Sample of silk dyed with mauve by William Henry Perkin (1860). 17.8 x 5.1cm. Smithsonian National Museum. Neseniai pasakojau vyrui, kad supratau, kokios spalvos man šiuo metu atrodo gražiausios. Geltona, gesinta žalia, oranžinė, ruda, garstyčių. Dar sakiau, kad nesuprantu, a The World According to Colour: A Cultural History – book review Oddly, a squashed fly triggered art historian James Fox’s fascination with colour and, in this ambitious study, he takes us on an epic journey showing the significance of various colours across the ages The coverage is to some extent the author’s personal choice and I think he assumes the reader knows a little art history already. I liked the attention given to particular artists, such as Turner, Yves Klein, Kandinsky, Monet, Ana Mendieta and Le Corbusier. At times the writing with more of a scientific focus was a little dry and I had to skim-read. The art-focused sections were the most captivating for me. I would say that the chapters on red and white are not for the faint-hearted, dealing respectively with blood and racism. Disclaimer: I received an advance copy through goodreads giveaways. As such, the plates (pictures referenced throughout the book) were not included so I had to reference them online.

Through a series of stories and vignettes, the book then traces these meanings to show how they morphed and multiplied and, ultimately, how they reveal a great deal about the societies that produced them: reflecting and shaping their hopes, fears, prejudices, and preoccupations. The colors that surround us are so ubiquitous that we often fail to see them. But opening our eyes can give us new insights and a different sense of ourselves.The text is incredibly ambitious and certainly successful in its endeavour. Fox traces a long period of art history, from the Bronze Age to present day. The World According to Colour explores many cultures and explores how the meaning of colour can change in different societies.

I came here to learn interesting facts, or at the very least interesting anecdotes... And I hate having my time wasted. If you don't have enough material to write a book, you honestly don't have to write it. Easy! Looking at the same colours from the perspectives of nature, science and psychology gives us further insights to how important colour can be to life. From the green chlorophyll of plants to the red haemoglobin of our literal life blood, how nature uses colour to attract mates and pollinators, warn of danger and camouflage, the science of how we see colour and how we can use it to reflect and affect our moods and wellbeing. knyga buvo nuostabi kelionė po spalvas, po kiekvieną iš jų atskirai. Apie kiekvieną skaitydama pradedavau visur ją pastebėti ir stebėti. Kurti naujas sąsajas ir ryšius su ją.Hand stencil from Cueva de las Manos, Perito Moreno, Argentina, c. 5,000 BCE. Red pigment on stone. Tamsos juodume įžvelgiame savo baimes; spindinčiame kraujo raudonume matome savo pačių gyvenimo ir kūno atspindį; akinančiame saulės geltonume pro primerktas akis įžvelgiame savo galingiausius dievus; o žydrame danguje ir vandenynuose įsivaizduojame anapus esančius pasaulius.[..] Tūkstančius metų dėjome į šias spalvas savo viltis ir baimes, todėl spalvos istorija yra ir mūsų istorija." The vocabulary of these languages isn’t dictated by the prismatic spectrum but, once again, by what is happening inside their speakers’ heads. People generally name only the colours they consider socially or culturally important. The Aztecs, who were enthusiastic farmers, used more than a dozen words for green; the Mursi cattleherders of Ethiopia have 11 colour terms for cows, and none for anything else.