Seeing the World Through Colorblind Glasses

Book addict that I am, I couldn’t help but pop by Powell’s the other day (oh the joys of living near The City of Books!) and being that it’s close to impossible to leave Powell’s without at least one new acquisition, I came out with “The Object Stares Back”. In it, art historian James Elkins discusses the nature of sight drawing not just from his artistic background, but also from philosophy, psychology and physical science. So far, it’s a fascinating read.

With all these thoughts on vision running through my head I became a bit obsessed with wondering how my husband, who’s colorblind, sees my paintings. We’ve talked about his vision a bit - most often when shopping and he’s picked up a pair of pants or some such thinking they’re brown when they’re actually green - but it’s more difficult for him to describe how he sees my art.

I started researching online and discovered a nifty tool called Vischeck that’s able to transform my images into a simulation of what he sees. I had no idea! As an example, here’s my painting “Song of the Siren’s” :

But this is how my sweet hubby sees it:

Quite a difference, no? I may have to do a series of paintings exploring colorblindness, working with colors that appeal to those who are color blind. I have a feeling that as I continue through this book, I'll be making quite a few notes and sketches. I’ll also be contemplating sight on a much deeper level. 

“Seeing is like hunting and dreaming, and even like falling in love. It is entangled in passions - jealousy, violence, possessiveness; and it is soaked in affect - in pleasure and displeasure, and in pain. Ultimately, seeing alters the thing that is seen and transforms the seer. Seeing is metamorphosis, not mechanism.” - J. Elkins