The Dragon Year

Did you feel a sea change in the past few days? It's probably because Monday, January 23rd, we entered the Chinese Year of the Dragon.

The Chinese have certain symbols for their biggest celebration and it is more than coincidental that red is the chosen color. Red represents fire and is considered an auspicious symbol to celebrate good fortune.



Red paper cutouts are placed on the door wishing "happiness," "joy" or "prosperity." Red packets containing money are exchanged and red clothing is worn to ward off evil spirits.



Red door banners with a Chinese character for "blessings" is hung upside down to represent "blessings to come."

This year is represented by the Zodiac symbol of the Dragon. Western cultures consider the Dragon as evil, but in Asia the Dragon is a very good symbol. A Dragon year is considered the luckiest year in the Chinese Zodiac - and we could use it this election year.

Since Chinese New Years' celebrations last for 15 days, so we can still enjoy it. Here's wishing you a most auspicious year - Gong Xi Fa Cai!

At the Stroke of Midnight

February 3rd begins the 15-day celebration of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. It is the longest and most festive of Chinese holidays. In China, it's known as the Spring Festival and everyone who follows tradition spends weeks before preparing for it.

Everything is swept and cleaned of the old year to let in the new year. (No sweeping is done during the first of the holiday for fear of sweeping out the good luck of the New Year.)Special foods are prepared, gifts are purchased, and sometimes a new coat of red paint is applied to windows and doors. Red being the color of the festival.

You see, there is an ancient legend that a mythical beast named Nien came and devoured everything - even children - on the first day of the New Year. So, every year the people put out food in hopes that the monster would not attack them. One day, a little child was wearing red clothes and the color frightened Nien. Hence the use of red for lanterns, scrolls and firecrackers to mark the Chinese New Year.

Scrolls and images are placed on doors and windows. Two of the oldest traditions of festival art are paper cutouts (on right)and wood-prints.

Wood-prints or nianhua are special to the New Year festival. These prints were actually a combination of wood prints and painting. (Nowadays it is done with offset printing and lithography.)

The prints are usually put on both sides of the door to keep evil away and allow only good luck to enter. These "door-gods" have evolved over a very long time (started circa 200 BCE).

The subjects evolved from deities and spirits to fat, healthy babies, flowers and birds. They represent health, wealth, good fortune, and happiness.




One last note: The Year of the Rabbit is about peace, calm, family and security. May it be so!

Fire in the Painter's Palette...

In previous blogs, we've discussed associations that we make for the colors purple and gold. I thought it'd be interesting to discover what the color red conjures up.

First thing I did was look up the emotional meanings of red. There it was - a romance novel in the making - lust, passion, courage, bravery and love. Red seems to signify intense emotions and is also the hottest color in the palette. So. then the question became: how have artists used the colors to generate the sensations and emotions of red?

Generally, it seems that artists have enhanced the warmth of red by using the coolness of blue or green. Some examples: (please click on image to enlarge)

Georgia O'Keefe's "Red Canna" is shown here on the left. The artist used red and other warm colors such as orange and yellow. Yet there is the slight cooling use of purple with its combination of blue and red. If you didn't know it was a flower, does this image bring up any sensations or emotions?


Henri Matisse was considered a master colorist. He used red and blue for the interior of the room and green to designate the exterior space. The piece is titled, "The Dessert Harmony in Red." What sensations does this image conjure in your mind as you see hot red against cool green?

Lastly, here is a piece by Mark Rothko titled, "Red and Blue over Red." In this case, the artist wanted the viewer to experience solely the color without subject or object in order to feel the sensations that the color evoked. What do you experience as you look at the painting? (enlarging encouraged)

Beyond these images, what do you think of when you close your eyes and envision red?