Albright Knox Visit

Color is the way the eye perceives reflected light off of objects within the natural world.  It is demonstrated in the video that in Venice the light has a particular way of being.  In the video the "Vientiane light" is described as having a yellow-red hue, which we see in the painting the woman the documentary focuses on visits.  They are amazed by the way the painter captured this light realistically in a way that had never been done before.  I was really struck by the ways of which painters in history described their experiences with color.  Especially with Vincent Van Gogh's feelings towards how he used color within painting.  He described that the colors he used in the cafe painting were to reflect his distaste with the mood cafe's made him feel.  Reds and greens were handled in a way to demonstrate these emotions.  The woman within the video also seemed to have a similar view, saying that she paints with emotion.  Her extensive use of color was apparent and proved this to be true.  It is fascinating to me that this is a reality.  When I go to art galleries or museums I am always drawn to abstract art.  Abstract often uses color to convey an emotion or feeling.  Mark Rothko is one in particular that always strikes me and happened to be mentioned in the video.  I remember the first time I ever saw a Rothko was at the Albright Knox.  It made me cry but I wasn't sure why.  However it was a wholesome cry that wasn't necessarily bad.  I now know the actual circumstances of Rothko now and that has changed my perspective on his artwork, but the first time I had viewed it I did not.  I think that color has such an amazing impact on how someone views a piece of art.  It goes to show how it can convey an emotion in such a substantial way we often surpass when we observe a piece.  When you think about it deeper it becomes clear that human emotion can be manipulated simply by what we see, whether that is color or something else within an image we can resonate with.

The feelings video made me uncomfortable at some points.  Some of the paintings towards the end depicted agony in a way.  There were really dark colors with high contrast and one in particular had also a vibrant red.  I think it was just interesting to be watching a video on feelings while also going through the feelings it was talking about.