Color

The Elements of Art: Color and Value

California Visual Arts Glossary Definitions

  • Color: The visual sensation dependent on the reflection or absorption of light from a given surface. The three characteristics of color are hue, value, and intensity.

    • primary colors. Refers to the colors red, yellow, and blue. From these all other colors are created.

    • secondary colors. Colors that are mixtures of two primaries. Red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, and blue and red make violet.

    • arbitrary colors. Colors selected and used without reference to those found in reality.

    • complementary colors. Colors opposite one another on the color wheel. Red/green, blue/orange, and yellow/violet are examples of complementary colors.

    • cool colors. Colors suggesting coolness: blue, green, and violet.

    • warm colors. Colors suggesting warmth: red, yellow, and orange.

    • neutral colors. The colors black, white, gray, and variations of brown. They are included in the color family called earth colors.

    • intensity. Also called chroma or saturation. It refers to the brightness of a color (a color is full in intensity only when pure and unmixed). Color intensity can be changed by adding black, white, gray, or an opposite color on the color wheel.

    • properties of color. Characteristics of colors: hue, value, intensity.

    • hue. Refers to the name of a color (e.g., red, blue, yellow, orange).

    • color relationships. Also called color schemes or harmonies. They refer to the relationships of colors on the color wheel. Basic color schemes include monochromatic, analogous, and complementary.

    • color theory. An element of art. Color has three properties: hue, value, and intensity.

  • Value: Lightness or darkness of a hue or neutral color. A value scale shows the range of values from black to white.

    • value scale. Scale showing the range of values from black to white and light to dark.

    • shade. Color with black added to it.

    • tint. Color lightened with white added to it.

    • tone. Color shaded or darkened with gray (black plus white).

Textbook Glossary Definition

  • Color: An element of art. Also referred to as hue.

  • Value: In color terminology, the lightness or darkness of a hue.

  • Read thorough description of color and value.

    • Three properties of color

      • Hue - the name of the color

      • Value - the lightness or darkness of the color

      • Intensity or saturation - the brightness or dullness of a color

  • Review the elements of color and value from Getty Art - http://www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/building_lessons/elements.html#color

    • Value

    • Intensity

Famous Artists' Use of Color: Mondrian, Matisse, Klee, Monet, Gaugin

Ideas for Creating a Lesson on Color

Multiple Intelligences - How do we learn to know the world?

Introduction: What is intelligence? (Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind, 1983)

The theory of multiple intelligences developed by Howard Gardner has significantly influenced education in the last few decades. Gardner refers to the intelligences as ways of knowing and understanding yourself and the world around you. In the introductory section of Frames of Mind, his first popular book on the subject, Gardner defines intelligence as "the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings" (1983). He explains that he was seeking to undermine the common notion of intelligences as a general capacity or potential which every human being possessed to a greater or lesser extent. He questioned the assumption that you could measure intelligence with standardized verbal instruments, such as the short answer, paper and pencil IQ test. He asks his readers to "perform two thought experiments."

  • Imagine you have never heard of the concept of intelligence as a single property of the human mind; or that an instrument called the intelligence test exists.

  • "Cast your mind widely about the world and think of all the roles or "end states" - vocational and avocational - that have been prized by cultures during various eras (hunters, fishermen, farmers, shamans, religious leaders, psychiatrists, military leaders, civil leaders, athletes, artists, musician, poets, parents, and scientists)"

In Gardner's early research he discussed seven intelligences. Gardner later introduced an eighth intelligence: the naturalist intelligence. Gardner believes that everyone possesses some capacity in all intelligences, but these intelligences function together in ways unique to each person. He proposes that most people can develop each intelligence to an adequate level of competency. Gardner determined the validity of each intelligence by reviewing such factors as the potential impairment of the intelligence by brain damage, the existence of savants and prodigies, a definable set of expert "end-state" performances, an evolutional history and plausibility, support from psychological data, an identifiable set of operations, and the use of a symbol system.

Howard Gardner - http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm

For an update from Howard Gardner himself - Multiple Intelligences after Twenty Years - http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG_MI_after_20_years.pdf Check out the Project Zero website - http://www.pz.harvard.edu

Howard Gardner - (AERA, 2003)

"As a young person I was a serious pianist and enthusiastically involved with other arts as well. When I began to study developmental and cognitive psychology, I was struck by the virtual absence of any mention of the arts. An early professional goal was to find a place for the arts within academic psychology. I am still trying! In 1967 my continuing interest in the arts prompted me to become a founding member of Project Zero, a basic research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education begun by a noted philosopher of art, Nelson Goodman. For 28 years, I was the co-director of Project Zero and I am happy to say that the organization continues to thrive"

General Research Findings

  • Intelligence is not fixed at birth. It changes and grows through life. It can be improved and expanded.

  • Intelligence can be taught and improved by activating levels of perception.

  • Intelligence is a multiple phenomenon that occurs in many different parts of the brain/mind/body system.

  • A stronger, more dominant intelligence can be used to train (improve or strengthen) a weaker intelligence.

Online Multiple Intelligence Surveys

Eight Intelligence Domains - Howard Gardner

Check your Visual Intelligence

How can you involve the whole brain in learning?

Integration in the Three Domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor - Bloom's Taxonomy, Learning Domains, and Art

  • Cognitive - intellectual capability, ie., knowledge, or 'think'

    • Learning factual information

    • Developing higher-level thinking and analytical skills

    • Cognitive fields in art:

      • art history

      • art criticism

      • perception

      • aesthetics

  • Affective - feelings, emotions and behavior, ie., attitude, or 'feel'

    • How emotions affect learning

    • Affective objectives in art lessons (p. 64)

      • Students will express personal feelings in their art production.

      • Students will express feelings common to their age.

      • Students will show feelings about external events in their art.

      • Students will indirectly express their personal feelings through art criticism.

      • Students will express feelings by sharing art as gifts.

  • Pscyhomotor and Multisensory - manual and physical skills, ie., skills, or 'do'

    • How the movement of the body is involved in learning

    • Pscyhomotor Stages

      • Perception

      • Readiness to act

      • Ability to copy an instructor

      • Ability to carry out simple, and then complex movement patterns with confidence

      • Ability to modify and adapt established patterns to meet special situations

      • Ability to create new movement patterns

Integrating the Visual and Performing Arts into Social Studies