KANDINSKY - Concerning the Spiritual in Art - all about Color

In Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky states that color either has a cooling and soothing effect on the eyes, or a warming effect. He says that the effect at the beginning of viewing a color is superficial, but to a more sensitive person the color has a more intense effect...a psychic effect, which produces a corresponding vibration in the soul of the viewer. He maintains that the eye is strongly attracted by clear, light colors and still more strongly by those colors which are warm as well as clear.

Kandinsky also brings up the idea of association...how a color may remind a viewer of another element such as vermillion which he says has the charm of the flame, attractive to humans...of course, this could be considered very subjective as he deems lemon yellow to hurt the eye as a prolonged shrill trumpet note hurts the ear, causing the viewer to turn away from the yellow, seeking green or blue for relief...Kandinsky has some very strong opinions of colors and their associations/effects....biases, I would call them!!

He speaks of the soul being one with the body and the possibility of a particular color causing a "psychic shock" to the body. He explains that a warm red may cause excitement while another red may cause disgust or pain as it is the color of blood...again, the implication of association. "In these cases, color awakens a corresponding physical sensation, which undoubtedly works upon the soul."

...to be continued...