Spontaneous Interaction

Arthur Hoener's "Color Action Drawing--Internal Echo" is composed of thousands of small black-edged circles whose outer dimensions are always the same. In the center, the thickness of the black edges changes ever so gradually, creating the extraordinary illusion of a full value scale. Even more surprising is the discovery that the drawings as a whole has a reddish cast, even though no red pigments have been used. This is a subtle reaction that some people may not have. Hoener felt that, using only blacks and whites in certain proportions, artists can make observers "see"--or at least feel--specific colors other than black and white.

Excerpt from Design Principles and Problems, 2nd Ed. Paul Zelansky and Mary Pat Fisher. Harcourt Brace College Publishers. 1996