Context of Color

On her blog, Val asked: " My friend is color-blind, he sees colors, but not the proper ones. He sees blue and red as the same, so what emotions would he draw, since we generally associate blue as calming and red as passionate and energetic?"

Despite the emotional associations adults have with colors, young children seem to lack this line of thought. Many young children will use colors that adults find displeasing as the main color in a crayon drawing, because they do not yet have an emotional association with that color and view it without a bias. They need to be taught by their society what different colors symbolize. This is not done directly; no one sits a child down and explains that blue is sad or that red is angry.  Children learn these associations over time by observing how colors are used in the world around them.  At an early age, they may see everyone in black at a funeral and associate black with death. Playing outside on a bright day, a child might see the sun and associate its yellow color with their happiness. Children with color blindness would make the same associations, just with their distorted view of color.

A person with color blindness continues to use context clues when viewing colors, just as they did when they were children. Looking  at the ocean, he or she knows that water is blue, not red, and feels the peacefulness we associate with blue. While looking at a painting, there is more room for error, but the same theory applies.  If the lines of a painting are sharp and aggressive, it is more likely to illicit the feelings we associate with red, because those feelings logically connect with the form of the painting, whether or not the painting is red or blue.

When we view visual art are our emotions influenced more by the lines or subject of the painting or by the colors used? Or, if you prefer music, are they influenced more by the pitch or the rhythm?