Shirley Cards are color reference cards, specifically used to balance skin color, in print photography. These cards are named after Shirley Page, the Kodak model which is depicted in the color comparison prints distributed all over the world. Shirley Cards were used as the
“standard” that all other printed photographs would be compared to for decades.
In the photographs Shirley had blue eyes, pale skin, dark brown hair, and wore vibrant colored ensembles. Later, when Shirley left Kodak other Caucasian models were brought in to replace her, but the name Shirley Cards stuck. Any time a print was made Shirley Cards had to be taken into account. If the colors did not match up with Shirley Cards, photo lab technicians considered something to be wrong with their prints, therefore,
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The norms Shirley Cards depicted, however, turned out to be flawed. The color pallet used for Shirley Cards did not provide a broad enough range to properly depict skin tones of non-Caucasian races. At this time, film color both for print and motion pictures was all designed with high levels of reflectivity, since “Shirley’s” pale skin tone was recognized as the ideal
standard. This created an unfair biased toward white skin when it came to motion picture and photography. People took notice and began to complain of over or under exposure in prints and scenes of non-Caucasians.
In the early 1990’s, Kodak and other print companies recognized their shortcomings and began to redesign their Shirley Cards. They created multiracial color reference cards of African,
Asian, Latina, and Caucasian “Shirley’s” to appropriately capture different skin tones. One of these cards depicted an African women, a Caucasian women, and an Asian women posing together to exemplify the difference in skin color of each. Today, labs can take this a step further, by creating custom color pallets to fit a customer’s
For my term paper I decided to go to the Cantor Museum in Palo Alto, and I chose to focus on two portraits of women from two distinct time periods. First, I decided on the portrait of Margaret Blagge, Wife of Sidney, 1st Earl of Godolphin. This portrait was painted by the artist Matthew Dixon in 1675, in the Baroque period of art. The portrait of Margaret Blagge was done in England, and it was painted as an oil on canvas. The second artwork I chose to compare was the Portrait of Sally Fairchild by John Singer Sargent. This portrait was done from the year 1884 to 1887 during the Realism movement in art. The portrait of Sally Fairchild was painted in the United States of America, and was painted as an oil on canvas. When comparing these two portraits
culturally inaccurate. At the time, Asians were still very much underrepresented in film and many
They didn’t have any permanent collections in the museum, but one of the collection exhibits was on a theme about wool rugs that had acid dyes, ink, or watercolor. All together in one room there were four wool rugs created by Anna Betbeze. They all include large abstract paintings within the rugs. The rugs have burns and are bleached in some areas. There is a purple rug named All That’s Left with burgundy and different purples spots, it was created with acid dyes. The second rug named Mimosa is yellow with whites and light brown areas, which are acid dyes and watercolors. The next one is created with acid dyes and india ink, it is a light beige color with black, blues, purples, pinks, orange, and brown. This specific wool rug is named Black
The criteria used were visible physical traits, measurements on the human body, lineage, ethnic heritage, and culture. These characteristics were enforced through black inferiority, slavery, and referring to certain races by using derogatory names. One of the most well-known examples is the Jim Crow laws, which was a systemic separation between blacks and whites. These laws were enforced by institutions and violence such as the whites lynching the blacks. A more recent example is the Redlining and Neighborhood Exclusion Organization, which restricted black people from moving into white people neighborhoods in fear of property value decreasing if that were to be allowed. White privilege still exists, which is more prevalent in the media today. White people in society remain to valued higher regardless of the actions they take or their accomplishments and failures. It all boils down to the fact that since America was colonized, whites have always had power over everyone else and have also oppressed anyone of a different race, especially blacks. It is not guaranteed all the time, but most times, white privilege allows whites to not have to worry about becoming a victim to law enforcement or worrying about systemic racism. White privilege means you can wear whatever clothes you want to and act however you please without being labeled a thug or gangster, and no one questions how you got the job you did. White privilege means you do not have to be worried about being monitored by store clerks, or have to worry about being labeled as a terrorist. There are so many more examples that can be listed, but overall these ideas mentioned showcase how white people are able to succeed in life much easier and are able to attain much more prestigious things in life. Any other races besides white people live in a world of unfairness because they are seen as
White skin ruled as a beauty standard during Elizabethan era. Women apply deadly mixtures (white lead) on their skin to stay fair. And some even took the beauty trend to the next level by painting blue lines on their skin to make it appear more translucent because the veins underneath were showing. Possessing a pale skin was essential for Elizabethans because it demonstrated wealth and status. A woman with a “blue blood” was sought after by
Regardless of the industry, African-Americans faced some extent of racial
If you take a look at most Hollywood movies, a good majority of the actresses are fair skinnend. One of the first African American female actress was Nina Mae McKinney whom as been inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Since she was black she was only offered low budget films and looked at as the standard barer for future lead roles when using black women. Fredi Washington was a light skin, light eye female and was described as being too beautiful to play a maid but wasn’nt offered romantic leads. Her skin was so pale that some
While beauty is not limited to social media and online authority but has started from the ground up in stores such as Claire 's and Sephora which birth new trends and encourage women to “Be Yourself”. Claires, a store generally shopped at by pre-teens, has began created light BB & CC creams for sheer to light coverage. In Claire 's there are less than 2 Deep complexion shades for these young pre-teens… With the simple act of secluding African and African American teens from shopping at Claire 's diminishes their confidence in their skin from such a young age. With in-store technology advancing the precise matching of skin complexion Sephora has continued to break skin shade boundaries… or so we think. In a recent interview with a Sephora employee she states, “When an African American walks in looking for a complexion product the girls run away because they “can do it” (Amy). Sephora does offer a mandatory SkinIQ matching class which does show how to properly match shades (which also matches undertones). Shea Moisture (A hair and skin brand known for being African and African American promoted) created a groundbreaking commercial showing race being a divider
Five of these cards are in black and white; the remaining five are in color. The examiner puts the cards in the subject’s hands right side up. The examiner later asks the subject to look at the cards carefully and describe what each inkblot resembles to them. The instructions are then given to the subject though they are kept vague for a purpose. This enables the subject to make associations from the form, shading, texture and color of the blots. Moreover, the subject can respond to each blot in its entirety, to major portions of the blot or ‘large details,’ to small details in the blot's structure; subjects are also free to make use of the white spaces surrounding the blot or within it. After being the cards in a certain manner, the subject is also free to rotate the cards from the positions in which they are presented (right side up) and even to turn cards over and look at the back of them. After the subject gives a response, the examiner asks him or her to explain what was seen in the images. The examiner goes back over the responses and may ask the subject to clarify some responses or to describe which features of each inkblot prompted the responses. The subject is unaware of this but the examiner is making notations on things such as how much time is used to describe each card, if the subject covers
What does influence skin color variation is the size and distribution pattern of melanosomes as well as other factors.
Color in films has been around since the early 1900s, though we did not see films being mass produced in color until much later. In 1915 “Technicolor was formed as a corporation”, but it wasn’t until around the 1940s that we started to see “greater use” of color in films (Vacche, 13-17). During this rise of color films, you tended to only see certain genres of films were done in color. Period pieces and musicals were the two genres that were most known for their use of color during this time. Then in the 1950’s the development of “Eastmancolor, a one strip color negative process,” we saw more and more films being done in color (Bitoun). Before the development of Eastmancolor, the process that had to be done to make a film in color was too costly. In the 1930s “color added about 30% to the average production cost of a film” (Bitoun), causing studios to have to pick and choose what movies were going to be made in color. Eastmancolor helped lower those cost, making it much more affordable for filmmakers to make films in color. This lead to filmmakers being able to make more films in color and began to start using color to their advantage.
As the research continues it becomes ever more important to discuss how exactly the differing pigmentation of one race of people actually occurs, because I feel that it has an effect on the way colorism is handled throughout the African American community. There are two ways in which a person of African descent can be of a lighter complexion; the first being amalgamation, which is the coming together of both the black and white races and reproducing to make a mulatto or mixed race child and the second is the use of cosmetic creams in attempt to bleach one’s skin until they too appear mulatto (Dorman 48). This is relevant because, it shows the extremes that people are willing to go to reach the highest plateau of social acceptance. Many of these creams were painful acidic chemicals slowly burning away the pigmentation as people slept, while others were considered mild abrasive materials used to “gently” scrape away dark pigments (Dorman
We often connect ourselves to the world through our appearances. One of the first characteristics we notice about another human is the color of their skin. It is unavoidable, as the largest organ of the body, it covers and highlights our individual features and forms a protective wall against the elements. There is no escape from the social repercussions our pigmentation causes no matter what range of the very broad spectrum of color we fall into. I have never thought so much about the genetic and social evolution of skin and its properties until I read Nina Jablonski’s Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color. This book encompasses, in great detail, how our skin has evolved, adapted and mutated throughout time and in what
From the very beginning of the early stages in American cinema, African Americans had a presence on the silver screen. The twentieth century created a new era of cinema that consisted of films produced for and targeted to an all-Black audience. “Race films” which existed in the United States for over thirty years (1913-1948), were films produced by African Americans that focused on Black themes and highlighted the talents of African American directors, producers, scriptwriters, and actors.
Mabel's Fables is one of the oldest children's bookstores in Toronto. They have been bringing kids closer to books and literature since 1988.They completed their 25th year anniversary last year in 2013. I visited the bookstore on 14th of February 2014.Most of the section was covered with red purple, blue, white and yellow. Most of the interior is with purple white and yellow. As it was valentines that’s why there was touch of color red everywhere. The place has been designed and painted in such a way that it sooths your eyes as soon u walk in the store. The color combination mesmerized me so much and had no option but to ask one of the staff members about who chooses the color scheme, the pattern, and the answer I got blew me off. The answer was it’s the staff members and manager that decide about how the things should be setup with what color scheme as they keep on changing it now and then according to the occasions.