This online exhibit informs students about another dimension, revealing some secrets of vision to art and art history students, and reminding science students that there is more to science than charts and graphs. This exhibit can be used in several levels of education, particularly High School and post-secondary classes. Here’s what what you get…

Aims

This exhibit aims to:

• Introduce students to the key concepts underlying the perception of color and vision, especially in relation to the art of 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
• Introduce and discuss a number of important artworks and their relation to color theory since the 19th century. This will make the artworks more intelligible and give students a greater appreciation of the works.
• Demonstrate how the eye works, which affects our interpretation of artworks
• To develop the skills necessary to analyze and discuss color in artworks
• To stimulate further interest in the relationship between color and art

Learning outcomes

Studying the exhibit should provide:

• A deeper understanding of color and vision, especially in relation to the art of 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
• Familiarity with color theories
• An awareness of the relationship between art and neuroscience that affects the reading of artworks
• An ability to analyze the impacts of color in an artwork
• A continuing interest in color and neurobiology when looking and interpreting works of art in the future

Using the exhibit

The exhibit can be used as a reference for accreditation tasks such as essays, presentations and case studies. For instance, students can be asked to prepare a case study on their chosen artwork, similarly to the examples, provided by the exhibit. Moreover, the exhibit can inspire a wide range of possible essay and exam questions that may include topics.

The exhibit emphasizes interactivity. It does not only deal with the artists’ readings to their works, but also with the viewer’s perception. It encourages students to test different combinations of colors, color contrasts and luminance and, thus, develop their visual analysis and intellectual curiosity through a continuous study of visual images. This continuous analysis helps to explain our responses and readings to artworks.

Getting started

To begin, please click on any of the major chapters on the left of this page, or choose any of the major chapters below:

• Light, color and vision (Topic A)
• Color interactions: Simultaneous contrast (Topic B)
• Luminance and equiluminance (Topic C)
• Peripheral vision (Topic D)

We might consider a few questions/topics for discussion, in connection with the chapters as listed above.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

See additional references and bibliography.