Real Colors and Cultures
—les vraies couleurs et cultures

Places: Université de Haute-Alsace, Mulhouse (France), Musée de l’impression sur étoffes, Mulhouse (France) and Goetheanum, Dornach (Switzerland)

Date: Tuesday to Thursday, 23-25 April 2024

Colors are not merely visual stimuli, but also social constructs that have a profound impact on our perception, communication, and behavior. Colors can evoke a range of emotions, memories, and associations that are deeply rooted in cultural contexts. The meanings attributed to colors can vary widely across different societies and historical periods, reflecting complex interactions between language, symbolism, aesthetics, and power relations.

For example, in Western cultures, the color white is often associated with purity, innocence, and peace. In contrast, in some Eastern cultures, such as China and Japan, white traditionally represents death, mourning, and funerals. This difference in color symbolism illustrates how cultural beliefs and practices surrounding death and the afterlife can shape the meanings attributed to colors.

The meanings attributed to colors can also evolve over time. For instance, in medieval Europe, blue was associated with humility and the Virgin Mary. However, in Renaissance art, blue became linked with nobility and divine power. These examples demonstrate that the meanings of colors are not fixed or universal, but are instead shaped by cultural and historical contexts.

Understanding the complex and dynamic relationships between colors and cultures requires an interdisciplinary approach that draws on multiple fields of knowledge, such as anthropology, psychology, linguistics, art history, design, and technology. This conference provides a platform for scholars and researchers from diverse disciplines to explore the cultural dimensions of colors and their implications for various aspects of human life, including art, literature, design, architecture, science, and technology.

By bringing together different perspectives and methodologies, the conference aims to shed light on fundamental questions such as: How do cultural norms and values shape the way we perceive, use, and interpret colors? How do colors communicate social, political, and religious meanings in different cultures? How do technological innovations and environmental concerns affect the production and consumption of colors? How do colors influence our moods, behaviors, and well-being? How do artists, writers, designers, and architects use color to express aesthetic, symbolic, or functional ideas? How do scientists and engineers study and manipulate colors in different fields of research?

Through these and other questions, the conference seeks to foster a deeper appreciation of the complex interplay between colors and cultures, and to generate new insights into the ways in which color shapes our understanding of the world around us. We welcome contributions from scholars and researchers at all stages of their career, and from all parts of the world, who are interested in exploring the fascinating and multifaceted world of colors and cultures.

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to:

Color perception: How do people from different cultures perceive and categorize colors? How does language and culture influence color perception? How do physiological and psychological factors affect color perception?
Color symbolism: How do colors convey social, religious, or political meanings in different cultures? How do colors express identity, status, or emotions? How do color associations change over time and across cultures?
Color production: How do cultural practices and traditions shape the use of natural and synthetic dyes? How do technological innovations and global markets affect the production and consumption of colors? How do environmental and ethical concerns influence color production?
Color in fashion: How does color influence fashion trends and consumer behavior? How do designers use color to evoke emotions and create visual impact in clothing and accessories? How does cultural diversity influence color choices in fashion?
Color in art and literature: How do artists and writers use color to express aesthetic, symbolic, or narrative ideas? How do cultural contexts and historical periods shape the use of color in art and literature? How do cross-cultural exchanges and translations affect the interpretation and reception of color in art and literature?
Color in design and architecture: How do designers and architects use color to create functional and aesthetic environments? How do cultural values and traditions influence color choices in design and architecture? How do color schemes and patterns affect human behavior and well-being?
Color in science and technology: How do scientists and engineers study and manipulate colors in different fields (e.g., physics, chemistry, biology, computer science)? How do technological advances and applications (e.g., digital media, virtual reality, biotechnology) change our perception and use of colors? How do cultural factors affect the development and adoption of new color technologies?

Keynotes:

Visiting artist, Zuni Nation
David Leiwei Li (University of Oregon)

Bibliographical suggestions:

BAL, Philip. Histoire vivante des couleurs, Paris, Hazan, 2005.

BERLIN, Brent and Paul Kay. Basic Color Terms. Their Universality and Evolution. Oxford, University of California Press, 1969.

BRUSATIN, Manlio. Histoire des Couleurs. [1983 1st ed] Paris, Flammarion, 1986.

DA VINCI, Leonard. Treatise on Painting, John Francis Rigaud (transl.) [1632 1st ed.] Mineola, Dover Publications, 2005.

DUBOIS, Arnaud. La vie chromatique des objets. Une anthropologie de la couleur de l’art contemporain. Paris, Brepol, 2019.

ECO, Umberto. “How Culture Conditions the Color We See” Blonsky (ed.), On Signs, John Hopkins University Press, 1985.

GAGE, John. Color and Culture. Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction. Boston, Bulfinch Press Book, 1993.

GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang Von. Theory of Colours [Zur Farbenlehre, 1810] Charles Lock Eastlake (transl.), Mineola, Dover Publications, 2006.

HARDIN, C.L. and Luisa Maffi (dir.). Color Categories in Thought and Language, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997.

KANDINSKY, Wassily. On the Spiritual in Art. First English Translation with Four Full Colour Page Reproductions, Woodcuts and Half Tones, Hilla Rebay (ed), New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1946.

LECERF, Guy. Le coloris comme expérience poétique. Paris, L’Harmattan, 2014.

LE RIDER, Jacques. “Ce que montrent et cachent les couleurs dans la psychanalyse freudienne”, Les Couleurs et les mots, Paris, UFP, Perspectives Critiques, 1999.

LENCLOS, Jean-Philippe et Dominique. Couleurs du monde. Géographie de la couleur, Paris, Éditions du Moniteur, 1999.

MAITTE, Bernard. “Le renversement Newtonien” in Aurelia Gaillard and Catherine Lanoë (dir)’s Dix-Huitième siècle. La couleur des Lumières. Paris, La découverte, 2019.

MALDINEY, Henry. Regard Parole Espace [1957 1st ed.], Paris, Cerf, 2013.

MAHNKE, Frank H. Color, Environment, and Human Response: An Interdisciplinary Understanding of Color and Its Use as a Beneficial Element in the Design of the Architectural Environment. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996.

MUNSELL, Albert Henry. A Color Notation. [1905 1st ed.] Sacramento, Creative Media Partners, 2015.

NEWTON, Isaac. Opticks or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light, 4th ed., London, Public Domain Book, 1730.

PASTOUREAU, Michel. Noir. Histoire d’une couleur. Paris, Seuil, 2008.

________. Bleu. Histoire d’une couleur. Paris, Seuil, 2014.

________. Rouge. Histoire d’une couleur. Paris, Seuil, 2016.

________. Vert. Histoire d’une couleur. Paris, Seuil, 2017.

________. Jaune. Histoire d’une couleur. Paris, Seuil, 2019.

________. Rayures. Une histoire culturelle. [1991 1st ed.] Paris, Seuil, 2021.

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________. Blanc. Histoire d’une couleur. Paris, Seuil, 2022.

STANLEY-THORN, Carol. “Color Terms: A Problem for Translators,” Atlantica Linguistica, n° 24. March 2002.

TOUDOIRE-SURLAPIERRE, Frédérique. Colorado, Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 2015.

VARICHON, Anne. Couleurs. Pigments et teintures dans les mains des peuples. [2000 1st ed.] Paris, Seuil, 2005.

ZELANSKI, Paul J. and Mary Pat Fisher. “Psychological Effect of Color” in Color. New-York, Pearson Prentice Hall, 1999.

Languages :

English/French

Deadline for proposals:

Please send a proposal of 250 to 350 words to samuel.ludwig[at]uha.fr (English) or charlaine.clerc[at]gmail.com (French) before 30th November 2023. Proposals will be accepted/rejected before Christmas.