In the chapter/reading “Chromphobia” David Batchelor expresses that ‘The notion of colour is bound up with the fate of Western Culture and in the west, since antiquity, colour has been systematically marginalized, reviled, diminished and degraded’…
Furthermore The term Chromophobia suggests that colour has been purged from culture and is an element of visual art and culture that is superficial, merely cosmetic, feminized, oriental, and primitive in the way that certain Art critic’s such as the French critic Charles Blanc (1813-1882) has written.
The chapter goes on to explain how in the hierarchy of design and painting the skillset in colour-mixing and the application of colour falls well below drawing, drafting and representation skill-sets.
The images below discussed in the reading illustrate the psychedelic, rebellious and marginalized examples of colour employed in culture from the Rolling Stones album cover (image 1), Easy Rider film-still (image 2) Damien Hirst “Utopia”(image 3) Set of sliding doors of Plum tree by Kanō Sanraku (Links to an external site.), early 17th century (image 4)
For your 1 page reading response ( 3 points to touch upon – minimum 300 words):
1. Discuss your reaction to Batchelor’s theory that colour has been marginalized and diminished in western culture.
2. Discuss your thoughts and experiences on how you employ colour in your own work and if it is a priority, or not, in creating a work of art. For example, do you prioritize the drawing and representation of a subject matter before applying colour to an image?
3. Batchelor discusses colour as being “bound up in the soul” as such colour is an intuitive and reactionary element of expression . Provide your own example of colour being used as an obvious form of expression and freedom in an artists work (any art form is eligible from painters to architects, fashion, musical artists etc). In the example below the Rolling Stone’s album cover (image 1) suggests that colour is connected to the psychedelic experience, perhaps to that of an experience with hallucinogenics.
