Chromophobia (FOCI) (Paperback)

by David Batchelor (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A theoretical and cultural banquet. . . . The book''s narrative quality goes beyond the telling of color theory''s history and other approaches to color, coming to read like a psychological thriller: how the West crushed color-or at least thought it did so." (New Art Examiner )

"Batchelor has found an irresistible selection of anecdotes and quotes relating to the experience of color. . . . Thoughtful and entertaining."--Tema Celeste (Tema Celeste )

"Switching from novels and movies to art and architecture, Batchelor clearly and cleverly traces the cultural implications of the 100 year-plus Colour War between Chromophobes like Le Corbusier, with their hosannas to whiteness, and Chromophiliacs like Warhol, the great artist of cosmetics. A succinct book of art theory which goes down smoothly."--iD Magazine (i-D magazine )

"This beautifully produced book is an intelligent and provocative essay on why Western culture hates and fears colour. The prose is cumulative and passionate in its effect and widely referential-from Barthes to Melville, Wim Wenders to Huysmans. . . . You cannot fail to be stimulated by his thoughts" (RA (Royal Academy Magazine) )

"A provocative contribution to the discourse of color theory."--Artforum (James Meyer Artforum )

"A hugely entertaining guide to our ongoing obsession with white."--Time Out London (Time Out )

"Full of good writing, good anecdotes, devastating quotes, deft arguments, and just the sort of mysterious anomalies one would expect from an artist writing about the enemies of his practice."--Bookforum (Dave Hickey Bookforum )

"A thorough and witty cultural history of color."--New York Times (Karen Rosenberg New York Times )

Product Description

The central argument of Chromophobia is that a chromophobic impulse - a fear of corruption or contamination through color - lurks within much Western cultural and intellectual thought. This is apparent in the many and varied attempts to purge color, either by making it the property of some "foreign body" - the oriental, the feminine, the infantile, the vulgar, or the pathological - or by relegating it to the realm of the superficial, the supplementary, the inessential, or the cosmetic.

Chromophobia has been a cultural phenomenon since ancient Greek times; this book is concerned with forms of resistance to it. Writers have tended to look no further than the end of the nineteenth century. David Batchelor seeks to go beyond the limits of earlier studies, analyzing the motivations behind chromophobia and considering the work of writers and artists who have been prepared to look at color as a positive value. Exploring a wide range of imagery including Melville's "great white whale", Huxley's reflections on mescaline, and Le Corbusier's "journey to the East", Batchelor also discusses the use of color in Pop, Minimal, and more recent art.

(03/04/2008)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Reaktion Books (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861890745
• ISBN-13: 978-1861890740
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #179,248 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #74 in

  Books > Arts & Photography > Instructional & How-To > Using Color

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Color in all its problematic glory, March 4, 2002

By	dave-o (boston) - See all my reviews

Batchelor's own take on color theory is not only a well-researched overview of color in art, architecture, cinema, and literature; it is also a call to action of sorts for artists to reclaim color from its minimalist bastardization in art and its commercial bastardization within the market culture. Batchelor uses the terms "chromophobic" and "chromophilic" to characterize to what extent this bastardization takes place and cites examples from (mainly contemporary) art history as to where the shift from color-as-representation to color-as-color took place.

That discussions of color as secondary to drawing (or design) are neither prevelant in the industry nor in academia proves how engrained into art theory the secondary status of color is. Also of interest is the chapter on the role of semantics and color interpetation. How for example some colors in the abstract such as green-yellows are univerally more difficult to convey than others.

Every serious artist should read this book to reintroduce the importance of color to his/her concerns and to adress contemporary concerns over the loss of color by its oversaturation in less artistic settings.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one of few worthwhile books on color, not just for its cover, January 28, 2003

By	LESLIE J ROBERTS (New York City) - See all my reviews

Fascinating and readably well-written argument that western civilization has a long-held prejudice (though not one shared by the author) against color, especially bright color.

Batchelor is highly literate and informed, plus has an impressive knowledge of contemporary art. His suggestion that color tends to be seen as frivolous/minor/feminine/or even evil is backed up with wide-ranging references to culture (contemporary and earlier), art history, lit., and more. (Including an unexpectedly timely observation that historically, evidence of the decadence of Islam included its profusion of color and pattern.)

Just a few other examples:
--the white space as sign of seriousness and quality in the modern gallery or collector's home
--the art historical ranking of disegno as superior to colore
--in French lit, the symbolic association of rich hues and precious materials with decadence
And much more.

As for me, I almost had to buy this book for its hot pink cover alone

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant and brevitous, December 11, 2005

By	Rabel Stoltzfus "Rabel" (OR) - See all my reviews

I picked up this book from a list of gotta-haves for a class on aesthetics and I gotta say this enormously eccentric work of journalism/philosophy/strange-spooky, kaleidoscopic-microscopic assorted collection (loosely connected?) on art and its psychological reception is worthy of many, many more clauses weighed down with much, much praise.

Anyone with a theoretical interest in aesthetics will find this book packed with gems begging to be peeked at.

A quirky and compelling read. And short too (+).