Art Drama & Gatekeeping Color

While reading the The Politics of Design, I was reminded of a feud in the art world that I found fascinating. While initially seeming like a petty fight, it speaks to something more sinister with the idea of a person being able to own a color and larger issues of gatekeeping in art by preventing others from access to materials and inputs. Here’s the gist: Vantablack was developed as the blackest possible black using synthetic materials and was originally for use by engineers. Then when a spray-on version was developed, the lines blurred between whether it was a technology or a color. Anish Kapoor, famous for Cloud Gate aka the Bean in Chicago, purchased exclusive rights to use it in art, thus preventing other artists from using it. In response, artist Stuart Semple decided to create the pinkest pink (named PINK) and not only allowed any artist to purchase it and use it, but made it quite affordable and made purchasers attest that they are not affiliated with Kapoor and would not give PINK to Kapoor. Kapoor somehow got his hands on it and taunted Semple, giving him a literal middle finger on Instagram. In retaliation, Semple then developed Better Black, which was nontoxic and more affordable than Vantablack and of course stipulated again that it was “not available to Anish Kapoor.”

Full story via Wired