MODERN MARVELS - PAINT

The Laas Geel cave paintings

• What is Paint? What are its component parts? What are its functions?

        Paint is, as stated in the Modern Marvels video, a "pigmented liquid that dries to form a solid protective film". It is a liquid that dries into a solid and is very easy to apply, but much harder to remove. Paint's component parts, or what it is made up of, are a binder, like resin, a pigment, and a sort of solvent which helps the paint flow nicely in liquid form. From the article "The Colorful History of Paint", I found that pigments used to be mixed into all kinds of things such as "water, saliva, urine, or animal fats". There are many different functions that paint can serve. First and foremost, paint can provide a protective film to any product/thing that needs protection. Some examples of this would be the industrial coatings that are painted on cars to keep them nice and shiny and protected for about 10 years, the paints that have metal in them to protect very complex computer parts, the paints that are able to withstand heat and coat appliances, and other kitchen tools, and so much more. Paint can also serve as an expressionistic outlet for people, and can be put onto a canvas to create beautiful art pieces. One last function that paint serves is being in many consumer products for the aesthetic it can give, and it can also protect homes from heat and weather. 

• What do you think were the 3 most significant evolutions in paint? Why?

        I think that the three most significant evolutions in paint were the use of pigments in cave paintings, the use of oils in painting, and then the use of latex in paint. First, I think that the use of pigments in cave paintings dating back to prehistoric times in Lascaux, France were the most obvious and greatest evolution in paint because it is what we know as the first real evidence of paint an the use of paint in an artistic manner. These pigments that were used created a base for paint to evolve into what it is today. Next, I think that the use of oils in painting was a very significant evolution because it provided artists with a new way to create art compared to the tempura based paints that were used before. Oil paintings are known to last very long and do not flake or crack like tempura based paintings do. Finally, I think that the use of latex in paint was an extreme evolution in because it made paint more commercialized and consumer friendly because it gave paint the ability to dry faster.  

• What is a painting and how long should it last? Is it important that a painting lasts for 500 years? 30,000 Years? Why?

        After what I watched and read about paint, I think a painting can be anything that has paint on it. However, I do think of a painting more in the form of the art world, or being done in an artistic manner, with the purpose of being enjoyed by anyone who chooses to view it. I do not necessarily think that a painting has to "live" for a certain amount of years, but it would be a nice perk to have art pieces around for a long time. For example, Leonardo da Vinci created The Last Supper painting with a new kind of paint that he had just made, and unfortunately that painting is basically in ruins now.  Obviously da Vinci had the opportunity to not experiment with a new paint in The Last Supper, but there is nothing we can really do to change that. So, yeah I do think that paintings should try to stay around as long as possible, but sometimes that just isn't the case because of certain factors. Sometimes paintings get ruined for reasons out of our control, and in that case, I say, keep making new paintings! I think it is important that paintings stay around for as long as possible because we never know how much of an impact they will have on the world or people around us.

Outside Sources:

“The Colorful History of Paint.” EarthDate, www.earthdate.org/episodes/the-colorful-history-of-paint. Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.