Color Theory and Emotional Effects

1.  Until really stopping to think about it, I never truly realised how much color can affect emotion.  On the website hosted by the McGraw Hill textbook publisher simple everyday examples of emotional responses certain colors bring were given (such as the Valentine's Day card in pinks and reds,or the spaghetti and red sauce) and until those same examples  were shown again with different colors I did not understand how strong the effect of color can be.  Seeing the Valentine's Day card in blues did not make me feel particularly romantic or loving, but it did make me feel standoffish or cool.  When the spaghetti was shown in hues of blue I certainly didn't feel hungry (which is really saying something because I am writing this post in studyhall which immediately follows a two hour practice and I actually am quite hungry).
2.  The theoretical aspect of color that most fascinates me is the concept of warm and cool colors and how they can be used.  I had no idea that specific color themes can be used to enhance the spatial element of an artwork.  I knew on an elementary level that warmer and cooler colors were loosely associated with particular feelings, but not how those feeling could in turn lead to their ability to affect depth and perception.
3.  In the video Color, learning how strict the regulations about color use that early fresco painters were contractually obliged to follow made the biggest impact on me in regards to color and it's effects on emotions.  This is because it taught me how different colors were more readily available and affordable while others were rare and expensive.  I did not know that the blue color often used when depicting Mary's robe was a rare and expensive color saved for her or only a few other important things.  It shows me that even long ago artists realised the emotional effects color had and were able to relate them to emotions that one may feel when looking at the subject matter itself, or even to coerce an emotional response that the artist wants the viewer to feel when looking at the subject matter.
4.  In the video Feelings:  Emotion and Art, I was most impacted by the use of art and specifically color to explore human nature, society and civilizations.  The video showed me how certain values can be seen as the principle values of a past civilization by how it was recorded in art and whether the value depiccted was emphasized and stood out, drew and emotional response or just laid in the background.  For example, it is obvious how important religion was to the vast majority of Medieval populations by the rich colors and detailed workswe can still find today based on or in religious subjects.  You ccan tell how much time was taken on creating these works and how every aspect was thought out and portrayed carefully.  In spite of the argument that God's feeling was seen more important than human feeling at the time, works of art were not created to draw a response from a God, but to draw a response from the people viewing it whether you want to convince them to feel a certain way like sorrowful for their sins, or fearful of a wrathful God, or even joyful for Christ the Savior paintings, statues, etc. from medieval times that cause these responses can still be viewed today.