Tag Archives: colorwalk

Can You Walk With All The Colors of the Wind? Vanessa Johnson and Mikaili Armstrong

The red leaves on a tree in the main plaza by the library.

The red leaves on a tree in the main plaza by the library.

Our color walk was quickly catalyzed by dark red-brown steps going down from Professor Arrington’s classroom. The exit signs illuminated above head directed us past the administrative offices and to the “Read Signal” letters box  that sent us veering to the right only to lead us to another reddish brown path way broken up by the slope of stairs. Off to the left the bright red of two Coca-Cola machines lead us out to the quad where a myriad of red shades stop us, causing us to turn our heads in every direction to take it all in. Red shoes, the red leaves of several of the trees, when finally a boysitting at the fountain with bright- almost luminescent in the sunlight- red adidas pants pulls us to the square separating Langdale Hall, Kell Hall and Classroom South. In this square red hair, red socks tucked under the bright blue jeans of a student speed walking, a faded red shirt of someone sitting in the quad renders us motionless, again, as we work to take in and dutifully observe the many spectral shades of red around us. By the time our color walk was over at around 1:50 P.M., I noticed I had only observed a minuscule fraction of the colors all around us. While red was the first thing to catch my eye, my overall attention span was broadened to include the spectrum of all colors perceivable to my eye. This exercise is potentially useful to a researcher of any kind to use if done properly, for it awakens the sensitivity to acute detail in the mind. This can be translated into other forms of research by exercising the brain to be more attentive to all acute details- not just in color.

The bright red of the coke machines that lead me to the plaza.

The bright red of the coke machines that lead me to the plaza.

 

Some Summarizing Stuff: Can You Paint With All The Colors of the Wind?

In article Color Walking by Phia Bennin and Brendan McMullan the two carry out an experiment attributed to William Burroughs called color walking. The duo describe it as a pretty simplistic idea to call attention to the beautiful color within the normalcy we experience day to day: “Just walk out your door, pick a color that catches your eye, and watch your surroundings pop as you follow the color from object to object. While you walk, you’ll be struck by the red of a bicyclist’s shorts, the sunburn on a woman’s shoulders, the pealing paint on the fire hydrant” (Bennin, McMullan). The two authors used a method of color walking that allowed them to change which colors directed them where and embarked on their journey. Posting a digital map allowing the reader to interact with their color catalyzed journey, the audience can see what colors pulled them where. Lastly, we’re provided with several tips to help those who chose to embark on their own color journey: “Give yourself an hour of uninterrupted time, no commutes, no errands, just eye time. Pick a color, or let a color pick you–follow the one that makes your heart go thump-thump. If you get lost, pick another color. If you get really lost, you’re on the right track” (Bennin, McMullan). This listing of directions on how to color walk further acts as a mode of interaction with digital space for the audience in addition with the virtual mapping of the authors’ color walk. This multimodal aspect of the digital sphere is what connects the audience to the article and enables that learned from this article to be enacted outside the digital sphere and in reality.