Plastics, Neon, and Psychedelia: Making Unnatural Color

Institution: CalArts
Instructor: Douglas Goodwin

Duration: 15 Weeks

Course Description

This course explores the multifaceted nature of color, examining its physical, chemical, philosophical, and cultural dimensions. Students will trace the history of pigments, delve into the physics of light and color perception, and investigate synthetic colors’ role in art, technology, and industry. Through lectures, readings, and hands-on DIY labs, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of color's causes, applications, and implications.

Students will begin by examining the physical properties of light and the psychological perception of color before delving into how dyes, pigments, and digital systems create color. Through hands-on experimentation, students will learn techniques for identifying pigments using spectral signatures and gain practical experience synthesizing a range of historical pigments such as black, red and yellow ochre, verdigris, chrome yellow, Egyptian blue, Prussian blue, carmine, and mauve.

Learning Goals

  1. Develop a working understanding of the essential traits of color.
  2. Understand contemporary color specification systems (Pantone, RGB, CMYK, Lab, CIE).
  3. Explore the history of human exploration and use of color.
  4. Learn the physics (light), chemistry (pigments/dyes), and psychology (perception) of color.
  5. Engage with philosophical debates on the reality of color.
  6. Gain practical skills in creating pigments and conducting experiments.

Methodology

  • Weekly lectures with 1–3 hours of required reading.
  • Five DIY labs, completed outside class with group collaboration encouraged (up to four students per group). Results will be documented in an online collaborative notebook.
  • Weekly quizzes (optional) to reinforce concepts and improve grades.
  • Active participation in discussions and online courseware.

Assignment Breakdown

% Activity
15 Quizzes
30 Participation
60 Project-Labs (DIYLabs)


Course Schedule

Week Theme Demo/Lab/Media Reading Due
1 The Physics of Light DIY spectrograph N/A –
2 Mineral Colors: Colors in the Caves – Clottes, Ball DIYLAB: Build a spectrometer
3 First Synthetic Colors Make Egyptian blue/faience Ball –
4 Additive and Subtractive Color The mystery of orange Poynton –
5 Newton vs. Goethe’s Color Reproduce Newton’s experiment Newton, Goethe DIYLAB: Make a mineral pigment
6 Floral and Animal Colors Isolate vegetable color – –
7 The Virgin’s Color: Stained Glass Chartres cathedral glass Ball, Gage –
8 Electric Color: Neon, Fluorescent, LED Making Day-Glo Batchelor, Albers DIYLAB: Isolate a fluorescent color
9 Psychedelia and Expanded Cinema – Wolfe, Batchelor, Youngblood –
10 SPRING BREAK N/A N/A –
11 Coal Tar Chemistry How to make ultramarine Ball, Demand DIYLAB: Separate dye with gel electrophoresis
12 Psychology of Color R+G = Y Hilbert & Byrne –
13 The Medium is the Message: TV Color Bentham and Nipkow disks McLuhan –
14 Light-Sensitive Colors: Instant Film & Color Constancy Land’s Retinex demo Land DIYLAB: Make an electronic color
15 Computer Color: Encoding Color & Color Spaces Algorithmic colors Poynton –


DIYLabs

  1. Build a spectrometer.
  2. Make a mineral pigment.
  3. Extract plant/animal pigments.
  4. Separate dye/paint using gel electrophoresis.
  5. Isolate a fluorescent color.
  6. Create an electronic color.

Students may propose their own experiments or adapt online resources (e.g., Instructables.com or Exploratorium.edu). Documentation is required for all labs.

Required Readings

To Purchase:

  1. Philip Ball - Bright Earth
  2. Josef Albers - Interaction of Color
  3. Byrne & Hilbert - Readings on Color Vol. 1

Available Online:

  1. Cennino d’Andrea Cennini - Il Libro dell’Arte
  2. Charles Poynton - Frequently Asked Questions about Colour
  3. Marshall McLuhan - The Medium is the Massage
  4. Edwin Land - The Retinex Theory of Color Vision

Optional:

  1. Jean Clottes - Cave Art
  2. John Gage - Color and Culture
  3. David Batchelor - Chromophobia

Cost Estimate for Materials

Material Approximate Cost
DIY spectrometer kit $10
Highlighter pen $1
Agar powder $5
Philip Ball’s Bright Earth $6 (used)

Total Estimated Cost: $51