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'Black and White' IS color
by Hideki Nakazawa

"Monochrome" and "Black & White" are often used in similar terms. However, in my theory, both terms are fairly different. Mono-chrome-color literary means mono-color, it can be red or blue, and can even black. Even when it is black, to the question "in respect to what mono-color?," it will be in respect to "non-existent (color)." Monochrome expression is creating an "existent" mono-color in a "non-existent" space. For example, a vector CG based Draw Software like Illustrator, deploys the program that "existent mono-colored objects are created in a non-existent space." Therefore, Draw Software opens a New Window, in respect to a non-existent space.

On the other hand, "Black and White" indicate two colors, black and white. In this case, white is not a non-exsistent color, but is an "existent" color, white. The "non-existent" concept is not present; the window is filled with "existent" pixels. Thus, a Black and White expression is to cover all the pixels in the screen with either of the two different colors. A specific example, would be creating a two numerically factored Black and White image with a bitmap CG based Paint Software like Photoshop; the program itself will be in a state, "the color value on each dot is set in either value, Black or White." For that matter, the New Canvas created in a Paint Software, draws a set of White dots.

Byond the Renaissance period, the hhistory of art is said to be a rivalry between the Object-oriented group, and Color-oriented group. The aesthetics of the Object group are similar to the idea of vector image, mentioned earlier on. The color group's aesthetics are based on the idea of bitmap, mentioned before. From this point it is fairly easy to deduce; that the minimum composition of a Color image is Black and White. The former can be easily understood, but the latter point may be a little difficult to understand, not having explained the above theory. However, pointillist Georges Seurat who created the ultimate representational paintings in color, engrossed in, Black and White, charcoal expression in his early career; or Op art artists, like Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, who expressed abstractive colored paintings in its foremost form, devoted their early works in minimal Black and White creation. These historical fact accounts for the latter theory. Yes, it can be said that "Black and White, IS color."

I propose "Method painting" as the third stage in painting. Instead of physiologically visual color dots, like red or blue, or even Black and White, symbols that I claim as logical color dots are used. For example, a bitmap image based on letters or a Go (Eastern board game) will appear to be "Black and White," but in fact its intention is in removing physiological data from color, and abstracting logic. I think this is The Idea of Color.

[Appeared in the IDEA magazine 294 '02-09 (featuring Black & White)]


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