Idea No. 50 Whiteness

The use of whiteness has come in and out of vogue in art over time. Whiteness is strongly associated with Baroque marble sculpture and ancient Greek art. In part due to its role in art, many people associate white with spirituality, purity, and idealism. The avant-garde used color in direct opposition to the perceived hypocrisies of "academic" art. In the 1920's and 30's the use of white was popular in geometric abstraction and architecture.

I tend to be drawn to using bright, high contrast colors in my work. However, this might make me  more conscious of how I place white near other colors in order to draw attention or move the viewers eye in my future work. White can be used to increase contrast next to more saturated colors. On the other end of the spectrum, I really like how Whistler uses subtle variations of white in his painting. It draws the viewer to explore how there are is always some color even when it appears to be all white. The subtle colors within the white make it really rich and beautiful. This chapter also reminded me of how Kenzie discussed the use of the whiteness of the paper in her watercolor demonstration last Friday. She explained how she uses the white of the paper to create tints in her painting. In this way the white is used not only to create light colors, but can also to show where light is present in the image. I haven't really explored watercolors much since I was young, but I can't wait to try Kenzie's techniques that she showed us.