It's like a moth to a flame. If yellow is used carelessly in a painting, it can destroy all movement by keeping the eye stuck in one place. Frankenthaler, however, used its attractive and energetic qualities, stretching it all the way across the canvas, therefore establishing it as the absolute source of movement in the painting. But she did not let the yellow rule the painting. It acts as the transport system to lead the eye to the main point of interest, the area on the righthand side where orange and intense shades of blue converge and bleed together with the yellow.
Colors have visual effects on each other.
When two complementary colors are placed next to each other, visual interest is created. The attractive qualities of a color are made more visible when it is placed next to its opposite. When you stare at one color for a moment or two you can begin to see another faint color around its edges. This is the afterimage, which is a faint version of the original color's complement. The afterimage affects the way we see the surrounding colors.