The heritage of modern science in contempo- rary color technologies
The empirical side of the scientific revolution on color: between productive and physiological trichromy - between discrete and continuous
Abstract
Following the advent of the digital paradigm, almost all creative and design processes have been absorbed by specific software, with the great advantage over traditional techniques of making non-destructive changes, where the high level of manipulation, control and prediction have been a fundamental prerogative of the new computer media. In the field of colour, however, these prerogatives do not seem to be entirely fulfilled, and the current status of colour technologies within creative and production software appears controversial and disappointing. Some of these limitations can be traced back to general artistic backwardness in the study of colour - such as the anachronistic use of Itten harmony in graphics programmes - but many technical limitations - such as the poor possibility of manipulating hues and transparencies - can instead be traced back to a simplistic and merely productive approach on the part of the digital paradigm, an attitude that, at least in part, is due to the influence of the modern scientific heritage. Therefore, this contribution aims to circumscribe the history of the first modern scientific revolutions in colour and explore some of the key assumptions that have generated confusion and ambiguity within colour technologies, with a particular focus on the related cultural and philosophical instances.
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