HA3C2-30 Colour and its Meanings
Introductory description
What meanings and effects does colour have in art? What makes colours expressive? What makes a colour ‘primary’, or two colours ‘complementary’? And what decides when a particular set of colours is harmonious? How does language affect the way people see colour? This module aims to address these and other questions in relation to a wide range of works of art from a variety of different cultures and periods.
Module aims
The module aims to investigate how works of art are caused, or can be explained, by scientific, philosophical, and psychological, and other theories of colour and colour perception. Topics may include the science of colour and colour theory: their relationship, and their effect on how artists saw and painted what they saw; philosophical, scientific, and sociological theories of the language of colour: what it means and its effects on perception; the impact of phenomenological colour theory on art criticism, philosophy, and its value for understanding painting; theories of the affect of colour: their impact on art and their value as explanation; modern colour: expression, abstraction, and chance in art. Close, first-hand, examination of works of art will be an essential part of the module.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Colour-Science, Theory, and Art I: Aristotle and his legacy
Colour-Science, Theory, and Art II: Newton and after
Wittgenstein and Colour: logic or grammar?
Colour and Language I: nativism
Colour and Language I: relativism
Katz and Stokes: Venetian Colour
Katz and Merleau-Ponty: Cézanne
Colour in the C19th: Emotion, and Music
Colour in the C20th: abstraction
Colour in the C21st: Richter and chance
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a grasp of the main lines of colour in artworks and its explanatory and causal relationship to theories of colour
- Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the works studied and their contexts
- Deploy these ideas critically in relation to other forms of art
- Initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
- Ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
- Familiarity with essential ICT skills
- Ability to collaborate effectively with others
- Show understanding of diverse viewpoints
- Ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
- Ability to formulate a sustained argument
- Think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
- Sophisticated visual analysis
- Bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
- Critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context
Indicative reading list
Alex Byrne and David R. Hilbert (eds.), Readings on Color vol. 2: the science of colour (MIT, 1997).
John Gage, Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction (Thames & Hudson, 1993).
John Gage, Colour and Meaning: Art, Science and Symbolism (Thames & Hudson, 1999).
T. Lamb and J. Bourriau (eds.), Colour: Art & Science (Cambridge, 1995).
C. Riley, Color Codes: Modern Theories of Colour in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music and Psychology (University Press of New England, 1995).
Phillip Ball, Bright Earth (Viking, 2001)
Martin Kemp, The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat (Yale, 1992).
C.L. Hardin, Color for Philosophers: Unweaving the Rainbow (Hackett, 1988).
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
- Demonstrate a grasp of the main lines of colour in artworks and its explanatory and causal relationship to theories of colour
- demonstrate detailed knowledge of the works studied and their contexts
- Deploy these ideas critically in relation to other forms of art
- sophisticated visual analysis
- critical analysis of cultural artefacts in their context
Transferable skills
- initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
- ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
- familiarity with essential ICT skills
- ability to collaborate effectively with others
- show understanding of diverse viewpoints
- ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
- ability to formulate a sustained argument
- think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
- bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 10 sessions of 4 hours (13%) |
| External visits | 1 session of 2 hours (1%) |
| Private study | 258 hours (86%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Required and recommended reading for seminar presentation, research for written assessments and revision for examinations.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| 3,000 Word Essay | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
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Assessed Essay |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Engagement | 10% | No | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| 3,000 word Research Project | 50% | Yes (extension) | |
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Research Project |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Written feedback and dedicated feedback tutorials.
Courses
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 3 of UHAA-V3R3 Undergraduate History of Art with Italian
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 1 of THAA-V4P3 History of Art (Diploma)
- Year 3 of UHAA-V401 Undergraduate History of Art
- Year 4 of UITA-R3V3 Undergraduate Taught Italian and History of Art