Posts Tagged 'Color'

The Secret Lives of Color

In her newest book, The Secret Lives of Color, author Kassia St. Clair reveals the hidden histories of 75 colors that shaped everything from art and fashion to medicine, politics, commerce, and religion.

This Friday at 7:00 p.m., the author will join us for a Late Night talk about her book, where she will discuss what inspired it, how she conducted her research, and a few favorite hues—from the ultra-pricey ultramarine to the morbid mummy brown. Here’s a sneak peek.

What inspired you to write The Secret Lives of Color

Several things honestly. It definitely helped that my mother was a florist, so growing up I was always seeing colors being put together creatively and was encouraged to do likewise. Academically, I became interested in color when I studied at university. I wrote my dissertations on 18th-century fashion, which involved a lot of research into the shades that were fashionable at the time: it fascinated me that they had changed so much. Some of the combinations they loved back then would make your eyes water today! I also loved researching the names or trying to figure out what a once-fashionable tone might have looked like, since often only written descriptions would survive.

How did you decide which colors made the cut? Is there one that you would have liked to include but didn’t?

When I pitched the book, I had a whole list of shades, dyes, and pigments that would go into each chapter, and although many of those did make it into the final book, many others did not and many more were added. The trick was to get exactly the right combination of story and variety. It would have been boring to have five yellows one after the other that all dated from a similar period and were used in near-identical ways. This is something that you very quickly discover when writing but which might not be obvious in the planning stage! There are certainly colors that it would have been wonderful to include full entries for, and many of these I was able to put into the glossary at the back.

In your opinion, what is the most underrated color and why?

I think black is a hugely underrated color. For a start it’s an absolutely vast category: we’re used to giving lots of different names to various whites—cream, ivory, beige, canvas, and so on—but with black it all gets collapsed in together, with very little regard for how different two shades might be from one another. I loved discovering in the course of writing this chapter that there were once two words for black: one for the glossy, luxurious kinds and another for the matte, light-sucking variety. And then again, black is often thought of as scary, unimaginative, or negative, when in fact shade and darkness can be restful, soothing, and cool.

Did the research for this book take you down any unexpected rabbit holes?

Yes, many! (See my answer above for just one example). But that’s why I love studying and writing about color; it’s never boring and you can’t help but be dragged in myriad directions. I also love how people initially think it’s a shallow, niche topic, but then the moment they start discussing it they soon realize just how vast and deep it truly is. Everyone has an opinion or a story or a fact that they want to share; it’s inclusive and I love hearing from people about the colors I’ve missed or anecdotes about festivals, customs, songs, and fashions that I might not know about.

What was one section you really enjoyed writing and why?

I love a challenge, so writing the introduction, although I always find it the hardest bit, is probably also the most rewarding. The introduction has to set the tone. It also has to cover a lot of ground and make sure everyone is carried along. Yes, you might be explaining some tricky physics (I speak as someone who gave up the sciences relatively early to concentrate on the arts), but that is no excuse for not making sure both that you understand it and that you’re making it interesting and palatable for your reader. When you’re writing, it’s my belief that you should treat your reader like an honored guest: it’s not good manners to bore on about something you enjoy but they might not. I try to be as inclusive and entertaining as possible.

If you had a signature color of nail polish what would you name it?

Because I’m going through a green phase and because it’s currently incredibly hot and parched in London so that everything is turning brown and crisp, maybe a really refreshing, cooling green-blue—something that’s a little mid-century but has just a hint of sheen: “Verdant Lagoon.”

Join us this Friday for Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art to hear more from Kassia St. Clair.

Jessie Carrillo is Manager of Adult Programs at the DMA.

Early Start: Young Learners Gallery

We’ve recently debuted a new space for inquisitive young Museum visitors. Check out the Young Learner’s Gallery on your next visit!

A Color Spectrum of Fun!

The DMA galleries have been filled with family fun this spring break!  Approaching the end of our color-themed week is like finding the end of a rainbow – full of colorful smiles! Families have searched for color in artworks on family tours, chased rainbows through stories in the galleries, played with light and color mixing, and had hue-filled family competitions in the galleries. In our studio, groups have enjoyed using ink pads to create colorful fingerprint creatures.

For staff, one of the most enjoyable parts of spring break has been watching our rainbow wall evolve as visitors add their own colorful additions. Check out the bright and cheery progress from the week:

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Amanda Blake
Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences

A Colorful Spring Break

As the weather improves outside, we’re enjoying a colorful Spring Break here at the Museum! Be sure to stop by this week and join in the fun!

Check out our full schedule of programs here: https://www.dma.org/SpringBreak

Totes Awesome! Art To Go Family Bags

Around this time last year, I gave a sneak peek into an exciting new anytime activity that our Education team was testing. After much preparation, redesign, and enthusiasm over the past year, the DMA is now premiering the Art To Go Family Tote Bags for free and public use! Beginning this week, visitors can check out these special totes at the Visitor Services desk and enhance their Museum experience by engaging in a variety of creative activities.

Each Art To Go bag is centered around a particular theme, the first of which are Color and the Senses. The corresponding activities within each bag are general enough to be used with any work of art in the DMA galleries, so the possibilities are endless. The tote bag activities cater to diverse learning styles, encouraging visitors to design their own Museum experience by deciding whether they want to Write, Make, Talk, or Play.

With Art To Go bags, family members can use their imaginations to discover the different scents and aromas present in an Abstract Expressionist painting, or perhaps use their bodies to clap, stomp, snap, whistle and sing to create a soundscape for a Buddhist sculpture. Children can write a postcard to a family member describing their visit to the Museum using all of their senses, or use a viewfinder to focus in and sketch a single section of a French Impressionist painting. The great news is that activities and bag themes will change periodically, so families can create and enjoy new educational and artistic adventures each time they visit!
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Art To Go Family Tote Bags are designed to be creative catalysts, encouraging families to spend more time in the galleries both connecting with works of art and connecting with each other. We invite you to take one of our activity bags along on your next (or very first) visit to the DMA! Bags will be available for free check out at the Visitor Services desk during regular Museum hours. And DMA Friends who complete activities from both bags can earn the Tote-ally Family Badge!

Danielle Schulz
Teaching Specialist

Friday Photos: Contemporary Kids

Throughout the month of January, our Early Learning program participants have enjoyed spending time with contemporary art here at the DMA.

January’s Toddler Art class focused on the colors found in Sam Francis’ breathtaking Emblem. The toddlers had a blast pretending to mix and splatter paint onto the giant canvas!

We also celebrated a successful launch of the DMA’s newest class, Art Babies, designed for children 0-24 months and their caregivers.

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Amelia Wood
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Artworks shown:

  • Mark Rothko, Orange, Red, and Red, 1962, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
  • Sam Francis, Emblem, 1959, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
  • Sam Francis, Untitled (Black Clouds), 1952, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, by exchange
  • Adolph Gottlieb, Orb, 1964, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase
  • Ashville Gorky, Untitled, 1943- 1948, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase, Contemporary Arts Council Fund
  • Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1964,  Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
  • Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 29, 1970, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated

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