On Color
I have been working on a presentation that I will make in a few weeks about color and color photography. I have read many books, visited many Web sites, and the last book I have been reading by Wittgenstein1 prompted me to ask a series of questions in my exploration of the idea of “color.” Ponder upon these:
- Is it meaningful to talk about the “evolution of color” in the sense that we talk about the evolution of the planets, species?
- All the colors must have emerged spontaneously.
- If not, is there an order of appearance?
- Are there “unknown colors”? Can there be?
- Once we are aware of the idea of “color” do we know all the colors we can?
- What is the difference between “surface color” and “emitted color”?
- Was there a time when humans did not see all the colors we now know?
- Will humans see more colors one million years from now?
- Is human evolution a factor in “color”?
- If it is, is human evolution the analog for the evolution of color?
- Is there color inside a tightly sealed wooden box?
- How can we know that?
- If there is no color, what would it look like if we could observe the objects inside?
Penny for your thoughts.
