(image credit: Epromos - http://blog.epromos.com/promotional-projects/post-it-mosaic-art-gains-traction/)
(image credit: Klo - http://kloagency.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/window-display-tips/bergdorf-goodman-post-it-window-1/)
Tone creates contrast which allows one to differentiate elements within one's visual field. The use of contrasting tonal elements in these Post-it murals creates an illusion of depth through which the viewer is able to recognize patterns that resemble the contours of two human faces. Tonal variation enables the differentiation of these patterns to such an extent that the right image is easily recognizable as Mona Lisa, while the left image evokes Frankenstein's monster. Nonetheless, the limited tonal range, along with the low-resolution effect of the chosen medium, creates ambiguity and visual interest by decreasing the clarity of the images. This unusual use of tone caters to the young, technologically savvy target audience through an appeal to novelty by association with digital art and kitschy, "retro" concepts.
Tone deceives the eye into seeing what Dondis refers to as "implied dimension" (60), the same sense of depth which allows the viewer to recognize a three-dimensional face in a two-dimensional field of colored squares. It does this by simulating the play of light and shadow on real, three-dimensional objects, which is directly linked to common experiential knowledge regarding the relationship between tone and dimension (i.e darker areas of an object are farther away and/or recessed).
The main role of color in this piece is to further differentiate the distinct feature areas of the mural which are primarily distinguished by tone. In the Frankenstein image, recessed areas are depicted in a cool, bluish-purple hue, which corresponds to the darkest tonal areas. The cool color and dark tone create a receding visual effect which allows the warmer-toned, lighter areas of the forehead, nose and chin to "pop out" while also looking warmer and more vibrant through simultaneous contrast. The Mona Lisa exhibits smaller color and tonal ranges, both of which limit differentiation and create a flatter appearance. This image is composed almost entirely of warm yellows, orange, and pink, with a cooler but still pinkish-looking lavender color composing the recessed areas in the face and underneath the chin. Color also helps to establish mood -- the greater complementary contrast caused by the use of dark purple in the left image reinforces the bold, quasi-threatening feel of the subject matter, while the more analogous, warm-toned color scheme in the right image plays to the aura of subtlety and calm surrounding Mona Lisa's smile. Finally, the bold, "edgy" overall color scheme of the entire mural represents a direct appeal to the younger target audience.
Color interacts with shape to create the smallest unit of visual expression in this piece, namely the Post-it note. Visually, each note forms a colored square of small size in relationship to the whole. This creates the effect of pixels in a low-resolution digital image, in which the general form of the content is characterized by the unrefined, squared-off shape of its component color areas. The end result of this, in terms of the composition, is that color and tone supersede the more ambiguous shape and form as the primary defining elements of the piece.
More about Post-it art:
http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/24/more-unusual-art-from-everyday-materials-16-post-it-note-pranks-sculptures-and-murals/"
(NOTE: I finished this yesterday but forgot to upload it, if these haven't been checked yet please forgive me)
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