Where can I find info on origins of colors? i.e. bugs were source of purple, royalty wore it?
September 292009
I am a high school art teacher and just finished teaching about the symbolism of colors, such as yellow being for cheerful, brown for earthy, black for gloomy or dignified, blue for cool, calm, etc. But several students had questions that were more in depth. Like on the source of the dyes and the history of the color, such as why white for weddings, black for funerals, red for a matador’s cape. I asked them to research it on the internet, but I am following my own advice and asking for help ! I tried to think of what I already know and saffron might be a source of yellow, cadmiums, as in red and orange, seem to be highly toxic. I want to know MORE ! And about the dyes/color sources too. I bet it would make a fascinating geography lesson. Thanks in advance.
One thing you may want to consider in you teaching is the cultural differences that relate to color. For instance, in the Asian cultures, white is used at funerals., not black.
In the western cultures, white symbolizes purity. Hence the color associated with a virgin bride.
As far as the red in a matador’s cape. It’s interesting to note that bulls are color blind. The red cape is only for the crowd. The bull is attracted to the movement and attacks that.
So, a very interesting discussion could be developed in how the different cultures interpret the meaning of colors.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:52 am
One thing you may want to consider in you teaching is the cultural differences that relate to color. For instance, in the Asian cultures, white is used at funerals., not black.
In the western cultures, white symbolizes purity. Hence the color associated with a virgin bride.
As far as the red in a matador’s cape. It’s interesting to note that bulls are color blind. The red cape is only for the crowd. The bull is attracted to the movement and attacks that.
So, a very interesting discussion could be developed in how the different cultures interpret the meaning of colors.
References :