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.

1. Ludwig Wittgenstein, Remarks on Colour (University of California Press, 1977).