PUBLICOLOR — Office Tour and Q&A with Founder Ruth Lande Shuman

December 5, 2016

My introduction to Publicolor happened in high school. I read about it one of my favorite magazines at the time, YM.

The ethos of the organization resonated with me — liven up drab, underserved schools with color, and consequently, boost the students' mood, attendance, and test scores. A simple idea, yet deeply affecting. It sounded like a win-win. I remember talking to my friends about it in the cafeteria, wishing there were a program like it in our city.

"From Boring to Bright" in YM magazine. My first introduction to Publicolor, spotted in a book of press clippings. — "From Boring to Bright" in YM magazine. My introduction to Publicolor, spotted in a book of press clippings.

I've lived in NYC for over six years now, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to get involved (seems like a no-brainer). But I'm so glad I did.

After volunteering at a painting day this past October, I was invited to the Fall Crit, a showcase of design projects created by students in Summer Design Studio. It’s one of Publicolor's many youth development programs.

Stepping into the midtown office, I felt as if I'd been transported into another world. It felt alive. I instantly knew I wanted to photograph the space.

I'm excited to share these photos, along with the first-ever interview on my blog, a Q&A with Ruth Lande Shuman, the founder and visionary behind Publicolor.

To get involved, visit publicolor.org.

Welcomed with the Publicolor logo, a design by the iconic Massimo Vignelli.

A piece by artist Gaetano Pesce, friend and collaborator of Ruth Lande Shuman.

Q&A with Ruth Lande Shuman, Founder of Publicolor

Photo c/o New York Social Diary. Click the photo to read a fantastic interview with Ruth from 2012, which features many beautiful photos of her home.

The color palette of the office is your design. Everything is rich with color, even the staplers and coffee mugs. What mood or feeling did you want to convey for yourself and your staff?

Happiness + Energy.

I love the wooden color palettes you created for some of the older building designs. How do you go about creating palettes for each school that you work with?

Usually I work with the students to create the palettes.

For me, color is a language, sometimes mysterious. What is one thing about color that you wish more people understood?

It would be wonderful if more people appreciated the power color has to affect our moods + behavior.

What was a personal highlight at Publicolor for you this year?

Knowing that 97% of our students graduated high school on time + 100% went on to college or a post-secondary accreditation program.

What works of art have inspired you recently?

A recent visit to Gaetano Pesce’s workshop was enormously invigorating – so much energy!

I had to ask. What's your favorite color of the moment?

Red has always been my favorite color. I never pay attention to the colors of the moment.

Inside Indigo — After Workshop at NYC's Textile Arts Center

October 24, 2016

Textile Arts Center Indigo Dyeing After Workshop NYC — My indigo samples.

My blog turned 1 this month! My first post went up in October 2015. To mark the occasion, I treated myself to a workshop on indigo dyeing at Manhattan's Textile Arts Center. I had no prior experience with dyeing in any form, so I really enjoyed this process.

Ingredients Used in the Indigo Dye Recipe

one part organic indigo powder
two parts fructose crystals
three parts pickling lime

To make indigo soluble in water, it requires antioxidation and alkalinity. The fructose removes the oxygen, and the pickling lime serves as the alkaline agent.

This is known as Michel Garcia's 1-2-3 method. You can learn more about it here.

We were each given strips of silk and cotton muslin (both bleached and unbleached). Once the dye was ready, we dipped each strip in water, then into the dye vat. Inside the vat, we gently rubbed the fabric, which helps it absorb the dye.

We observed the effect of the dye on each fabric strip, as well as the impact of each dip.

Then we waited for a while for our fabric strips to dry.

Indigo appears lighter after drying. Below are my swatches, a mix of cotton and silk. I took this photo at home after fully drying and ironing them.

The lighter ones were dipped once or twice. The darker ones I dipped up to five or six times.

After trying solid dyeing, we moved to shibori, an ancient Japanese dyeing technique.

Here are a few shibori samples our instructor shared with us. Each sample notes the type of dye used and the number of dips. These are much more precise than the notes I took in class. I think for any dye project, having this info on hand would be super helpful.

In shibori, various blocks, plates and clamps are used to manipulate the fabric and create patterns. The indigo leaves a bluish patina on all the dyeing tools, which is so pretty to me.

Drying our shibori samples.

Here are my shibori samples, both silk. For the left piece, I placed a few marbles and buttons on to the fabric, tying each one tightly with a rubber band.

On the right, I first folded the silk a few times into a rectangle. Then I sandwiched it between two plastic square discs and secured everything with two metal clamps.

I didn't overthink my shibori techniques— I was more curious to see what would happen. Even with amateur execution, shibori yields beautiful results.

Thanks to Textile Arts Center and our instructor, Clare Frost, who really knows her stuff. TAC offers classes that honor handmade techniques, like weaving, block printing and fabric marbling.

Go here to learn more — textileartscenter.com

Brooklyn Color

August 31, 2016

I took these photos on a recent Sunday stroll through my neighborhood, Crown Heights.

I don't know what it is about Brooklyn. The color I see here is unlike anything I've seen in any other place. It's been my home for the past five years, and my eye is still surprised when I walk down the street. I'm bound to find something odd or delightful, or both.

You feel a strong sense of history here, the touch of many human hands. So many layers, all smooshed together and painted over. The buildings on my block alone resemble a line of toy blocks, some brand new, others well-worn with time and love. I suppose that's the feeling I'm trying to capture.

Chand Raat in Brooklyn's Little Pakistan

July 6, 2016

Every year on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, it's tradition among South Asian Muslims to celebrate Chaand Raat (meaning “night of the moon” in Urdu). On the last night of Ramadan, people gather in public to break fast and spot the new moon, which marks the arrival of Eid.

There’s music and devotional singing. Women have their hands painted with henna, or mehndi, as it's known in Urdu. It's the perfect time for last minute Eid shopping with plenty of sweets, toys, clothes and jewelry for sale.

On Brooklyn's Coney Island Avenue, there are a few blocks comprising Little Pakistan, a neighborhood where this celebration happens every year. I was away from home this Ramadan, and coming from a Pakistani family, I felt a strong pull to join in the festivities.

I brought along my best friend and muse, Nkiru.

Chaand-Raat-Little-Pakistan-Brooklyn-Coney Island Avenue

Chand-Raat-Little-Pakistan-Brooklyn-NYC-Coney-Island-Avenue

JOSEF ALBERS — Perception Through Iteration, Color Workshop

May 16, 2016

“In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is—as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art. In order to use color effectively it is necessary to recognize that color deceives continually. ”

— Josef Albers

I recently attended a workshop based on the teachings of color master Josef Albers.

The workshop, titled Perception Through Iteration, was led by Fritz Horstman, the Artist Residency and Education Coordinator at the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. At Manhattan's Drawing Center, Fritz took us through a few exercises from Albers' groundbreaking book Interaction of Color.

色彩構成　配色による創造 Japanese hardbound edition (Tokyo: David Sha, 1972)

Various editions of Albers's book, which was published in many languages. See more here.

I was introduced to Albers' work years ago, in a color theory class at Parsons. In the work I do now, arranging color and creating palettes is less a formal practice and more a result of instinct and mood. I felt I needed a refresher. As Fritz explained, for Albers, "color was material". This idea resonates with me, as I've come to realize that nearly every photograph, collage or moodboard I make is driven by color. Color is my preferred language and medium.

For each exercise, the students shared a box of Color-aid, matte sheets of paper that come in brilliant standardized colors. This is the same paper Albers taught with, and it's become a standard teaching tool in art and design classes. I still have my box from that color theory class.

Josef Albers Color Workshop Color-aid Paper

The colors are so rich and such a delight to work with. In the presence of Color-aid, you'll hear a lot of gasping, oohs and aahs, and things like, "It's too pretty to cut!'.

Exercise #1: Make Three Colors Appear as Four

Set two colors side by side. We'll call these the host colors. Then place a third color on top. This will be the sample color. With a thin strip of white paper, separate the sample color into two distinct colors.

It took a few tries to get it right —

Josef Albers Color Workshop Exercises Color-Aid

According to Fritz, if the sample color shares qualities with one of its host colors, you are more likely to see a visible shift. Another hint: the smaller the sample color is, the more light it will absorb from its host color.

I settled on the three cool colors below. On the left, the sample color looks green. On the right, it shifts subtly to a cooler blue.

Exercise #2: Make Three Colors Appear as Two

Set two host colors side by side. Then place a third color on top. The goal is to make the sample color on each side resemble the opposing host color.

After many tries, it became evident that the the more similarities all three colors shared, the easier it would be to pull off. How did I do?

Exercise #3: Make Four Compositions with Four Colors

In the last exercise, we were asked to pick four colors at random and trade them with a partner. Then, create four distinct compositions, using similar shapes for each one. The idea was to explore the relationships between colors that don't necessarily share similarities in hue, value, or saturation. Or, to work with colors we're not naturally drawn to. For me, that would be the slime green you see below.

After seeing my fellow students' work, I realized my choice of rectangular strips was pretty conservative. With a quick, simple exercise, you can see some interesting ideas taking shape here.

The backdrop of this workshop was The Drawing Center's gallery space, currently housing Drawing Dialogues: Selections from the Sol LeWitt Collection. The collection features pieces by artists like Eva Hesse and Dan Flavin. I love the feeling of the space.

Drawing Center New York Sol Lewitt Drawing Dialouges

Sol LeWitt never studied under Albers, but was influenced by his work. In 2005, LeWitt's work titled Seven Basic Colors And All Their Combinations In A Square Within A Square was unveiled at the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop, Germany. The wall mural, commissioned by the museum, was LeWitt's homage to Albers (see images below).

Thanks to The Drawing Center for having me!

Holi Hai!

May 1, 2016

I brought my camera along to NYC's Holi Hai, also known as the Festival of Colors.

In Part II of this post, I'll share a series of portraits from the festival.

PETER ZIMMERMAN — Pools of Resin

April 23, 2016

Artist Peter Zimmerman has transformed the floors of Museum für Neue Kunst in his hometown of Freiburg, Germany. For his solo exhibition, "Freiburg School", over 1400 square feet were coated with pools of pink, orange and blue resin. The colored floors are meant to feel immersive, reflecting and heightening the viewer's experience of the oil paintings hanging on the gallery walls.

Speaking to German journalist Till Briegleb, Zimmerman says, “The fact that visitors actually walk on it necessarily means that the surface will get scratched, destroyed. It develops a kind of patina as a result. Trainers leave scuff marks, high heels leave scratches. All of which are all interesting relicts…. I think that these traces correspond to the brush strokes of the oil paintings.”

The exhibition is open for viewing until June 21, 2016.

Sources:

1, 2

Inside the Color Vault: Forbes Pigment Collection

April 20, 2016

The color vault at Harvard's Straus Center, known as the Forbes Pigment Collection, is home to some of the world's rarest pigments. This video, presented by Great Big Story, features a tour by Straus Director Narayan Khandekar. He shares bits of fascinating history behind pigments with names like Dragon's Blood, Mummy, and Indian Yellow.

Watch the video:

J.CREW ON FILM — Color Crazy

April 17, 2016

From the J.Crew archives: a quick, fun look at their color selection process. Here we're offered some rare insight into the work of a fashion colorist. It's all about perfecting the color of the fabric--getting it as close as possible to the original source of inspiration.