Chroma Design Architecture & Art in Color

313 Pages·2010·42.849 MB·English

by  Barbara Glasner, Petra Schmidt (eds.)

CHROMA
CHROMA
DESIG
ARCHITECTURE
& A R T
I COLOR
BarbaraGlasner, Petra Schmidt (Eds.)
Birkhauser
Basel· Boston- Berlin
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
TheConflictofColors 6
By Petra Schmidt
CHROMA SPECTRUM
11
Selected by Barbara Glasner
Monochromatic 13 Achromatic 183 Multichromatic 221
CHROMA CHOICE
275
Fernando & Humberto Campana 276 Sauerbruch Hutton 280
Rupprecht Geiger 284 Konstantin Grcic 288 UNStudio 292
Gerhard Richter 296 Ronan& Erwan Bouroullec 300 Anselm Reyle 304
APPENDIX
Biographies and BriefProfiles 308
Acknowledgements/Editors/Authors/Photo Credits 318
6
The Conflict of Colors
Introduction by Petra Schmidt
Mr.Pink:WhyamIMr.Pink?
Joe: Becauseyou're afaggot,alright?
Mr.Pink:Whycan'twepickourown colors?
Joe: Noway.Tried it once. Itdoesn'twork.You getfourguysall
fightin'overwho's gonna beMr.Black.Theydon'tknoweachother,
sonobodywantsto backdown.Noway. Ipick.You're Mr.Pink.
Bethankful you're notMr.Yellow.
Mr.Brown: ButMr.Brown,that'stoocloseto Mr.Shit.
Mr.Pink:Mr.Pinksounds like Mr.Pussy. Howaboutif I'mMr.Purple?
Thatsounds good to me.I'll beMr.Purple.
Joe:You're notMr.Purple.Someguyon some otherjobisMr.Purple.
You're Mr.Pink!
Mr.White:Who careswhatyournameis?
Mr.Pink:That'seasyforyou tosay.You're Mr.White.You haveacool
soundingname.Alrightlook,if it'snobigdealto beMr.Pink,you
wannatrade?
From:ReservoirDogs,QuentinTarantino,1992
Colors asassumed names?Why not?After all)color identification has been used on the Lon
don Underground for decades.The encryption and abstraction ofinformation using colors
makes sensebecause they lend themselves sowellto codification and orientation.This iswhat
a previouslyunknown railwayofficialcalled HarryBeckgrasped in 1931when he drew up a
colored infographic ofthe London tube network,therebyproviding the template for allsuch
future diagrams. His abstract representation ofthe routes,stations, and transfer possibilities
without regard for their physical reality,and his reduction ofdetails to colors andlines remain
exemplaryeven today.
But Mr. Pink doesn't want to bow to the dictates ofefficiency.He rebels and initiates a con
versation about the symbolism ofcolors. Mr. Pink)who has to consider his image asa gangster,
isnot at allhappywith his label.Although wehardlyseeany colors in Quentin Tarantino's
ReservoirDogs because large parts ofthe plotare set in awhite warehouse and the protagonists
wear black suits and ties,the film nevertheless cleverlyaddresses a dilemma typicallyconfront
ed when dealing with color.This dilemma isfounded on a conflict with along tradition in
7
design and architecture between functional aspects such assignals,orientation systems,and
technical implementation, and the subjective perception ofcolorthat informs the workofart
istssuch asvan Gogh, Kandinsky, and Yves Klein.In short, it concerns the oppositionbetween
emotion and rationality.
Although color, particularlyin brightervariants, iscommonlyassociated with cheerfulness and
harmony, there are not manysubjects thatlend themselves so easilyto dispute. Although cen
turies ofcultural history have seen the attribution ofpowerful symbolic meanings to colors,
these meanings are anything but universal. Theyare constantlysuperimposed on one another
and are permeatedby personal experience. In herbook Wie Farben wirken (How Colors Work),
sociologist and psychologistEvaHeller usesthe results ofan anonymous survey to showjust
how complexinterpretations ofcolor can be. For instance, manyrespondents name the color
red asboth the color ofloveand ofhatred, something that does not surprise Heller since both
emotions"stir up" the blood. However,she also points to other meanings attached to red. Once
standingfor the "privilege ofthe nobility;' members ofwhich had their robes dyed in the scar
let color extracted from cochineal insects, it came to be the symbolic color ofcommunism, for
in Russian the word"krasiwij"also meant"good."Thus, in Marxism-Leninism,"thereds"were
synonymous with "the good,"a felicitous symbol for the claim ofthis political grouping to be
betteringthe world.
Disputes about color are as old asour culture. SinceAristotle, who still assumed that the eyes
emitted visual rays,science and art havebeen grapplingwith the doctrine ofcolor.The long
historyofsuch doctrines isrepeatedly marked by the publication ofnew insights. These have
emerged in the realm ofthe natural sciences,asin the caseofIsaac Newton's insights into re
fraction published in his famous work on optics (1704), from an artistic perspective, as in the
caseofJohannes Itten's TheArtofColor (1961) and JosefAlbers'Interaction ofColor (1963),
and in the area oftechnical reproduction, asseen in the Farbenatlas (ColorAtlas, 1982)by re
searcher and printer Harald Kuppers.Added to these are the numerous philosophical treatises
on the subjectby authors ranging from Schelling and Schopenhauer to RudolfSteiner."Col
ors lend themselves to philosophy;'remarked LudwigWittgenstein,who for his part investigat
ed the waylanguage dealt with concepts of color.
And philosophy, ofcourse, entails disputation. For instance, JohannWolfgangGoethe's Theory
ofColours (1840,Original: 1810)wasa direct reaction to IsaacNewton's prismaticstudies.Al
though in scientific terms the philosopherwas unable to ground his theory,which waslimited
to the two basic colors ofyellowand blue derived from "light and darkness:' his theoryofper
ception dominated philosophical debate at the time. Goethe was the first to formulate the con
cept thatindividual colors and compositions could trigger specificsensations. Itwasan insight
that proved decisiveto the emancipation ofcolor from other elements ofartistic expression
such ascomposition and representation based on illusion. Asa consequence, colorwasincreas
inglyconsidered in isolation. ThusWassilyKandinsky,who was influenced by Goethe's ideas,
declared,"Thecoloristhe keyboard. The eyeisthe hammer. The soul isthe piano with its many
strings. The artist isthe hand that purposefullysetsthe soul in vibrating by means ofthis or
that key."
Goethe wasthus an early exponent ofthe concept ofcolor that placed the soul at its center and
sparked an aesthetic debate that was to continue to exert an influence on painting aslate as
modernism. For example, Yves Klein sawin the production ofmonochromatic images an act of
liberation that eliminated"psychological bars,"since"before the colored surface one finds one
selfdirectly before the matter ofthe soul:'And the German painter Rupprecht Geigerdeclared,
"Red makesyou high:'Somuch conviction and fervor could notbuthelp provoke disagreement.
Acontraryposition was soon established by painters who approached the problem ofcolor
8
via the intellect. The American minimalist Donald Judd, for instance,banished allpsycholo
gizing and emotional projection associated with color to the realm ofobscure sciences:"[Since]
the creation ofscience in the seventeenth centurythe studyofcolorhas been part ofscience.
And likeastronomyit has been cursedwith its own astrology."Although artists such asDonald
Judd and Gerhard Richter grappled intensively with color,they rejected a devout approach to
theirsubject, producing pictures devoid ofsentimental impetus.With his color charts, Gerhard
Richter in particular concentrated on accident,indifference, and the pleasure in looking.With
his color fieldsinspired by conventional color-sample cards he not only brokewith allforms of
symbolic, expressive statement but quite consciouslypitted his work against the prevailing
dogmas ofgeometric abstraction. Artists ofthe youngergeneration such asAnselm Reyle-who
has gained international renown with his opulent"stripe paintings" and sculptures covered
with glitteringpaint-and Liam Gillick-whose material collagesmade from plexiglassand
metal clearlyrecallthe work ofDonald Judd-incorporate manyofthese and other historical
positions in their work. Indeed, Gillick'swork ischaracterizedbythe attempt on an intellectual
levelto mediate between design, art, architecture, and science.
However,while in art colorhas alwaysbeen seen asan essential element and primarymaterial
ofthe creation ofillusion in the portrayal oflandscapes, spaces,and stilllifes, for design it has
been seen more as a quality, as an ingredient, or perhapsbetter put, asa"skin."This ishow
the Bouroullecbrothers stilldescribe color today.Theirgoal isto find an appropriately"natural"
expression for the structures and forms they borrowfrom natural phenomena such asalgae
or clouds, including at the levelofcolor.Theirapproach isthus in stark contrast to that ofde
signers such asthe SwissMattia Bonetti or the Spaniard Jaime Hayen, who underscore the
artificial character oftheir creations with glittering surfaces andlush colors.They design elab
orate objects asindividual pieces or in limited series,which are regarded by agrowing host
ofcollectors as on a parwith modern art. These designers use the same shinyand glittering
surfaces that have so successfully made fetish objects out ofconsumer goods such as cars and
cosmetics. Contemporaryartists have also discovered design for themselves and the possibili
ties ofseduction it offers.Thus, for example, SylvieFleuryandAnselm Reyleuse iridescent
metallic paint for their sculptures, thus imitating the effectsofthe glittering everyday world.
Evenin architecture asimilar transformation istaking place,one that privileges the object
ofdesire. Asin the time ofBruno Taut's so-called "paintboxestates,"the majorityofarchitects
still use color to emphasize facades and structural elements such asstairways, windows, and
balconies, to frame them and separate them visuallyfrom the bodyofthe building.And, asbe
fore, efficiencyretains its priority, asisevident in the "machine aesthetic" about which the
German designer Konstantin Grcicenthuses in his interview,which islimitedto smooth, mono
chromatic objects and buildings, or colors that emanate from the material itself.However,re
centyears have seen colorful coatings being given greater consideration.Just like Grcic,who
lovesto render his objects monochromatic asifthey had been dipped"in abucket ofpaint:'
the Dutch architecture team MVRDV used a strictlymonochromatic strategywhen building
their DiddenVillageresidential complexon the roofofa former sewing workshop in Rotter
dam. Without any regard for details or the structure ofthe building, the architects covered the
simple gabled cottages and the atrium with a shiny blue layerofpolyurethane,thus creating
a surface that recalls colored plastic products. For the architect Louisa Hutton, who runs the
Berlin firm Sauerbruch Hutton with her husband Matthias Sauerbruch, color design isalso
clearlyahighly significant element ofany architectural concept. The two architects seecolor
asatool and design both finelynuanced and highly colorful facadesand spaces.However,this
does not mean that they reject the notion of"form follows function" that had such a pro
nounced effecton modernism; rather, their aim isto link the position ofthe old masters with
their own and use color as an additional"resource for creating space."Astheyseeit,"the
modernist credo ofthe (truth ofthe material'can be extended to include the potential offered
9
bycolor."This approach ofthe two central figures ofcurrent colored architecture isbeing
taken much further bytoday's architects availingthemselves ofmodern computertechnology
to design new flowing or crystalline structures.The architects associated with firms such as
Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksasand UNStudio arebreaking completely with the masters of
modernism.In the production oftheir personal"machineaesthetic" they are not only using
engineering programs to generate structures that recallfenders or stealth bombers. They are
alsotransferring the colors ofthese objects and machines onto their structures.With the click
ofamouse they color their buildings, using tones that havepreviously onlybeen seen on cars
and toys.The results can be seen in UNStudio's decision to bathe the auditorium ofthe Agora
Theaterin the Dutch city ofLelystadin arobust blood red, and the lush orange-red ofthe
self-cleaning textile membrane used byMassimiliano and Doriana Fuksasto coverthe Zenith
concerthall in Strasbourg.Never haveso manymachines been seen.Eventhe digital glowof
the computerscreen can now be transferred to facades using LEDtechnology.Now UNStudio's
intricatelyfolded facadesluminescewith the gentle,colored light thatweotherwise associate
with the immaterial works ofJames Turrell.They flicker and change likeascreen.Light asthe
source ofallcolors, in particular artificial and colored light, has become the central design
element ofan architecture that no longer aspires to be buildings but an object ofdesire or a
usable sculpture.
In spite ofallattempts here to provide acomprehensive overviewofthe place ofcolor in de
sign, art, and architecture, CHROMA isnot intended as ascholarlybook, an encyclopedia of
color.On the contrary, it isahighly subjective response to the realization that although there
isagreat deal ofliterature on the theoryofcolor,there are relativelyfewbooks that communi
catea genuine experience ofcolor.Asthe editors ofthis publication, this isour central concern
rather than explanatorymodels, or color asaphilosophical or scientificphenomenon, or psy
chology,or art history. Neither is our focus on the concrete material in terms ofits materiality
asseen in the works ofMarkRothko andYves Klein,which can be explored far more effec
tivelythrough the medium ofan exhibition.Whatweare interested in iscolor's interplaywith
perception and its role asasource ofinspiration.The intention ofCHROMA isto stimulate,
to provide an experience akin to diving into color itself,or steppinginto ariver dyedbyOlafur
Eliasson.Itisabout emotion rather than rationality.
11
CHROMA SPECTRUM
Selected byBarbara Glasner
Our everydaylivesare fullofcolor.Yet often these colors remain"invisible:' They require ex
perimentation, composition,or orchestration to come, as it were,to light. For example, when
the photographerWolfgangTillmans captures the everydayworld almost asifin passing, in
an image that presents the skyand the walls ofbuildings or even a sheet ofphotographic pa
per asan abstract surface, tones become"visible" again. Experiencingthe waycolor can
inspire and enchant us does not necessarily mean wehaveto seeit asa"metaphysicalforce"or
"energy"in the wayJohannes Itten did.Readers ofthe following chapter SPECTRUM will
not need the help ofmetaphysics to become aware ofcolor's riches.
Editor Barbara Glasner looked for designers, artists, and architects for SPECTRUM who ap
proach color in a particularwayand whose work-depending on the color-can be linked
with monochromatic, multichromatic, or achromatic themes. The result wasavery personal
selection ofworks ofgreat intensityin terms ofcolor,that not only explore single colors and
color combinations but alsothe "non-colors"black, white, and gray.Along with the great
masters ofcolor-field painting-such asEllsworth Kellyand Imi Knoebel-SPECTRUM also
features famous contemporaryarchitects such asMVRDV and Zaha Hadid, aswellasyoung
designers such asShayAlkalayand Maarten Baas.Rather than age,fame, or the duration ofthe
engagementwith color, it isqualityand effectthat havebeen the decisivecriteria that have
determined the selection presented here.

14
o
I
Prima Facie(FifthState):Mayonnaise,2006
Archival Pigment Print on matt paper, acrylic on canvas
134.94 x216.53 x5.71 ern
CourtesyofJohn Baldessari, Marian Goodman Gallery,
NewYorkand Paris, and Spruth Magers Berlin London
JURGENMAYERH.Architekten
MensaMoltke,Karlsruhe,2007
Newcanteen for the Technical College,TeacherTraining
Collegeand the State Academyfor FineArt
Wood structure,polyurethane finish