Saturate this, mofo! Color as Rebellion

Hello, darlings, how are you? Looking fabulous, as always. I recently finished a lovely book mentioned by an artist on a podcast. It was an offhand mention and the conversation quickly moved on, but its title really caught my attention. Chromophobia by David Batchelor. “Wait,” I thought, “is that even a thing? How can you be afraid of color?” So, I had to find the book. Read it, loved it. I think you should read it, too. 

And just who is it that is afraid of color? Why, our society is, that’s who. Yet one more lovely, wonderful thing on the cishet patriarchy’s shit list. Good ol’ color. 

Color has been the object of extreme prejudice in Western culture. For the most part, this prejudice has remained unchecked and passed unnoticed. And yet it is a prejudice that is so all-embracing and generalized that, at one time or another, it has enrolled just about every other prejudice in its service.

As with all prejudices, its manifest form, its loathing, masks a fear: a fear of contamination and corruption by something that is unknown or appears unknowable. This loathing of color, this fear of corruption through color, needs a name: chromophobia.

Chromophobia manifests itself in the many and varied attempts to purge color from culture, to devalue color, to diminish its significance, to deny its complexity. More specifically: this purging of color is usually accomplished in one of two ways. In the first, color is made out to be the property of some ‘foreign’ body—usually the feminine, the oriental, the primitive, the infantile, the vulgar, the queer, or the pathological. In the second, color is relegated to the realms of the superficial, the supplementary, the inessential or the cosmetic. In one, color is regarded as alien and therefore dangerous; in the other, it is perceived merely as a secondary quality of experience, and thus unworthy of serious consideration.

While it is an art book, and he mostly discusses how these prejudices have played out over the last few centuries in western art, he also covers some larger societal trends and ticks. Though written a couple decades ago, it still feels relevant. The trends he’s noting have held for a while and move slowly—if at all. 

So what are we to do about this deplorable situation, darlings? Resist, of course!

Resistance one: embrace and value color as important as everything else.

Embrace and celebrate color in life and art. Reflect on how these prejudices might have crept into our lives. Contemplate what’s going into the choices of the colors we wear and surround ourselves with. How do we respond to color in the art we look at? How do we talk about color, what words do we use? Just as important—what are the tones in which we deliver them? 

Bask in the pure delight of color without needing words, names, concepts, any of it. Just live the sensations. It’s a quiet, personal rebellion. But who knows what mighty things might ensue from these small, colorful seeds?

Resistance two: intuitive over the intellectual

This book really got me thinking about how I use color. Something mentioned a fair amount when people see my work is “oh, the colors!” Now, I am not academically trained. I am totally making it up as I go. I’ve tried, from time to time to explore this thing called “color theory.” However, it baffles me and haven’t really gotten very far in my attempts to absorb and put this theory into practice. 

There have been some interesting little tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way, certainly. But even those tend to start along the lines of: “Now, this is what the theory says, but really you should…” When it comes to theory as a boost to practice, I’ve found color theory pretty lacking.

I’m always happier making it up, working instinctively, in the moment. I prefer to respond to the very real blobs of colored goo in front of me, which bear little resemblance to the carefully crafted theories and meticulously designed charts. What I’m trying to invoke in you, darlings, is sensual and experiential. Intellectualizing seems an unlikely path for getting there.

Trying to science color, as discussed in a few places in the book, is probably great if you’re after “capturing” the reality of a scene or object. That’s not my jam. I’m more about evoking feelings and telling fantastically improbably stories rather than documenting. Painters who can turn themselves into human cameras are amazing and I love hyper-realism. But, gotta be real (lol), I don’t have the temperament for that work. Play to your strengths, right?

I am still rigorous in my work, but it’s not the rigor of science. The discipline of no discipline, staying free and light and focused on feel, sensation, and experience.

The world is too damn straight!

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