Light, Color, and Perception

Presented at The Next HOPE (2010), July 16, 2010, 11 a.m. (60 minutes)

The phenomenon of color has fascinated great minds from Newton to Picasso, and its complexities are still being unraveled. To understand light and the perception of color, you need physics, biology, psychology, and aesthetics - and this talk will cover a little about all of them. Along the way, topics will be touched upon like non-spectral colors, different color spaces, why laser light looks “speckled,” color-based optical illusions, and an intuitive explanation of the mysterious CIE chart. This material is rarely covered in either art or science classes and is a fascinating intersection of both.


Presenters:

  • Jonathan Foote
    Jonathan Foote comes to the aesthetic sphere from a technical background. With a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and a scientific bent, he holds 34 U.S. patents and has over 60 scientific publications. His art work explores perception and interaction using a range of sophisticated electronics, from vintage vacuum tubes to the latest semiconductor devices. A San Francisco resident, he is a frequent hanger-on at the Noisebridge hackerspace there. He is a cofounder of the SWARM robotics collective, and his work has been shown at various Bay Area venues as well as internationally. More information on his work can be found at http://www.rotorbrain.com/jtfdesign.

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