ART WORK
I’m absolutely passionate about these colors.
The more they overlap.
The more beautiful they are.
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Kandinsky, Untitled (First Abstract Watercolour)
Creating a Color Wheel Using Light Spectrum and Chromatic Scale
This thesis aims to study the relationship between color and music to create the Color-Music wheel to analyze feelings in artworks and translate them into classical music. It is a new method to analyze and appreciate abstract art. The researcher uses Wassily Kandinsky’s abstract paintings as a case study.
Light is the natural agent that travels as an electromagnetic wave. Humans can detect light because it is reflected off the textures of objects enabling the sense of sight. The colors humans perceive are wavelengths mixed together as one white light or “spectrum”. The colors in the spectrum can be separated if the prism is placed just right in a stream of light. The result is a rainbow consisting of violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, which is a part of the spectrum from 380-780 nanometers (nm). The sound is also an electromagnetic wave originating from vibration or the wave of pressure that shakes the object and all air molecules around it. Sounds travel from the sources to our ears through the air. People can hear different sounds in the range of 20-20,000 Hz which is also the range of musical sound.
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The researcher compared the wavelengths of light and sound to create the new Color-Music wheel which is greatly different from others. It came from the relationship of color and music. By comparing 7 colors from the light spectrum and another 5 analogous colors with 12 wavelengths from the chromatic scale, 2 types of wheels are created: 1 Major Color-Music wheel, 12 colors representing 12 musical notes, and 15 Minor Color-Music wheels. Colors and musical notes from Major Color-Music wheel are rearranged into 15 minor wheels. Each minor wheel consists of 7 colors representing 7 musical notes and is given a key signature (musical scale). Resulting as 1 natural key signature, 7 keys with sharp key (#) and 7 keys with flat key (b). Each key can be a major or minor key. The researcher decided to use the major key as in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Musical scales with sharp key and flat key
Figure 2 Color-Music Wheel
The researcher divided minor wheels into 15 types to decide a key or a musical scale for each wheel. The key sets the direction of movement for musical notes and gives harmony to the song. Each key can briefly be divided into 7 lettered notes and the pattern is then repeated. The eighth note shares the same letter as the first note but it is in the higher or lower pitch level, technically called an octave. For example, the first note is “C” in the key of C major. The pattern is as follows: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C’. The eighth note called “C’” is in the higher pitch than the first note for one octave. The one note octave can be above or below a frequency of one note. To sum up, the researcher divided minor wheels into 15 types and paired them with 15 keys.
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Each color from the light spectrum is matched with each note. The researcher used the international standard “A4” or “A” in the fourth octave, which has the most consistent frequency of 440 Hz without decimal point and serves as a general tuning standard for musical pitch, as the starting point. It also has a similar wavelength as the first color in the light spectrum, violet. Moreover, “A” is the musical note with the first letter of English. The researcher respectively paired musical notes after “A” with colors that have similar wavelengths. Each note can represent a shade or 8 levels of lighter and darker colors as seen in Figure 2.
Figure 3 “Untitled” Figure 4 “Composition VIII” Figure 5 “Colorful Ensemble”
The researcher created the Color-Music wheel to analyze artworks with colors and music by using Wassily Kandinsky’s abstract paintings as a case study because music and color were tied to one another in his works. He combined classical music (piano and cello) that he had studied with art to give interesting paintings with deep meanings. Kandinsky is well-known as the father of abstract art. Since he created many great works, the researcher decided to choose only one painting from each period of his career, 3 paintings in total.
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The first painting is “Untitled (First Abstract Watercolor)” (Figure 3), 1910, the first watercolor painting to emerge from the representational tradition of Western European painting entirely. There are no conventions of material representation, but viewers can feel the movement in the painting. The next painting is “Composition VIII” (Figure 4), 1923. His unique style is presented in this painting. The geometric forms are dynamically arranged, giving the movement as if it is the music. In addition, he used different colors from his previous works. Although the painting was created almost a hundred years ago, people still recognize its artistic value. The last piece is “Colorful Ensemble” (Figure 5), 1938. This oil on canvas painting is the work from the last period of his life. His career was consistently developed, and it is interesting that he gave up on his usual composition. He vividly expressed his imagination by using colorful geometric forms, for example; a lot of small circles were used to create dimension and distance, resembling the movable stars on the sky.
The researcher thoroughly analyzed and identified the top 7 most used colors in each painting, compared them with her Color-Music wheel and used chromatic scales to create 3 classical songs. Each song is performed by a classical instrument, piano. The painting named “Untitled” has 7 colors and matches the key of Bb Major. Violet-blue, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow, orange, red and violet were translated as B flat key, C, D, E flat key, F, G, and A. The song gives the feeling of flow, chaos and floating away. The musical notes represent the flow of watercolor. “Composition VIII” consists of 7 colors and is paired with the key of E Major. Yellow, orange, orange-red, violet-red, violet, blue, green and yellow were translated into E, F sharp key, G sharp key, A, B, C sharp key and D sharp key. The classical song from this painting gives audiences excitement, steadiness, and strangeness. The light colors were alternated with dark colors in the art piece, correspondingly, high pitches are alternating with low pitches in the song. The last piece is “Colorful Ensemble.” It is composed of 7 colors and matches the key of C Major. Blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, orange, red, violet and blue were translated into C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The classical song of this painting is active, rigorous and fun. As there are many details in colors and composition, the song has many notes.
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This thesis presents the new Color-Music wheel allowing users to create classical songs from the paintings. The researcher hopes that it will make viewers appreciate and understand abstract art or art that emphasizes color more easily. It can also be used as a new way of seeing art.