Climb a Tree and Feed the Birds

Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD was a very prominent drug during the decades of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Not only did it affect the cultural revolution, which was happening in the United States at the time, but also the artwork produced during the times of social unrest and experimentation. Created in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann, LSD is a psychedelic drug which, although illegal, offers many uses other then just recreational: “meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and illicit (though at one time legal) psychedelic psychotherapy,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD). Due to its psychotherapy elements, LSD was believed to help recovering alcoholics, allowing them to surrender and come to terms with the fact that they were alcoholics,
“Studies in the 1950s that used LSD to treat alcoholism professed a 50% success rate, five times higher than estimates near 10% for Alcoholics Anonymous,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD). LSD’s affects the takers motor skills, ability to perceive reality and time, and the other senses, such as hearing and, the most noted of all, sight.
“Visual effects include the illusion of movement of static surfaces ("walls breathing"), after image-like trails of moving objects ("tracers"), the appearance of moving colored geometric patterns (especially with closed eyes), an intensification of colors and brightness ("sparkling"), new textures on objects, blurred vision, and shape suggestibility.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD).
The visual effects which the use of LSD produces is called ‘form constants’ and was studied by Heinrich Klüver, whom first conducted the tests in 1926, a whole 12 years before LSD was even created, in accordance with the use of peyote. He concluded that,
“In addition to producing hallucinations characterized by bright, "highly saturated" colors and vivid imagery, Klüver noticed that mescaline produced recurring geometric patterns in different users. He called these patterns 'form constants' and categorized four types: lattices (including honeycombs, checkerboards, and triangles), cobwebs, tunnels, and spirals,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD).
These types of images which occurred, Kluver discovered, were not only seen when taking psydelic drugs but also in near death experiences, epilepsy, high fevers, migraine headaches and insulin hypoglycemia. . Interestingly enough these types of images, such as the spirals and honeycomb shapes can be seen in many religious imagery, “examples include mandalas, yantras (both of these specifically designed to evoke certain mental states), Islamic art and cathedral architecture,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_constant). Many of the elements of an LSD induced trip have been expressed in art work. Artist from the counter-culture of the 1960 found their conscious state altered and translated the experience onto canvass. Such artist included Peter Max, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso and many others.

Sources Used: www. wikipedia.org
http://wwwusers.rdc.puc-rio.br/ednacunhalima/2006_1_2/clarissa/Anos%2060_arquivos/image021.jpg (picture)

'Till Shiloh

Colors are used a lot to represent certain persons, places or establishments. This is illustrated best in flags. Each country has their own flag with symbols and colors which represent who they are and where they are from. Most people use the colors of a flag just to discern which country it represents but a flag and its colors tell more then the name of its country, it offers a historical allegory of its nation. Take the Jamaican flag for example, most people would know that the colors are green, black and yellow but do they know what they stand for, or that they even stand for something in the first place? The colors which make up Jamaica's flag reflect on its history. Black, green and yellow are considered pan african colors, representing Africa and Ethiopia especially. The black in the Jamaican flag stands for hardships to be faced and ones which were overcome. The green represents the land, the grass and the promise for agriculture, it also represents hope. Lastly is the color yellow, who’s meaning is slightly debated. Most people agree it stands for the beauty of sunlight and natural wealth. Others take the color representing gold a little farther believing the meaning goes deeper then that, and represents all of the gold and wealth which was stolen from Africa and Jamaica during the times in which they were colonized. At face value colors can represent something, giving you a quick a answer but examine them a little closer and you will find that often they have much more information then one realizes.

Picture Courtesy of: http://www.appliedlanguage.com/flags_of_the_world/large_flag_of_jamaica.gif

Color Vs. Black and White

When it comes to art, a lot of it depends on the decade and time period you find yourself in. Technology makes advancements and what was once the way to do things becomes antiquated. This is very apparent and true in the world of photography; we’ve gone from all manual cameras to automatic point and shoots, from film to digital and, the most interesting and crucial in my opinion, the switch from black and white prints to predominately all color . The first color image was created in 1861 by James Maxwell, however, color film was not available to the public until the mid 1930’s and slowly became more and more popular over time. The recreational photographers of my generation do not use black and white film for picture taking, it has become a thing of the past. The transformation from black and white to color film produces a lot of questions, from an artistic standpoint as well as a cultural one. The questions which arise in an art sense focuses on how the difference between color and black and white effect how viewers perceive the photo. Is it better to be in color then in black and white? Does a color picture take away from the image being photographed or add to it? Is black and white photography, in this day and age, really only for fine art photography?
I prefer black and white film over color film, for the most part. I feel that a picture is more effective and gripping when it is in black and white. For most of us, everything we see everyday is in color, so to see an image in black and white catches our eye in a different way, effecting how we perceive it and how much time we spend looking at it. I am more likely to spend twice as much time viewing a black and white photo as opposed to one in color-exactly why, I’m not sure. However, it can also be argued that the colors in a picture attract attention more then a black and white one would, catching the viewers attention and pulling them in, which is true in some cases. Although, that color which attracts the viewer can take away from the image being shown, especially if it is something of a serious nature. James Nachtwey is a photojournalist who shoots international conflicts and other images in both color and black and white. While viewing his black and white pictures I can’t help but think that the impact of the image would be different if I viewed it in color. The color would offer to much distraction taking away from the human emotion which comes when viewing it in black and white. When an image is in black and white you are forced to look at the subject matter and think about it more. Black and white also leaves more to the imagination of the viewer, giving the pictures a more mysterious contemplative aura.
Looking at the choice of film from a cultural standpoint offers more of a social commentary. Black and white film is still sold along side of color film and can be developed just like color, eliminating the long wait to have the prints processed; so why do most people use color? Pleasure photographers, I feel, find that black and white is to simple for everyday pictures, it is not as expressive and informing as color. People take pictures to document an experience and when documenting it they want it exactly as it was, which includes color. When showing others pictures from a certain event color allows them to go back to that event in a more specific way then black and white does. Take prom pictures for example, black and white might look classy but color gives more information; the color of the girls dress, the color of the corsage, the color of the dates tie, ect. In situation like that color offers a complete documentation of the event. Furthermore, as I said before, black and white film comes off as more simple then color. It comes from an era which was more simple then the one we live in and as a result, I feel, that the simplicity and relationship of the film to that period effects peoples choice. Today’s life style is all about the glitz and glam, bright colors and loud noises, and black and white film just doesn’t translate or reflect persona.

Photo curtsey of: http://www.cultureinside.com/ciWeb/UserFiles/Image/CI_highlights_images/James_nachtway01.jpg

Colors in the Sky

Some of the most beautiful color displays in our natural world can be viewed in the sky. Some people like to watch the different colors occur when the sunrises, others prefer to watch the sunset at the end of the day. Unlike the earth however, the skies presentation of colors does not revolve around the sun. When a combination of charged electrons and protons mix with other particles from the atmosphere, a modern wonder of color can be seen in the sky. Auroras, also known as the Northern or Southern lights, are bands of color found in the night sky. “Auroras are believed to be caused by charged high energy particles from the solar winds that are trapped within the atmospheric magnetic field of the Earth,” (http://www.space.com/auroras/). Auroras come in all different colors; from red and green, the most common, to light blue and violet. “The bright visually pleasing colors commonly associated with auroras are the result of electrons colliding with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere,” (http://www.space.com/auroras/). The collision of certain electrons and other gases, like nitrogen and oxygen, are what determine the color of the auroras. “Most aurorae are green and red emission from atomic oxygen. Molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions produce some low level red and very high blue/violet aurorae,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy). To view auroras one must be in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, preferably in the polar zone. The Northern display can be viewed during the months of March and April or September and October.

Sources: http://www.space.com/auroras/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)

Picture Courtesy of: http://bored-space.com/Pics/Aurora/Aurora001.jpg

The Power of Colors

In our culture, color is taught to us very early on in life. At first we associate basic things according to and with their color, such as, the red apple, the yellow banana. As we grow older we start to associate color with social and cultural stereotypes; pink is for girls, blue is boys, purple is for gay people, red is for bloods and blue is for crypts..and so on. Color is used in marketing schemes and to represent certain establishments and institution: it surrounds us in our physical and materialistic world. In other cultures, however, predominantly those in the East, color is rooted more deeply in their religious and spiritual beliefs, as opposed to the Western’s social and symbolic.
In certain religions, especially Hinduism, there is a belief in what is called the chakra system. The word chakra is derived from the Sanskrit word for wheel or circle. The working english definition for the word is; “One of the seven centers of spiritual energy in the human body according to yoga philosophy,” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chakra).
“The concept of Chakra are often treated in different ways, depending on the cultural context. In Chinese medicine, traditional chakra locations correspond to acupuncture points. In some Eastern thought, chakras are considered to be gradations of consciousness and reflect states of the soul--these systems rely less on proof than on experience (under the assumption that 'proving' the existence of chakras is asking to 'prove' the existence of the thought process),” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra).
Slightly hard to describe, they can be considered centers of energy found within the body, “Chakras are considered to be a point or nexus of metaphysical and/or biophysical energy of the human body,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra). There are seven chakras found in the human body starting at the base of the spine and ending at the crown of the head. Each of the chakras is represented and associated with a certain color, the base one, muladhara, being red. As you follow the different chakras up the spine they follow the colors of the rainbow; the second one being orange, the third yellow and so on. The top chakra, sahasrara, located on the crown of the head, is the color violet, representing purity and the highest state of consciousness.
Since each chakra is represented by a color, and the colors are a lot easy to remember then the exact names, these colors begin to symbolize and stand for the certain areas of the body which the chakras rule, giving them healing powers. Somebody who is having stomach problems may meditate on or visualize the color yellow filling their body, for yellow is the color associated with the manipura chakra which governs the navel/stomach area.
After learning about the chakra system I began relating and associating colors differently. Instead of connecting red with hearts, I think of the color green, for that is color of the chakra which represents the heart. When you relate colors with yourself, as a part of you and you well-being instead of social implications and symbols it offers a new, more pure perspective of them.

Text Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chakra

Picture Courtesy Of: http://www.live-care.net/images/chakras_body.gif

Colors of Persuasion

Colors are all around us. They can make us think different things and feel certain emotions. We are trained from an early age to understand what certain colors mean and are effected by their presence- whether we know it or not. I found many examples of color effecting everyday life, just by walking around a grocery store. The color manipulation that stood out to me the most was the use of bright colors, marketed at children. The toy machine in the front of the store uses colorful caps on the tops of the toy containers, in the cereal isle you can find any color from the rainbow decorating one box or another , same with the candy isle. The brightness of the colors used catches your attention and probably attracts little kids. At such a young age bright colors are associated with happiness and fun, making the product wearing those promising colors happy and fun.

Hot and Humid...Palm Trees and Sand

When one thinks of Hot and Humid weather they think think tropics; palm trees, ocean, sand..the sky. The influence of these thoughts effected the colors I choose to express hot and humid weather. Various greens for palm trees, blues to express the ocean, and oranges for the sun. When it's hot and humid out the sun isn't always shining bright and vibrantly, it can be hazed over but still felt.

Calmness is often thought of as light soft colors that can help comfort. Colors which lead the viewer to a calm or comforting mental image is what influenced my color selection. Light purple tends to make some think of lavender and its calming smell, while certain shades of blue can evoke an image and feeling of the ocean, which to many is calming.