I find the I Am Red chapter to be truly compelling. Mostly the sentence: “explain red to somebody who has never known red” (187). I have  never thought about the meaning of a color, rather I have thought about the sensation it evokes when seen and contemplated, how that differentiates it from other colors and how this sensation identifies smart juxtapositions with objects and other colors. But I agree with the man who thinks red can be described to somebody whose eyes have never fallen upon it. I am inclined to think this way because the way Red talked about himself before the argument between the two apprentices suggested that if red is to be defined then this definition encompasses premises a lot more essential than the description of a degree of intensity on a chromatic spectrum. Red can be felt in fury, passion and death, all emotionally-charged themes that are part of everybody’s life and that we usually think about or come across on a daily basis. Meaning that colors are a way through which we express ourselves, at times, we put on clothes of certain colors that reflect our temper and feelings.
Colors are a language not just at the service of the talented artists, but also one in favor of granting people a rich mode of expression, therefore, colors cannot be limited to people who can encounter them visually.
That passage also caught my attention and made me think about the ways we take for granted our own knowledge or assumptions about people, words and objects. It’s interesting to think about this in terms of colors and all the emotions that they evoke, but it’s also interesting to think about the way we define people, places and objects–sometimes even those that we’ve never encountered in person before. I’ve never been to Paris before, but there’s a whole list of characteristics, landmarks, foods and clothing that come to mind when I hear or read the word “Paris.” What I know about Paris comes from what I’ve heard or read about it. In this manner, we pass along information in a way that allows us to describe something to someone whose eyes have never fallen upon it. This is a beautiful thing, linked to storytelling and art, but it’s also where we fall victim to creating and absorbing stereotypes and misconceptions. These are just some thoughts, which may be unrelated to the point of this passage on color, but were sparked by this topic of representation and illustration/ekphrasis.
I wonder if this applies to someone who is blind. Those who can see associate concepts like love and anger with a color (in this case red) because that is what they have been taught (for instance, valentines are pink and red and a popular phrase to describe being angry is “seeing red”) throughout their lives. However, a blind person can’t really form such associations having never seen anything, let alone color, at all. Therefore, I wonder if they would simply associate everything, including emotional concepts, with darkness?