suits and tuxedos.  Women choose "the little black dress" for important occasions, thinking it is slimming (it isn't) or that it will get them noticed (it makes them unobtrusive). An extreme cut,  new style, or bold dash of color is necessary to be showy, even on a red carpet.  Many designers and clothiers use black to advertise.

It is often the color of sorrow and mourning.  It is associated with mystery — even magic.  It certainly has negative connotations.  Consider the negative meanings of the following terms: blackball, blackmail, black market, black mood, black-hearted.  The greatest mystery of all is the vastness of outer space, where black holes swallow stars.

NASA Computer simulation of a black hole "eating" a star

Look for Part II later this year. Be colorful!

And sometimes, black is comforting...

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WHERE WERE THE WOMEN?: Women Artists of the 16th Century

One question I am regularly asked is if I am going to do more short articles about women artists who influenced the arts in the past.  I had the script outlined to do a longer-than-usual segment comparing and contrasting the art of American painter Mary Cassatt and her French counterpart, Berthe Morisot. (You will get to read that later this year.)   The topic is, I think, a very important one, and one I plan to follow up in future articles.  I also want to make young people — men and women — aware that it took a long time to acquire the rights and stature that many of you enjoy today — and which your parents or other ancestors may not have enjoyed. So, from time to time I will inject some opinions and tell you some experiences I have had in my very long life. Please bear with me.

Two things happened recently that convinced J. D. and me that something larger and broader needed to be written right away. First of all, we started watching a series about art detectives. These people retrieve stolen artwork, prove that some paintings are fakes, uncover "lost" works by other artists, and sometimes are able to return artwork that was stolen from people during World War II by the Nazis to surviving members of their families. We were greatly impressed by the way these detectives worked so diligently with the smallest clues and scoured all sorts of information sources.

Shortly thereafter, J.D. sent me a link to an NPR story about an interesting group in Florence, Italy, who have set out to locate, reclaim, and — wherever possible — restore the work of women artists from the region of Florence who were well-known  during and after the 16th Century. They used the title "Where Are the Women?" The group calls itself the Advancing Women Artists (AWA). In the years since the establishment of AWA, its director, Linda Falcone, has spent much of her time going into the storage spaces of museums and art galleries, searching for the work of forgotten women artists. The group has discovered nearly 2,000 pieces of women's artwork.

Florence, Italy

Bankrolled by a wealthy American woman philanthropist, Jane Fortune, they forged ahead with many projects. Unfortunately, their benefactor died in 2019 and the AWA will close operations in the summer of 2021 for lack of funds. They feel they have accomplished most of their mission by raising awareness and are seeing similar projects start up in other parts of the world.

Why weren't there more women artists during and after the Renaissance? Mainly because women were not citizens during those centuries. They could not own property or run businesses in most places. They did not even have the rights to their own children, who could be taken away from them by their husbands or the husband's family, and they might never see them again. Aren't you glad that is ancient history? But, wait a minute, just how ancient is that history? The women of the United States acquired the right to vote on August 18, 1920. (The 100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage was very quietly celebrated on August 18, 2020, but you probably missed it.) It may be necessary to protect that right again in the future, so don't take it for granted and be ready to defend it if necessary.

In the 16th Century it was a risky proposition for women of that time to want to have careers or run their own businesses, unless they had some kind of backing or protection from men or from the Church. One of the most successful women of the 16th century was Plautilla Nelli. She was the daughter of a member of the merchant class and was intelligent and well-educated. She had met a number of male artists before she became a nun. She entered a Dominican convent at the age of 14. She taught herself how to draw and paint by studying religious works and reproductions of artworks in books. She went on to establish a workshop of nuns who took on church commissions and private clients as well as producing large-scale Biblical scenes for their own convent. She signed her work, adding a request that the recipient of her work pray for the female painter that she was. Her work was much in demand because people felt she endowed it with special piety. When the AWA began researching her work, only 3 existing examples were known. Now there are about 20, with still more to be tracked down.

Nelli's "Last Supper", as restored

The most important "find" was a rendition of the Last Supper — the only one ever known to have been done by a woman. Or women, for there are parts of the painting that indicate they were done by other hands than Nelli's, although the basic painting was obviously hers. The painting, is huge, measuring 7 meters in length and 3 meters in height (23 feet X 10 feet). Most "Last Suppers" are static, but this one is full of movement and emotion. Nelli looks at the situation with a woman's perspective. The table is set with dishes, glasses, food and drink. Creases in the tablecloth show it has been ironed.

Nelli chose to focus on the moments after Jesus announced to his followers that he had been betrayed — sold out for a small bag of silver coins — and that he would be arrested and crucified. The men are life-sized. Each face shows a different emotion. There is Thomas, the doubter, trying to decide if what he heard is real. There is Peter, beginning to show the fear for his own life that would cause him to deny any knowledge of Jesus three times before the cocks crowed at dawn. Although Nelli, even as she became abbess of the convent, had limited contact with men, the expressions on the faces and the body language of the disciples are compelling and true to life.

Bologna, Italy

Many successful male artists had workshops that were actually small factories. Their children were put to work at various jobs so they would learn how to keep the business going into the next generation. Often one or more of the children showed unusual talent and were allowed to take lessons. A case in point is that of Lavinia Fontana. Her father, Prospero, was a successful Mannerist* painter who had a small "stable" of painters, including his talented daughter. Born in Bologna, but later moving to Rome, she was one of the first women to be commissioned to do large figure paintings. Lavinia is credited with about 150 paintings, which she managed to complete in between giving birth to eleven children!

Painting by Giuseppe Arcimbolo

*Mannerist painting and sculpture was a style of art popular in the 16th Century as a kind of rebellion against the classical religious painting of the time. It tended to be less realistic than most Renaissance work. It was more emotional, using elongated human figures, "special effects" of scale, lighting, and perspective, and often garish colors. During the later half of the century, Mannerism became more intellectual, more intricate, and more forward-looking, making it much more popular with sophisticated people. Some four centuries later, it became the cornerstone of "modern art".

Nelli and Fontana were not alone in their endeavors. (I managed to make a list of 40 women artists of the 16th Century in just about 40 minutes of searching.) Nor were they all painters. There were ceramists, woodworkers, jewelry makers, engravers, calligraphers, and many other professionals, including female musicians.

Now, back to the 20th Century. American women had the vote, so they had all the rights and privileges, correct? Wrong! For one thing, my mother and other women found it very difficult to get credit, let alone credit cards or charge accounts without the backing of a father or husband. And that is just one of many "stumbling blocks" put in their way.

Now let's talk about another practice that you have probably not come across. that of “indentured servitude". These young women and girls (commonly called "bound girls") were, when they were teenagers, sold by their families to wealthier families to be servants. They remained 'bound’ for years as they worked to pay back the money their family had been paid, out of the pittance they earned. And of course the family to whom they were bound charged them for everything they could think of to increase the time before they could be free. Some literally died in bondage. And none of them were women of color. They were white. Some earned their freedom and married. They usually had few children because they were nearly past their child-bearing years when they achieved freedom. How do I know? Because I knew two of them. One was our next door neighbor when I was in junior high school. The other lived about four blocks away. Both had teenage sons.  I went to school with both boys and dated one of them when we were in high school.

Be grateful for all of your opportunities, use them wisely, and never,  ever, take them for granted.

With love,

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