
In Johansson's Honkey Kong, there is what appears to be a photo of a girl sitting on a wood-paneled ground, her back facing the camera.  She is painting the wood panels a vibrant blue color.  What is interesting about the picture however, is that the panels seem to continue on forever into the background and they are colored a vibrant blue in a black and white photo.   Johansson uses color contrast and surrealism to create symbolism and convey his message that imagination and creativity is a critical element in human life and its application to reality gives the world meaning.

Johansson puts an overwhelmingly huge emphasis on these blue panels.  It is the clearest element in the photo and it is also in the very center, where one's eyes tend to gravitate to.  The subject, the girl painting, focuses her attention on the panels as well, creating object oriented attention.  The color contrast plays a huge factor to catch attention, having the blue against the black and white photo, it automatically draws the audience. omitted

(Paragraph Change)It is no coincidence either that the color chosen, blue represents serenity, intelligence, aloofness, idealism, that an ocean is often symbolic of power, strength, and even life.  With those meanings in mind, can't the same be said for the power of creativity?  If not for creativity and imagination, science would not be a thing, for any scientific discovery has started out from curiosity, a question.  Every scientific law or principle, just a thought, an idea conjured up within their own minds, where they use their imagination to create connections and to fill in the dots.  It is this idea that is then applied to the real world to create what is now.  Many aspects of reality were not merely always there from the beginning, but an idea, a creation was developed and publicized to give structure, to create meaning for the individual and for the world.

The color adds intrigue for the reader by differentiating or separating the panels form the surroundings .  This differentiation creates surrealism.  When the blue color is added to the photo, it no longer seems like the girl is painting panels, but an ocean.  There is also an infinity of the tiles, separating it from reality, however the grey areas such as the women and the birds.  From here, several different interpretations, connections and symbols can be made.  For example, it can change the perspective from  a boring tedious monotone task into a complex, yet simplistic blue mosaic.  This can create two differing attitudes, one of work, and one of recreation.  Another connection can be made that the blue, or the ocean is a representation of her artistry and imagination.  The enormity of her work turns into the vastness of her imagination.  From this inference, another can be made that the black and white portion of the photo represents reality, defining reality as her surroundings or environment.  She uses her imagination to bring color to, to bring meaning to and make sense of the world around her.

To support such a claim of creative symbolism from the color scheme, take a closer look at the bottom portion of the photo concerning the paint can, the brush and the girl painting it.  The girl uses her blue paint, her own "imagination" and applies it to her reality, using the paintbrush and the act of painting to paint what she sees, making it her own, showing her individuality through her creativity.  The blue in the can is imagination, the paintbrush or act of painting, creativity, which represents individuality and what is painted, the world through ones individual perspective.

A theme or purpose of Johansson's Honkey Kong is to have his readers understand the importance of its application in the real world and to stimulate imagination or creativity into his viewers.  Creativity is not only applicable in the arts, but in all aspects of life.  Creativity is needed to be successful in any career field be it liberal arts, business, science, health profession.  Creativity gives a second perspective, a new lens that allows one to look at something in a new light and create a better way of thinking or a better process or approach to it.  Without creativity, there is no room for improvement, there would be no questioning of rules concerning efficiency, ethics, etc.  Everyone would just be robots in a never ending cycle of routines with no means of improvement.

Johansson is able to use a contrast of a highly pigmented blue color against a black and white background to draw attention and create symbolism ultimately to send a message that it is critical to use and embrace ones imagination to add meaning to life, to create and expand upon the environment, the world in which they live in.  Ultimately, without this blue, this imagination, there is no creativity, there is no individualism, leaving only a grey dullness to the world.  Johansson sends a message that peoples imagination brings life and creates meaning to an otherwise dull and insignificant world of realities.  Without this choice in color scheme, the image is just of a girl, painting wood panels.