NOTES ON STEVEN BLEICHER'S CONTEMPORARY COLOR: THEORY & USE CHAPTER 10
Protestant Orange- The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland, as well as in parts of the Commonwealth of Nations, Togo, and the United States. The Orange Order was founded by Ulster Protestants in County Armagh in 1795, during a period of Protestant–Catholic sectarian conflict, as a fraternity sworn to maintain the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. It is headed by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, established in 1798. Its name is a tribute to the Dutch-born Protestant king William of Orange, who defeated Catholic king James II in the Williamite–Jacobite War (1688–1691). The order is best known for its yearly marches, the biggest of which are held on or around 12 July (The Twelfth), a public holiday in Northern Ireland. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Order
Red Cross/Red Crescent- The red cross emblem came into existence more than 150 years ago when the Geneva Conventions adopted it to protect medical personnel assisting the wounded on the battlefield. It is one of the most recognized symbols in the world because, during armed conflict, the red cross emblem means “don’t shoot,” that this person, vehicle, building, or equipment is not part of the fight but is providing impartial assistance. The emblem provides protection for military medical units, transportation of the wounded, and for the Red Cross's humanitarian aid. The global Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement—including the American
Red Cross- utilizes the emblem to signify our promise of voluntary, neutral, and impartial assistance to all people in need, regardless of race, religion, or citizenship status. Countries around the world protect the red cross emblem and limit its use to official Red Cross organizations and programs, as well as the medical services of their armed forces. In the United States, only the American Red Cross and the medical corps of the Armed Forces are permitted by law to use the red cross emblem. www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-even…
Green Cross- A group called the Hospitallers of St. Lazarus originally used the green cross over nine hundred years ago. The word Lazarus is Hebrew for "whom God has helped", it was also the name of a man who was in numerous stories that connect him to Jesus Christ. It is unknown whether the standard symbol for first aid was created using the green cross of the Hospitallers of St. Lazarus as a base, however, the Hospitallers were people who gave first aid too. www.mysafetysign.com/first-aid-symbol
Wedding White- In nineteenth century Great Britain, the color white became synonymous with marriage and weddings. Its popularity quickly grew, and it was embraced throughout Europe and America. A “white wedding” is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding. The term originates from the white colour of the wedding dress, which first became popular with Victorian era elites after Queen Victoria wore a white lace dress at her wedding. The white wedding style was given another significant boost in 1981, when three-quarter billion people—one out of six people around the globe—watched Charles, Prince of Wales marry Diana Spencer in her elaborate white taffeta dress with a 25-foot-long train. This wedding is generally considered the most influential white wedding of the 20th century. Globally, weddings are often religious events. Therefore, the influence of religion is significant. The white wedding in Europe and the United States, which has become mainstream worldwide, is deeply related to Christian values. The white dress has become as much a symbol of a Christian wedding as wedding bands and diamond engagement rings, if not more. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_wedding
Fertile Green- 15th C. Dutch painter Jan Van Eyck uses several symbolic elements within his Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, dated 1434. The green of the woman's dress symbolizes hope, fertility and represents her current or a hoped-for pregnancy. (Some scholars believe the wedding portrait was painted after the bride’s death, which may have occurred during child birth.)And since dyeing fabric such a shade was difficult and expensive, the intense brightness of the green also indicates wealth, (Arnolfini was a wealthy Italian merchant); the dog, fidelity; the broom, domestic life; and on the finial of the bedpost, a statue of St. Margaret, who is the patron saint of childbirth. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnolfini_Portrait
Wedding Red- in the Far East and parts of India is considered a festive, joyful color. It signifies good luck, prosperity, and has underlying associations with fertility. Always an auspicious color, red was first worn by Indian monks and hermits in 300 B.C. but wasn’t worn by brides until the Mughal Era in the early 16th century. With astrology so closely connected to the Hindu religion, red is also a symbol of Mars—the planet that rules marriage... “In Indian culture, the woman is the one who is leaving her house and going to the man’s house to be with his family. It’s a far bigger change for the woman than the man, so it is appropriate that she be the one commanding the most attention and wears a bold color like red...” www.brides.com/why-do-indian-brides-wea…
Aboriginal body painting- is an ancient tradition which carries deep spiritual significance for Australian Indigenous People. Cultural rituals including body painting differ between Aboriginal Tribes and topographic location. They are related to spiritual matters and are very creative. Different colored clays and ochres are applied in a variety of designs according to the person’s totem. For example, dancers wear yellow ochre and white body paint in a traditional bee’s nest motif. The dancers’ totems or ancestors are spiritually awakened during the body painting ritual. The specific designs and motifs used by the Aboriginals reveal their relationships to their family group, social position, tribe, precise ancestors, totemic fauna, and tracts of land. There are very strict guidelines to how the body painting and adornment is carried out and an Aboriginal person is not allowed to just use any motives or adornment in their transformation. They must follow traditional, respected patterns. The person adorned with the body paint often takes on the spiritual part of their ancestor dancing, immersed in their character. www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/aborig…
Natural Hues-Throughout the world, evidence of natural dyeing in many ancient cultures has been discovered. Textile fragments dyed red from roots of an old-world species of madder (Rubia tinctoria) have been found in Pakistan, dating around 2500 BC. Similar dyed fabrics were found in the tombs of Egypt. Tyrean purple dye was discovered in 1500 B.C. and was produced from the glandular secretions of several mollusk species. Purple dye was extremely expensive to produce as it required nearly 12,000 mollusks to produce 3.5 ounces of dye. It was the color of royalty. Lichens were used to produce ochril, a purple dye, which was called the “poor person’s purple”. European settlers in North America learned from Native Americans to use native plants to produce various colored dyes. www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/d…
Retablos- are devotional paintings from Catholic Mexican folk-art traditions. They are typically painted on tin, with yellow rays that represent God’s light, green that represents nature and the growth of life-sustaining crops, and red that represents both the Holy Ghost and the transient nature of life. More generally retablo is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar. Sometimes it is a large altarpiece painting or an elaborate wooden structure with sculptures. The Latin etymology of the Spanish word means "board behind". Aside from being found behind the altar, "similar ornamental structures are built and carved over facades and doorways”, called overdoors. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retablo
Holi- an Indian subcontinent celebration dates to the 4th century CE. It marks the beginning of spring after a long winter, symbolic of the triumph of good over evil. On the day of Holi, entire streets and towns turn red, green, and yellow as people throw brightly colored powder into the air and splash them on others. Each color carries a meaning. Red, for example, symbolizes love and fertility while green stands for new beginnings...time.com/5799354/what-is-holi/
