John Biggers' The Four Seasons, In color and black-and-white
images taken from: http://www.handgraphics.com/Africa_Amer_Artists/John_Biggers/DB_7-00.HTM
This will probably be one of the closest comparisons I write about that uses two pieces done by the artist without me altering anything for the discussion. Here we have two lithographs by famous muralist John Biggers. These two pieces of work are exactly the same except one uses color and the other is purely black and white. The use of color and colored lights don't change the mood or message of the piece at all for while the colored composition appears a little warmer and the black-and-white piece feels a little more sterile overall the two pieces are exactly the same. However, the colored piece does have one other unique aspect about it, depth.
Many artists create depth with light, having closer objects be darker or lighter than objects in the background, but they can also create depth with the color of their light. For some reason the human eye places warmer colors like reds, yellows, and oranges, in front of equally intense but visually cooler colors like blues, greens, and purples. Look at the fencepost in the colored piece and compare it to the fencepost in the black-and-white piece. The white fencepost pop out from its yellow surroundings much more than the fence post in the black-and-white piece. The houses in the colored lithograph also seem to recede further back in space than their black-and-white counterparts. This is most likely due to the use of white and yellow, in the houses and the lights their porch lamps give off, causing the houses in the foreground to pop out even more from the houses in the background; thus, enhancing the illusion of depth. So, if you want to enhance the perceived depth of a scene onstage without changing the intensity or number of source lights then you can try changing their color.
Many artists create depth with light, having closer objects be darker or lighter than objects in the background, but they can also create depth with the color of their light. For some reason the human eye places warmer colors like reds, yellows, and oranges, in front of equally intense but visually cooler colors like blues, greens, and purples. Look at the fencepost in the colored piece and compare it to the fencepost in the black-and-white piece. The white fencepost pop out from its yellow surroundings much more than the fence post in the black-and-white piece. The houses in the colored lithograph also seem to recede further back in space than their black-and-white counterparts. This is most likely due to the use of white and yellow, in the houses and the lights their porch lamps give off, causing the houses in the foreground to pop out even more from the houses in the background; thus, enhancing the illusion of depth. So, if you want to enhance the perceived depth of a scene onstage without changing the intensity or number of source lights then you can try changing their color.
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