Does history affect aesthetic preference?
Kandinsky's teaching of colour-form correspondence, empirical aesthetics, and the Bauhaus
Publication date
2007
Document type
Forschungsartikel
Author
Wolsdorff, Christian
Organisational unit
Universität Leipzig, Institut für Allgemeine Psychologie
Publisher
Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Series or journal
The Design Journal
ISSN
Periodical volume
10
Periodical issue
3
First page
16
Last page
27
Peer-reviewed
✅
Part of the university bibliography
Nein
Language
English
Keyword
Bauhaus
Colour-form correspondence
Kandinsky
Empirical aesthetics
Psychology of art
Abstract
Kandinsky postulated a fundamental correspondence between colour and form. Using a slightly altered version of his historical questionnaire, a recent empirical study (Jacobsen, 2002) showed that about half of the non-artist students assigned red to the triangle, blue to the square, and yellow to the circle. Frequently, world knowledge associations were stated by referring to a traffic sign, a warning triangle, and the yellow sun. Kandinsky's assignment, however, was the one least preferred. A new study with experts in the visual arts revealed yet differing assignments. It is argued that colour-form assignments as well as the motivation to produce them depend on a multitude of factors. World knowledge, education, historical change, societal, group-specific and individual leitmotifs constitute important influences. We show how Kandinsky's particular colour-form assignments became a symbol for the Bauhaus in a historical process comprising simplification and the mere setting down of examples as critical stages.
Version
Published version
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