Concept · Relationships

Vibrating and Vanishing Edges

Where two colors of the same value meet, the edge can seem to shimmer or to dissolve. It shimmers when the hues are strong and far apart, and dissolves when they are dull and close.

The eye finds edges most sharply through differences in lightness. Without that cue, a bright red-green border flickers, while a muted pair gives the eye nothing firm to hold. Albers called these vibrating and vanishing boundaries.

• Photograph the strips in black and white: matched values turn into nearly one flat gray.
• Painters soften a contour by matching values across it, and sharpen one with a light-dark step.
• Bezold advised a lighter or darker outline between closely related colors, so the eye can follow the design.

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