Yellow

Yellow. First thing that comes to my mind is sunshine. Which then leads me to happiness. So generally, yellow is a happy color. It is very pleasing and goes well with other colors. Like red, yellow does have conflicting meanings. Yellow is often associated with cowardice and deceit, the complete opposite of happiness and hope.

Yellow is also used as a warning because of the high visibility. It is also used as a hazardous color, to grab your attention. Workers wear yellow for safety, and yellow signs warn us of hazards on the road.


For years yellow ribbons were worn as a sign of hope as women waited from their men to come marching home from war. Today, they are still used to welcome home loved ones. Many familes put yellow ribbons on trees in front of their homes, to signify that they have a loved one in the armed forces.

Yellow has many different meanings in other cultures as well, and often meanings that we would find odd to relate to yellow. Yellow is for mourning in Egypt and actors of the Middle Ages wore yellow to signify the dead. Yet yellow has also represented courage in Japan, merchants in India, and peace.

My Favorite Color!

My favorite color is blue. Why? Honestly, I've always liked blue because I just never wanted to like all the girly colors like pink and purple. I enjoy any shade of blue. My room at home is a relaxing sky blue color, with white trim...it reminds me of clouds in the sky.


Blue is a very interesting color in that it is a symbol for two very opposing feelings. We think of depressed and sad as 'feeling blue.' But, when we think of a blue sky as being happy and relaxing, and without one, it's a bad day. Dark blues relate to the sadness of blue, and light blues relate to the happier blue feelings.


One of the most important resources on Earth, water, is blue. Well, that is the first color we relate to water...it is actually clear, but can often be brown or green. We wouldn't be able to live without water...our bodies are made up almost entirely of water.

Loyalty to Color

Through time, people have become loyal to colors that symbolize things. Schools, sports teams, organizations, and even countries adopt colors to be recongized by, and their followers become loyal to.

Many schools have 'school colors' which their sports teams adorn their uniforms with and interiors of buidings are often painted with these colors. Often, the color becomes part of the school mascot even....



Schools form student groups to support their sports teams, and will cover themselves head to toe in their school's colors....


Professional sports teams also are associated heavily with color. The Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and countless other teams include color in their name/mascot. At any sporting event, it is instantly known what team you are a fan of, based on the colors you are wearing.

Many organizations identify with colors, including labor organizations and even greek organizations. Having a color to bring people together helps to unify a group of people who otherwise may not have anything in common

Animals & Color

Animals take full advantage of color, and use it in many different ways. Some animals use colors to warn that they are dangerous. Animals also use colors to camouflage themselves from predators or prey. Even still, animals use their colors to attract and impress mates.

Poison dart frogs are probably best known for their bright colors that warn of danger. The bright colors in patterns on their back warn humans, and other animals to stay away, because they are dangerous. Some animals also will mimic these types of warning colors to trick other animals into thinking they are dangerous, which wards off predators.

Many animals also use their color to camouflage themselves. They adapt their color to the nature of their surroundings, which allows them to hide from a predator, or hide from their prey.

Tartan Hawkfish

Leafy Sea Dragon

Animals also use color to attract and impress a potential mate. They will fluff up feathers or fur to create an illusion of size, and display beautiful colors and patterns. Probably one of the most well known examples of this is the male peacock. Many male bird species, like ducks and cardinals, will have a different color than the female, in order to show of.

Color

I think we very often taken color for granted. It probably sounds like a silly thing to say, but we really overlook all that color does for us. Color saves lives, represents how we feel, who we are, informs us, and we even learn to love and hate certain colors.

Color saves lives by being present in an ambulance, to tell people to get out of the way because someone is in a life threatening situation. It also saves lives by warning us of dangerous situations or hazardous materials.

In addition to saving lives, color expresses how we feel. We associate many colors with different feelings, both emotional and physical. Green can represent envy, but also sickness. Red can represent love, but also anger as well.

We use color to represent who we are or where we are from in flags. Different patterns of colors put together make up a flag that symbolizes an entire nation. The flag of the United Kindom is actually made up of the three flags of the countries that are the UK: St. George's Cross of England, St. Andrew's Cross of Scotland, and St. Patrick's Cross of Ireland. All three are simple designs which are overlayed on each other to create a more elaborate symbol of the united countries.

We also learn to like or dislike a certain color because of what it is associated with. One good example of this would be the associations of red and blue with the political parties. Democrats dislike the "red" states because they are primarily republican, and vice versa.

Color Context

When I actually had to look for color, I really noticed them more than I normally do. You see so much more when you just take the time to look for it. Its amazing how much color you find, that you normally wouldn't even pay attention to. While searching, I found a bright green bike tied up to the fence just outside. Its not really a color that I think you would normally see on a bike, but I think it works very well. The color is a very bright lime green, and as soon as I saw it, it made me think of going fast. It makes the bike seem very streamlined and flashy, so you notice it as it zooms by you on the street. Then as I was walking, I found a newspaper stand that was a very different color than all the rest that were next to it. It was a very odd purple color, it reminded me almost of purple cabbage. It just seemed to be such an odd color for that type of object. But, I guess making something an odd color like that gets us to notice it more. We look at the crazy purple one and are attracted to its weirdness, and just pass over the rest of the generic red and yellow ones. So, although it is a weird color, it works in a positive way to grab your attention.

(Actual bike not pictured, due to technical difficulties!)

Performance Art Video