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White + Our Connection
WHITE IN POPULAR CULTURE
• The most popular car color today are white and shades
of grey.
• Over 70% of the total world car population is either
white/light grey.
• Why are the majority of people attracted to white cars?
COLOR THEORY
• When all the wavelengths of light are
absorbed by a surface, the object
appears black
• When all the wavelengths are
reflected, the surface appears white.
• Black and white are not true colors.
• Achromatic: without color
WHITE IN POPULAR CULTURE
• Wedding dresses in white symbolize purity of the soul in Western cultures.
• The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England in 1406.
• In 1559 Mary Queen of Scots wore a white wedding gown when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color.
• From here on after, white becomes associated with brides & weddings.
• Mary Stuart wore white in mourning
of her husband, King Francis II of
France who died in 1560
• White was then the color of
mourning for French Queens.
POWDERED WIGS IN THE 18TH CENTURY
• Men's wigs were powdered in order to give them their distinctive white or off-white color
• Depending on how wigs were ornamented, they could reveal a person's profession or social status.
• White wigs became status symbols.
• Wealthier people could cost expensive wig designers and better materials.
• They were made in general with human hair, but also with hair from horses or goats
EXCEEDINGLY PALE SKIN WAS POPULAR IN MANY CULTURES: 18TH CENTURY EUROPE & JAPANESE GEISHAS
Theories suggest that by painting your skin white- you illuminated more in candle-lit rooms.
KALONITE
• is a clay mineral and is the most commonly found mineral on earth.
• Since our Prehistoric past, people have used Kalonite to produce a white color.
• Kaolin is used:
• in ceramics (it is the main component of porcelain)
• in toothpaste
• as a light diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs
• in cosmetics
LEAD WHITE
• Of all the pigments—that have been banned over the
centuries, the color most missed by painters is likely
Lead White.
• This hue could capture and reflect a gleam of light like
no other, though its production was anything but
glamorous.
• The 17th-century Dutch method for manufacturing the
pigment involved layering cow and horse manure over
lead and vinegar.
• After three months in a sealed room, these materials
would combine to create flakes of pure white.
LEAD WHITE
• While scientists in the late
19th century identified lead
as poisonous, it wasn’t until
1978 that the United States
banned the production of
lead white paint.
• Artists turned to titanium
and zinc white
EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
• Adopted the roman symbolism of white as
the color of purity, sacrifice and virtue
• It became the color worn by monks and
popes.
• The white lamb in Christianity became the symbol of the
sacrifice of Christ on behalf of mankind.
• John the Baptist describes Christ as the “Lamb of God”
UNICORN HUNT, ROCHESTER BESTIARY,
14TH CENTURY
The Middle Ages (400-1400) saw the introduction of the white unicorn in art & manuscripts.
Symbol of virginity, purity, & chastity.
THE UNICORN IN CAPTIVITY MIDDLE AGES; 1495–1505
• The unicorn probably represents the beloved tamed
• The unicorn could escape if he wished but clearly his confinement is a happy one, to which the ripe, seed-laden pomegranates in the tree—a medieval symbol of fertility and marriage—testify.
• Many of the other plants represented here, such as wild orchid, bistort, and thistle, echo this theme of marriage and procreation: they were acclaimed in the Middle Ages as fertility aids for both men and women
MARBLE
• Used extensively for sculpture and as an architectural
material, it has become an icon for refined taste and
culture.
• In addition, white marble is taken to symbolize purity
and immortality.
WHITE MARBLE
• As the favorite medium for
Greek and Roman sculptors and
architects
• Marble has become a cultural
symbol of tradition and refined
taste.
EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THAT ANCIENT GREEK + ROMAN SCULPTURES WERE PAINTED.
WHY DO WE PREFER THEM WHITE?
18TH AND 19TH CENTURIESBAROQUE PERIOD
• White was the dominant col or of architectural interiors in
the Baroque & Rococo period.
• Church interiors were designed to show the power, glory
and wealth of the church.
• They seemed to be alive, filled with curves, asymmetry,
mirrors, gilding, statuary and reliefs, unified by white.
MANY OF OUR POLITICAL BUILDINGS ARE WHITE AS WELL- REFERENCING TO THE BUILDINGS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (POWER+CONTROL)
MODERN ART
KAZIMIR MALEVICHWHITE ON WHITE (1917-1918)OIL ON CANVAS
• White was the artist's symbol for the concept
of the infinite as the white square dissolves
its material being into the slightly warmer
white of the infinite surrounding.
• The pure white of the canvas has negated any
sense of traditional perspective, leaving the
viewer to contemplate its "infinite" space.
• Painted some time after the Russian
Revolution of 1917, one might read the work
as an expression of Malevich's hopes for the
creation of a new world under Communism, a
world that might lead to spiritual, as well as
material, freedom.
ROBERT RAUSCHENBERGWHITE PAINTINGS (1951)
• Rauschenberg’s primary aim was to create a painting that looked untouched by human hands, as though it had simply arrived in the world fully formed and absolutely pure.
• The seemingly blank canvases, evenly coated in white house paint, serve as a backdrop that activates as viewers approach, coming alive with their shadows while also reflecting the light and sounds of the room they occupy.
• Thus, Rauschenberg succinctly allowed the "subject matter" of the White Paintings to shift with each new audience and new setting, and illustrated his interest in aleatory, or chance, processes in art, while also questioning the role of the artist in determining the meaning, or subject, of a work of art.
JAMES TURELLAFRUM (WHITE) 1967
• Afrum (white) appears to be a free-floating
glowing box of light in the corner of the
room, but is actually an opening in the wall
that is brilliantly lit from within.
• Turrell hopes to coax the viewer into a state
of self-reflexivity in which one can see
oneself seeing
• The illusion draws the viewer into its space
as if entering another world.
• His work combines a technical skill with an
emotive phenomenological reaction to light
and color.
GIACOMO CARMAGNOLAGLITCH SERIES 2017
• combines the old and new to create a
symbolic modern image.
• “I see these images as an alternative
beauty. I find it extremely fascinating
how the same image can change so
much by keeping its original
'skeleton'. Of course they’re also
visually impactful. But before this, I
find them simply beautiful.”
• Carmagnola’s reflection of ancient art
as a millennial in an overly saturated
visual world.
WHITE AS THE DARKEST COLOR OF THEM ALL
WHITE CITY
• Rome, also needed to become a symbol of his power and the superiority of the Italian race.
• Very similarly to Adolf Hitler, Mussolini also believed that the Italian race were descendants of the Aryan race.
• Thus, the only acceptable color for Italy would be white.
• Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
STADIUM OF THE MARBLES
• is a sport stadium in the Foro Italico, a sport complex in Rome, Italy.
• It was designed in the 1920s student training facility for the Olympics.
• lined by 59 (60 in the original project) marble statues in classical style portraying athletes that perform various sporting disciplines.
• Unlike Greek/Roman statues that have lost their color- they were purposely left white to reinforce their racial superiority.
AI WEIWEISURVEILLANCE CAMERA (2010)
AI WEIWEISURVEILLANCE CAMERA (2010)
the artist memorializes the clunky apparatus of surveillance by replicating it in marble, medium of monuments and gravestones.
Here Ai evokes themes of paranoia and voyeurism and the omnipotence of a ‘policing’ authoritative force.
OUR LIMITED STATUS OF FREEDOM
• Ai addresses many of today’s
concerns with government spying and
government attempts at muffling
dissent.
• Mixing traditional methods, like
Chinese ceramics, with these
contemporary socio-political issues
Weiwei challenges authority
• Questions our freedom + freedom in
Communist China. Ai’s home country.
Ai Weiwei. Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square. 1995-2003
AI WEIWEI
• “He has been fearless about publicly calling out the Chinese government and
passionately advocating for one’s rights.”
• Much of his work is inspired by his own reality, Surveillance Camera came to life
after the artist discovered cameras and listening devices in his studio.
• Weiwei is a voice scrutinizing matters felt throughout the world, especially when
it comes to artists and free thinking.
AI WEIWEI
• “Art and literature encourage people to think about things differently, and even
more frightening, to think for themselves,” says Katy Glenn Bass, PEN America’s
Deputy Director of Freedom of Expression Programs.
• “That threatens the power and stability of authoritarian governments. They know
how powerful the written word can be—how powerful works of art can be— and
they want to control it.”
POWER + CONTROL
• From the Hollywood blacklist to John Lennon’s FBI files, on every part of the
globe, artists have historically been targets of government spying because of their
politically themed work, ideological orientation, or even, the art form that they
practice.
• The color white therefore, in Weiwei’s work become symbolic of tyrannical
governments.
• Much like the Roman empire controlled totally the lives of its citizens-
marble/white have become synonymous with issues of power + control.
LEI XUEDRINKING TEA SERIES 2001-2003HAND PAINTED PORCELINE
LEI XUEDRINKING TEA SERIES 2001-2003
• It is a juxtaposition of tradition and evolution in the world of goods production.
• May be read as a commentary on how the production of commodities impacts the environment.
• The environmental impact of creating porcelain goods includes extensive fresh water usage
• As a result, the water put into the ground or rivers cause pollution.
• As well, air-borne particles from the sanding down of shapes impair breathing within the factories.
• Quantities of fluorine and lead are also potentially prone to leaking into the water or soil, around porcelain factory grounds.
• By using Chinese porcelain- white becomes symbolic for the high impact of damage to the environment for our luxury goods.
