Does this attempt to normalize for the possible case that colour is overrepresented in older art because pigments were so precious? Do we see a lot more purple represented than we should have expected to if we went further back than 1800? And as it became cheaper, it’s less novel and less interesting to utilize?
Why is the world losing color?
211–220 of 309 posts
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
> we're all just cognitively exhausted? If you include electronic media as a source of this cognitive exhaustion, then I'm with you. If greyscale dominates the physical environment, then it's a reaction to something equally pervasive.
> If greyscale dominates the physical environment, then it's a reaction to something equally pervasive. My impression from the data is not that greyscale now dominates the physical environment, but that browns once dominated. Presumably because things like wood, copper, etc. once dominated the materials we engrossed ourselves in. As we've expanded the paints and other materials we live with, we've found much more bal…
Is that really true or isiit just that blues and greens biodegrade and so the only evidence of the past's colors we have is the mineral colors. We have evidence that paint has been used on wood furniture - but not what color was used.
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#213When it comes to things like cars and room interiors, neutral colors have a much better resale value because they appeal to people more widely. For cars, vibrant colors might mean higher insurance rates (red cars are associated with sports cars, young drivers and aggressive driving).
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#214"Millennial Gray" is a somewhat derogatory term that describes the interior decorating in many people's homes. It seems to be a generational thing. I think color will come back as Gen Z and Gen Alpha get older and become more dominant in the economy.
It's not entirely generational; as an Xennial I despise it with the fire of a thousand flaming suns.
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#215It's not "losing" color. At periods when technology resulted in new color possibilities, people went overboard with color. Make all the things colorful!! Think of the technicolor sixties. And we can go back in history and see the same thing with new clothing pigments, new paint pigments. But when everything is colorful, nothing stands out. Everything being colorful is as monotonous as everything being, well, monotone…
> At periods when technology resulted in new color possibilities, people went overboard with color. Make all the things colorful!! Think of the technicolor sixties. And we can go back in history and see the same thing with new clothing pigments, new paint pigments. Based purely on intuition, I want to agree with you. However, the data in the article suggests there's been a fairly consistent decrease in color of media…
> You would expect an explosion of color in the 1960s and then a decrease
What happened was a lot of muted colors, earthy yellows, browns, and oranges in the 70s followed by an insane amount of the brightest colors possible in the late 80s and early 90s where fluorescent blues greens and pinks were everywhere. It seems like everything got a lot more bland after that and we've never recovered to happy medium.
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#216It's not "losing" color. At periods when technology resulted in new color possibilities, people went overboard with color. Make all the things colorful!! Think of the technicolor sixties. And we can go back in history and see the same thing with new clothing pigments, new paint pigments. But when everything is colorful, nothing stands out. Everything being colorful is as monotonous as everything being, well, monotone…
That misrepresents Technicolor. The 3-film process was adopted in the 1930s. It was the most popular, but not first, incarnation of Technicolor.
Kodak also had Kodachrome by the 30s, despite nostalgia for Paul Simon's early solo work.
The more common earlier color adoptions had to do with pigments in paint and especially fabrics. Bold red was so popular for shirts for men over a century that hand-me-down worn-out pinks were considered "boys colors."
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/05/01/pink-blue/
> It's bad design
Says whom? Do you represent the design police? I was never there, don't know the person, and don't know what a person even is, so I'm not guilty, occifer! I'd like a lawyer present, please.
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If greyscale dominates the physical environment, then it's a reaction to something equally pervasive. My impression from the data is not that greyscale now dominates the physical environment, but that browns once dominated. Presumably because things like wood, copper, etc. once dominated the materials we engrossed ourselves in. As we've expanded the paints and other materials we live with, we've found much more bal…
Is that really true or isiit just that blues and greens biodegrade and so the only evidence of the past's colors we have is the mineral colors. We have evidence that paint has been used on wood furniture - but not what color was used.
It is true that it is my impression of the data. A different dataset could possibly give me a different impression, but without that dataset...
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#218The chart with car colors has been famous for a few years. However I'm seeing an inverse trend in past 1-2 years (at least in France); new cars are getting very colorful. For example: - Renault Clio is very popular in metallic orange - Renault 5 e-tech in bright yellow and green - MG in aqua/azure blue - Peugeot 208 in dark yellow and blue and dark red
Is there a case to be made for 'well, that's what we had the most colour of...', with regards to manufacturers...of the paint, that'll sell it cheap, just to get rid?
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#219It's not "losing" color. At periods when technology resulted in new color possibilities, people went overboard with color. Make all the things colorful!! Think of the technicolor sixties. And we can go back in history and see the same thing with new clothing pigments, new paint pigments. But when everything is colorful, nothing stands out. Everything being colorful is as monotonous as everything being, well, monotone…
> At periods when technology resulted in new color possibilities, people went overboard with color. Make all the things colorful!! Think of the technicolor sixties. And we can go back in history and see the same thing with new clothing pigments, new paint pigments. Based purely on intuition, I want to agree with you. However, the data in the article suggests there's been a fairly consistent decrease in color of media…
The big difference between 1800s and the 1960s is that oil paints were mixed “onsite” for color and the the 1960s had the commcerialization of latex paints and Pantone colors.
I should mention that the Bauhaus (1920s)broke out color theory as separate from graphics representation.
Re: Why is the world losing color?
#220Am I the only one who thought the lead photo should have included Gen 1 iMac vs. latest lineup? Even the 2021 anodized aluminum version is comparatively muted!
Going through my junk box the other day I found a USB to two port RS-232 converter from that era - that came with 4 colorful snap on front pieces to match your iMac.