The Resonance of Green
Color scientists have recognized for centuries that green is the most important color to human vision and perception. Our eyes see green by far better than any other color. Green is the most restful of colors, the most psychologically inert, which explains why old-fashioned chalkboards were that deep, wonderful green color. Maybe its peaceful nature even explains why I fell asleep while Mr. Lodato was diagramming sentences for us back in seventh grade. Green has something that no other color does.
Even the most modern of today’s imaging technology recognize the importance of green. Imaging sensors on today’s digital cameras contain far more green-sensitive sites that the other two channels (blue and red). If you look at the green channel in Photoshop, you’ll quickly realize that it is most often the highest quality image of the the three. Green is where it’s at in digital imaging.
Is the predominance of green in our imaging world a fluke or is it something much more profound? Green wavelengths change us. When we transport ourselves from the angry, gaudy, urban landscape to a green meadow, the change in our well-being is instant and undeniable.
As an artist, I’ve noticed that when mixing green the subtleties of its shades and hues far exceed what I realize with other colors. I rarely start with green paint, but prefer to mix it with various blues and yellows. Even an unexpected hint of red add richness and complexity. In all, I find that one can mix greens endlessly, achieving subtlety and depth simply unfound in a pre-formulated tubes of green paint.
One could argue that our awareness of green came from self-survival. We probably learned early on in forests that one ought to tell the difference between green leaves and an animal of prey camouflaged to hide among them. Either we were to become connoisseurs of green or be eaten.
This seems to have very little to do with Green Art per se. But I would say it is inseparable from it. Green Art is all about resonance, vibration, perception, and awareness. It is about reconnection to the land and our origins. It is a form of prayer, meditation, and respect. Whether the art is made in nature, made of nature, alludes to nature, or is the actual color green is not really the point. It is a celebration of the rootedness of all life and the sea and dirt of which we are and from where we come.
So, the meditation and contemplation of the color green is not at all foreign to this discussion. If we sit and be with green we will soon discover why we have labeled all things green as good, organic, and intrinsic to life.
– Lisa
