An Observation of Colors | BLOG 1 CA 4/5/17

by Richard Siken

This week I took a step closer towards embodied mindfulness as I began to really become aware of the colors I noticed. I began to ask myself why I was drawn to certain colors, and investigate further. 

I am inherently drawn to Blue and Greens; a cool color palette generally feels more welcoming. Furthermore, whenever I am making what I define as 'curatorial' decisions on color, I always select or include red or a fiery color. Here is what I uncovered on this topic (and there's actually a whole world that explores the relationship between red and blue) 

Here are summaries I found that I would like to share: 

The color red is representative of emotions and fire. The color is often said to symbolize power, hate, warning, or death. Various groups use the color red in association with fire and blood (so-called passions), while the color is also symbolic of war and the planets Mars and Saturn for esoteric means. 

The color blue is representative of personality and water. The color is often said to symbolize emotion, balance, water, or change. Various groups use the color blue in association with mood and royal blood (so-called blue bloods), while the color is also symbolic of planets Jupiter and Mercury for esoteric means. The color blue is also known as a cool color and is oft used in connection with images of rivers or streams.

These idea led me back towards exploring and understanding my artwork; completely dumbfounded that I haven't noticed this before, almost all of my works include a battle between blues and red hues. Most recently, I created a series in which I scanned paintings and manipulated them as they were being scanned. To gently summarize my process, using satellite images of various locations on Earth and photographs taken of galaxies and nebulas from the Hubble telescope, I create a hybrid environment, through specific colors, textures, and forms that are evocative of known, yet inexperienced spaces. I create landscape paintings without ever directly looking at landscapes first handedly. Each image created requires a specific application or tool, Google Earth or the Hubble Telescope; I rely on satellites and trust that the images they produce are real, but we never really have a way of knowing matter-of-factly, do we? 

I am interested in this intimate relationship and my reliance on technology as a primary resource for my artistic practice. This new body of work utilizes the process of scanning to document, filter, and manipulate my paintings to create a new, negotiated reality. Glitches, though they often allude to malfunction, can be interpreted as another method of perceiving, and ultimately, believing. 

As this course progresses, I look forward to understanding and navigating the known and unknown symbols and meanings that surround daily life.