The Blackest Black

by

Black is a strange colour. Either you like it or you reject it. Those who don’t like black associate it with depression, dangerous darkness and the evil. On the other hand, it makes colours next to it appear much brighter and purer. That’s due to low inferences with the vibrations of its neighbouring colours. This makes it the ideal background colour. The young W. Kandinsky used in his early paintings often black backgrounds to make the other colours come to the foreground and make them appear brighter.

Schwarz ist eine eigenartige Farbe. Man liebt es oder man lehnt es ab. Die es ablehnen, verbinden es mit Depression, mit einer unguten Dunkelheit und dem Bösen. Auf der anderen Seite lässt es andere Farben, die neben ihm stehen, leuchtender, im gewissen Maße reiner wirken. Das hängt damit zusammen, dass es wenig Interferenzen mit den Schwingungen der Nachbarfarben gibt. Aus diesem Grunde ist es eine ideale Hintergrundfarbe. Der junge Wassily Kandinsky benutzte in seinen frühen Bildern oft schwarze Hintergründe, um die anderen Farben in den Vordergrund treten zu lassen und sie zu betonen.

For a couple of years, some scientists are busy to produce the blackest black possible. That means a colour area that absorbs nearly all the light. First, it was the so-called Vantablack. The Indian-English artist Anish Kapoor bought the exclusive rights to use it in 2014. This Vantablack-pigment is based on nano-technology, on microscopic little tubes that catch the light, destruct it and absorb 99.96% of all the light. But there was even a blacker black developed this year at the MIT that absorbs 99.995% of all light. This extreme black was originally constructed for military and astronomical uses.

Zur Zeit sind einige Forscher damit beschäftigt, das schwärzeste Schwarz, das möglich ist, herzustellen. Das bedeutet, eine Farbfläche, die fast alles Licht absorbiert. Das war zuerst das sogenannte Vantablack, für das der indisch-englische Künstler Anish Kapoor die Exklusivrechte 2014 kaufte. Dieses Vantablack-Pigment, das auf vertikalen mikroskopischen Röhren (Nano-Technologie) besteht, die Licht einfangen und ablenken, absorbiert 99,96% alles auf ihn auftreffenden Lichts. Jedoch wie alle technischen Entwicklungen, gibt es seit diesem Jahr ein noch schwärzeres Schwarz, das am MIT entwickelt wurde, ebenfalls auf Nano-Technologie beruht und 99,995% alles auf ihn einfallende Licht absorbiert. Diese schwärzesten Schwarztöne wurden ursprünglich für militärische und astronomische Zwecke entwickelt.

Kapoor’s Vantablack

Last week we visited an exhibition by Anish Kapoor at Houghton Hall/Norfolk where we could see his black. Unfortunately, Dina couldn’t reproduce its effect completely with photography as on the computer-screen colours are produced by light and that’s the opposite to absorbing light. In front of Kapoor’s Vantablack, it seemed to us that the black coloured area bends concave away from the onlooker or depending on the perspective it looks like a black hole. Why this black is so black can’t be explained yet but nevertheless, the search for even a blacker black goes on.

Wir besuchten letzte Woche eine Ausstellung von Anish Kapoor in Houghton Hall in North Norfolk, wo wir sein Schwarz betrachteten. Leider konnte Dina den realen Eindruck nicht vollständig durch eine Fotografie wiedergeben, da auf dem Bildschirm Farben durch Licht erzeugt werden und eine leuchtende Oberfläche schon per Definition nicht alles Licht absorbiert. Vor Objekten mit dem Kapoorschen Vantablack hatten wir das Gefühl, dass die Farbfläche sich konkav nach hinten biegt oder je nach Perspektive, dass man in ein Loch – eben ein schwarzes Loch – schaut. Warum dieses extreme Schwarz derart schwarz ist, dafür gibt es noch keine hinreichende Erklärung, aber nichtsdestotrotz geht die Jagd nach noch schwärzeren Schwarztönen weiter.

Kapoor’s Vantablack

The British painter Christian Furr resisted furiously the monopolising of the pigment by Kapoor. But Kapoor wasn’t the first one who copyrighted a pigment for his exclusive use. Yves Klein did that with his IKB (International Klein Blue) as well. This blue was used after Klein’s death in 1962 in Derek Jarman’s film “Blue” and from the American Blue Man Group. If we look further back in history we see that painters mixed their own pigments and kept them secret from the middle ages until the 17th c. You may be amazed but the exclusive use of pigments by painters is not that extraordinary as it may seem.

Der englische Maler Christian Furr wehrte sich vehement gegen die Monopolisierung dieses Farbpigments durch Kapoor. Allerdings war  Kapoor nicht der Erste, der ein Pigment zu seiner exklusiven Nutzung schützen ließ. Das machte schon Yves Klein mit seinem IKB (International Klein Blue), einem Blau, für dessen Benutzung er das exklusive Recht besaß. Nach Kleins Tod 1962 wurde dieses Blau von Derek Jarman in seinem Film “Blau” verwendet und von “The Blue Man Group”.
Gehen wir noch weiter zurück in der Geschichte, so waren es die Maler des Mittelalters bis weit ins 17. Jh., die ihre Pigmente selber mischten und diese Mischungen geheim hielten. Es mag uns heute erstaunen, aber der Besitz an bestimmte Farbpigmente ist nicht so außergewöhnlich, wie es scheinen mag.

Klausbernd standing in front of “Rectangle in Rectangle”, Anish Kapoor, 2018, granite.

As affront against Kapoor’s Vantablack, the British painter Stuart Semple developed his Black 3.0, an acryl colour which Kapoor is not allowed to use. Why, do we ask, do artists fight to use extreme blacks. We suppose it is due to the effects of the surrounding colours. And one shouldn’t forget that black is the colour of life because darkness absorbs the ultraviolet light. This was necessary for developing life on earth. Black and fertility were closely connected in ancient Egyptian times as was black with beauty.

Als Affront gegen Kapoors Vantablack entwickelte der englische Maler Stuart Semple seine Acrylfarbe Black 3.0, von dessen Benutzung Kapoor ausdrücklich ausgeschlossen ist. Warum, so fragten wir uns, ist dieser Kampf um extremes Schwarz unter der Künstlern ausgebrochen? Wir nehmen an, dass es auf der positiven Wirkung von Schwarz auf seine Umgebungsfarben beruht. Man sollte auch nicht vergessen, dass eine möglichst absolute Dunkelheit, die das ultraviolette Sonnenlicht absorbiert, notwendig war, um Leben auf der Erde entstehen zu lassen. Schwarz und Fruchtbarkeit waren seit altägyptischer Zeit eng miteinander verbunden wie übrigens auch Schwarz und Schönheit.

Through this sculpture “Untitled”, 1997, Kilkenny limestone, you can see the “Sky Mirror”, 2018 in stainless steel.

Black always was a special colour that became demonised with the appearance of the light-religions like Christianity. We love black like 8% of the European population but it doesn’t have to be the blackest black.

Schwarz ist und war stets eine besondere Farbe, die zu Unrecht mit Aufkommen der Lichtreligionen wie dem Christentum verteufelt wurde. Wie etwa 8% der mitteleuropäischen Bevölkerung lieben wir Schwarz, wenn wir auch nicht den Anspruch haben, dass es das schwärzeste Schwarz sein muss.

“Untitled”, 2018, granite by Anish Kapoor. The people and the lawn are mirrored upside down.

Black is beautiful, isn’t it? – All the best
Schwarz ist schön. – Herzliche Grüße
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

This is our Master’s book about the colour black which was published by three different publishers in many editions. The first edition of this book was published in 1988. Its success was the beginning of many books published about colour written by our dear Master.

 

 

© Text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2020

 

 

187 thoughts

  1. Black is not only a problem in Art, but also in photographic exposure. The old problem of a black cat sat on a pile of coal. 🙂
    In modern televisions too, where night scenes shot in ‘natural dark’ can make it impossible to see what is happening on a flat-screen LED television. (I know TV is not an issue for you)
    KB’s book looks very good. The cover is most appealing.
    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Pete.
      LED screens, computer screens etc. use RGB, that means light colours, and it’s impossible to produce a real black with light. It’s a contradiction, isn’t it?
      When I was a child I loved reading Walt Disney’s Micky Mouse booklets. I can still remember that I was very thrilled by Gyro Gearloose who invented black light in one story.
      This edition of my book was very well done by a big Swiss publisher of art books. That’s the nicest cover of all editions.
      With love from a quite breezy but sunny coast
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Linda,
      thank you very much for your kind comment.
      It makes sense to start with black because black is the negative sum of all surface colours (negative because with every mixture you loose light = decrease reflection). Seeing it the other way round, you find every surface colour in the colour black. You just have to free it.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Good to see that you are in fact blogging again, Dina! I was wondering if I should just remove your profile as nothing much seemed to happen?
    But – the ‘ultimate black’ is an exciting area. Looking at your samples, I discovered a lot of small white points in all the black – like small stars far out into the Universe . . .
    only to find it being specks of dust on my own screen! 🙂 (Time for cleaning! )
    Do NOT visit my site! You will only get homesick!!! 🙂 I have a thing going with the ‘Hardanger Plains’ . . .

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • We blogged regularly more or less every fortnight. You can just have a look here.
      I love the idea of white dots like stars on the black (you shouldn’t clean your screen 😉 ) Black performs best when there is a contrast of light, absorption looks best next to reflection – a little bit like with complementary colours.
      Thanks for commenting, keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • I’m sure you do, Klaus, but I’m only registering your appearances at my blog. Over the last 2 months we have published approximately 45 new posts and if things work the way they are supposed to, you would have received an equal number of alerts?
      Within the same time frame I think we have seen you guys 4 times? And that is why we were wondering a bit . . .
      And you arfe ‘four’? (Only registered you and Dina, but that’s quite OK!)

      Liked by 2 people

    • We see your point. We tend not to visit bloggers who publish nearly every day, that’s right. We are sceptical of blogs with a high frequency of posts. Sorry about that.
      We are four: Hanne-Dina, me (Klausbernd) and our Bookfayries Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma.

      Like

    • P.S.
      We are very sorry that we didn’t visit you. Of course, we will change that in the future. We will try to visit your blog regularly. It’s a bit tricky as we have such a lot of bloggers we would like to visit that we sometimes forget to visit some dear followers. We are very grateful that you visit us regularly and we try to get better.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Dear friends,
    I feel very honoured to have this book about the colour black as a signet copy first edition.
    This post made me think about the colour black again. Isn’t it a contradiction to photograph a real black as photography is an art using light, but there is no light. That’s the black magic, isn’t it?
    Thanks a lot for this great informative post.
    With love to my dear friends
    Annalena

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Annalena,
      you are absolutely right. If there is no light reflected there is no photographic picture possible. As you say, photography is based on reflected light.
      Wishing you a relaxing weekend at your stuga, your summer house.
      We’ll phone tonight.
      Love xxxx from
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Hien,
      to our understanding, no screen can reproduce such an extreme black as f.e. Vantablack. It’s the special surface that makes such blacks catch all the light falling on it. No nano-technological surfaces are able to absorb (nearly) all light. A screen itself reflects a certain amount of light. Therefore it’s a different impression to see a real black produced with a nano-technological surface or if you see a black reproduced on a screen. One of the problems is that there exist no non-reflecting screens. Even if it would produce no light the surface will reflect light from the outside. You would need a nano-tech screen.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • P.S.
      Kirchhoff in 1860 and later Max Planck did quite some research about black, black bodies as it’s called in physics. Such a body/surface must
      1. allow radiation to enter but not reflect
      2. possess a minimum thickness adequate to absorb the incident radiation and prevent its re-emission
      3. satisfy severe limitations upon scattering to prevent radiation from entering and bouncing back out
      Only if all these requirements are met one can speak of a real black.

      Like

    • Dear David,
      for me, black was always the most interesting colour. Not only seen from physics black is interesting and inspired quantum physicist but it’s also interesting from its symbolism. Before the Persian light mystery religions (forerunners of Christianity) black was the holy colour as all life arises from the darkness and the black mud of the Nile and other rivers was the reason for fertility. There is a theory that in matriarchic times people looked down to the earth as the earth was connected with the body. When this finished with early Persian light religion people looked up to the sun and white became the holy colour. The theory is that this marks the change from a body-conscious tradition to the overdetermination of mind.
      Still today black has a special magic. F.e. if some object is black it seems to be more exclusive and valuable than in any other colour.
      I worked for two years on my book about the colour black and was amazed at all the aspects of this achromatic colour.
      Thanks and keep well and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

    • I knew about light and religion but not black. Thank you for thr additional information. Is there an English edition of your “black book”? I did a quick Google and Amazon search but didn’t see one.

      Liked by 3 people

    • Dear David,
      unfortunately, my book about black was only available in German and Russian. Its first edition was published at the beginning of the eighties.
      In a lot of religions like Tibetan Buddhism, the meditation on a black deity or mandala is seen as the highest level of awareness. In the Islamic tradition, we have the Kaaba in Mecca, a black meteorite from pre-Islamic times. In late Roman times, there was a competition between the followers of black deities like Isis and the slaves tending to Christianity and the colour white.
      Wishing you a great Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Mr Blackman 😉
      indeed, Anish Kapoor is considered a crook by many other painters. But on the other hand, this Vantablack pigment is very expensive. Therefore Kapoor bought the company that produces it. This MIT black is even more expensive, well, nano-technology has its price.
      Thanks for teaching us a new word ‘blackguard’. It’s now part of our vocabulary.
      ‘Schwartz’ was used by the Yiddish community in Germany for the German word ‘Schwarz’ for black.
      Keep well, have a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Steve,
      in ahd. (old high German) we had ‘swart’ as well. But one has to see before Luther there wasn’t a norm of how to write German. In every area, they had their own spelling.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. My dear friends,
    like Annalena, I feel honoured to have a rare first edition of this book, signed by the author himself. 🙂
    Talking about Black to day, the colour is strongyl connected to BLM, no more than ever and I hope you don’t mind me focusing on a gesture by the Norwegian chess champion Magnus Carlson and Anish Giri, ranked world’s No. 4. In a symbolic move to show that racism is skin deep, Carlson and Giri played an exhibition game in Oslo in which, reversing tradition, a black piece made the first move. The match was played on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Carlson acknowledged that they’d given precedence to black over white to “bring a perspective to the worldwide discussion about how we can build a world where opportunity is equal.”

    Chess apart, white has a colour-coded advantage over black in everyday language as well. A ‘blackguard’ is deemed to be a nasty piece of work, quite likely to be associated with antisocial activities like ‘black marketing’ and even ‘blackmail’, and would be ‘black balled’ and denied membership of any respectable club. Well, that’S a few things I learned from the excellent book of yours! 🙂

    I know you have quite a brisk wind on the coast today.
    Stay safe, keep well and have a great weekend.
    Klem
    Per Magnus x

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, our dear friend Per Magnus,
      thanks so much telling us about the chess game of Carlson and Giri breaking the precedence of white in chess. We never thought about it before.
      In Christian cultures, black became demonised. Therefore we still have these pejorative meanings of black. But the positive meanings of black survived as well not only in ‘black is beautiful’. To touch a black chimney sweep brings good luck and to meditate on black should bring the highest awareness, the Kaaba in Mecca is black and most of the black madonnas are still seen as having healing powers. Also most fertility goddesses like Kali, Demeter and Persephone are black. And nowadays black is seen as avantgardistic and individual. Black clothing like tailcoats, smokings and the black dresses of women are all an expression of exclusivity and power.
      Indeed, we have quite a wind today but it’s sunny and warm.
      You stay safe as well and enjoy the weekend.
      Lots of love
      XXXX
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you! Come to think of it, as teenager, I wore only black clothing for some two years, we all did, all of my friends. I think teenagers often have a psychological need to wear black during the stage of transition from the innocence of childhood to the sophistication of adulthood. It signifies the ending of one part of their life and the beginning of another, allowing them to hide from the world while they discover their own unique identity. I suppose it’s is important to go through this stage but I didn’t reflect it as such at the time. Will be in for a call tomorrow afternoon? x

      Liked by 3 people

    • Good afternoon, dear Per Magnus,
      waring black can have different reasons. One reason you mentioned, another reason is that it is a reaction to too many colours. Therefore a lot of people in design and art wear black. Nevertheless black was always fashionable. But not everyone looks nice wearing black. Especially not if one has light skin. It suits people very well if being tanned.
      It was great talking to you 🙂
      KLEM
      xxxx
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Thanks for liking the cover of my book about black.
      We don’t know why Kapoor was so keen monopolising this Vantablack. Actually, this pigment is produced by nano-tech and therefore quite expensive. When we saw it at Houghton Hall we were not that much impressed. You get a rough idea from Dina’s photographs of it. This black is much more interesting for use in astronomy.
      We agree that artists should better deal with other aspects of their art than starting a competition for using special blacks.
      Thanks and wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Very interesting exploration of black – and about the search for absolute black. And yes, black is beautiful. And then allow me to be a little bit the devil’s advocate (and I guess I should be careful since I obviously deal with an expert in black): Black isn’t technically a colour, but rather lack of colour – isn’t that so? By the way your book about black, Klausbernd, is it available in English?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Otto,
      Is black a colour? This question I was asked in nearly every TV talk about black. Seeing black not as a colour but just as absorption of light goes back to the Impressionists. Well, it depends on what one understands as colour. If you see colour as a phenomenon of reflection of light black isn’t a colour. Of course, that’s only true to a certain degree because nearly all blacks do reflect a certain amount of light (even Vantablack and the MIT black). Seen it from everyday life, we buy the colour black in a tin for painting a surface. If we define colour as a medium for painting a surface we call it a colour. In colours of light like on screens, you never have a real black because of the reflecting surface. In a way, black is an ideal that we can’t reach in reality except for black holes that suck every photon in.
      Unfortunately, my book about the colour black was only available in German and Russian. Another book of mine about colours with a long chapter about black was and partly is available in German, Italian, Portuguese, Slowenien and Serbian.
      Keep well and enjoy the weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Thanks for elaborating on black, And yes, I agree with you in that there are many ways to define black. A pity with your books. I could maybe get through a German edition, but definitely none of the other languages. Nevertheless, quite an impressive reach!

      Liked by 3 people

    • Thank you very much, dear Otto.
      I just went through my books but unfortunately I have only two copies left. I would have send you one but I need actually more than two copies for dealing in foreign rights.
      Keep well
      Klausbernd
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I’d love to see that exhibition, I’m a great fan of Anish Kapoor and his work. Let’s face it, monopolising the colour Vantablack gives him quite a bit of publicity. 😉
    Is that Klausbernd in front of a sculpture by Anish Kapoor?

    Have a lovely weekend, my dear Fab Four. The days are already getting much shorter further north.
    Klem
    Hjerter ❤

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Hjerter,
      you are absolutely right. It’s Klausbernd standing in front of the sculpture “Rectangle within a rectangle”, from 2018, made in granite by Anish Kapoor. Most of the outdoor sculptures are so heavy the lawn had to be carefully removed and the grounds reinforced with concrete.
      I’ll add some text to the other photos now.
      Ha en god helg, Hjerter. ❤ Jeg savner deg. ❤
      Dina x

      Liked by 3 people

    • Dear Hjerter,
      that’s me in front of Anish Kapoor’s art. All the artwork Dina photographed here is by Anish Kapoor.
      We agree Anish Kapoor is monopolising Vantablack by buying the company producing it just for PR reasons. This black is not that interesting for art. It’s made for astronomical observations. Nevertheless, we liked seeing Kapoor’s art, especially his mirrors.
      Thanks and wishing you a lovely weekend as well
      KLEM
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Hi, dear Laurie,
      black has its special magic, hasn’t it? For a long time, I only drove black cars – like Henry Ford saying “I don’t mind which colour a car has as long it is black”. But I don’t have nearly no black cloths as in respect to my outfit black isn’t my colour at all. Black hair loses it blackness is my originally light blond hair became darker. A pity, isn’t it?
      Thanks and cheers. Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Laurie,
      this we just found in “Men in Black” by John Harvey about black in fashion:
      The Spanish King Philip II, who ruled Spain from 1556 to 1598, wore black constantly and his all of his royal assistants as well. Later George IV helped, as many rulers of his time, spread the colour black. “Whenever a European state would embrace as a society the colour black, this would be when that nation was at the height of its international power.” Looking back on European history, black was very popular and widespread in fashion in 15th century Burgundy, 15th and 16th century Venice, 16th century Spain, 17th century Holland and 19th century England. After all, this was a colour which stood as a symbol of power and strength in civilizations. Between the 11th and 17th centuries, Chinese emperors also wore black clothing very frequently. In any case, there is a definite link shown here between being important and the colour black.
      We thought that might interest you.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Interesting! I’ve now thinking of how few phrases use black in a positive way. It’s nice to have your checking account in the black, especially when you’ve got to talk to the black-hearted bank manager about a loan. And “perfect pitch” is a nice thing for musicians! 😊🎼🎵
    Very interesting post, and some colorful comments, too! cheers to the Fab Four, RPT

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Robert,
      there are much more phrases using black in a negative way than giving positive connotations of black. We wrote to Per Magnus’ comment here about the positive and negative associations with black. Nevertheless, one has to see that in the end black (like white) is an ideal we are hardly ever reaching.
      Thank you very much for commenting and reading all the other comments. We love reading them too. Quite often they make us think and seeing aspects we haven’t seen before.
      Wishing you all the best. Keep well and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  15. I agree wholeheartedly that “black is beautiful,” and your wonderful post has enlightened me not only to qualities of black but also some places where black mirrors make for a fascinating look. Really great post filled with good photos and rich information!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Sue,
      we suppose that’s the reason why Piet Mondrian used these strong black lines in his pictures mostly using primary colours. Black and blue are the best colours for backgrounds in pictures.
      ‘BlackFantastic’ – is this the name of a digitally produced colour?
      Thanks and all the best, keep well and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Sue,
      unfortunately, my book about black was only available in German and Russian. I wrote it at beginning of the eighties, it made 15 editions and it’s out of print since 2000. Sorry about that.
      Wishing you all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Sue,
      my books are translated into 25 different languages but only very few are translated into English. Those copyrights were sold to American publishers. An author earns less on the English speaking market than on most of the other markets as publishers pay low percentages on the net retail price in the English speaking world. I noticed as well that the taste of the ‘normal’ British reader differs from other readers. Therefore you have quite some sellers in other countries that never got translated into English.
      There are kind of test markets in the world for books like Switzerland. People like to read there and have high demands. If a book of a new author sells well there then he or she is in for bigger print runs.
      Well, these were secrets of the book market 😉 I suppose for photographers it is not that different although there are other countries important.
      All the best
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  17. Congrats on the book, KB. I would ever have thought about writing a book about “black,” but when I started to think about it after reading this post, I realized there really is a lot to say about it.
    Have a great weekend.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Anneli,
      after the success of my book of the colour black, I wrote another book about the colour white. Writing the white-book I noticed that black was much more of interest for me. As I wrote before here, black is not only interesting from its physics but from its symbolism as well. For us, the Fab Four, black is the most fascinating colour.
      In the beginning, I wanted to write a book about the cult of the black madonnas. I started it by visiting all the places of the worship of black madonnas which are mostly at the river Meuse. But during my researches, Ian Begg, an American psychoanalyst, published an excellent book about the cults of black madonnas all over the world. That made me decide to write a book about the colour black and that was the beginning of writing all my books about colours and becoming a specialist for colour.
      We wish you a great weekend too.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Sally,
      I did write books about several colours, I was interviewed to nearly every colour. From all the colours black is the most powerful and interesting colour at least for me and most of my interviewers.
      Keep well and happy, thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  20. Fab Four of Cley,
    Happy to hear everyone is maintaining their good health.
    This was an excellent discussion on the color or should I say lack of color black. One thing I’ve always noticed about black – when viewed individually, items colored in black all look basically the same. But, have you ever tried to match 2 pieces of clothing? I had a suit where the pants got ruined, but the jacket was in perfect condition. A pair of pants could not be matched to that jacket no matter how many different stores I went to!! So frustrating! haha, what can you do?!
    Thank you also for reminding me about dear Klausbernd’s books on colour!
    Take care and be happy!
    GP Cox

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, our dear GP Cox
      you mention it indirectly, black goes well together with nearly any other colour. In clothing, you can combine it with nearly every other piece of your wardrobe. But unfortunately black doesn’t suit me. If a piece of clothing is not really black then one runs in trouble combining it with other pieces. Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma showed me that for me grey would be the ideal colour as grey combines with any other colour nicely too. Grey has a big advantage to black, you don’t see stains that well. On black, you see every stain immediately.
      Thank you very much for your commentary about black clothing.
      Do all item coloured black look the same? We have to research this. Especially Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma love those investigations.
      Stay very well and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Absolutely, GP Cox. I have experienced the same problem. If you want to replace a pair of trousers or a jacket of a two piecer, it’s almost impossible to find a match. The colour and the textile never match 100%. Even when I combine a pair of black trousers it’s hard to find a black cardigan/pullover to match. Sending you windy greetings to Florida. x

      Liked by 2 people

    • Oh dear, I got it wrong as I never wore a suit. I was always wearing grey trousers with a blue blazer on special occasions. You are right, there are so many different shades of black as well as different materials that they nearly never ever fit together.
      Sorry about this.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear GP Cox
      indeed, it’s a big advantage of black that it goes well with all other colours and it makes other colours more shine. Therefore some artists gave their pictures a black frame.
      Keep well and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Klausbernd,
      If you have time tomorrow, you might wish to return to my site and see just how many have enjoyed your story and wish to thank you.
      Have a pleasant evening.
      GP Cox

      Liked by 3 people

    • Thank you, dear GP Cox! Klausbernd is absolutely thrilled and on his way as soon as he had finished an interview with German 📺. Do you feel any impact of Laura? Hope you are safe and keeping well Hugs and good night from rainy Norfolk 🌧💦🌧 🤗🤗🤗🤗

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you, Dina. I was also thrilled with the response to the story, but I frankly I expected it. When it comes to your family, intelligence, kindness and friendship reigns supreme.
      Thank you and stay safe!
      Love from South Florida,
      GP Cox

      Like

    • Dear GP Cox
      thank you very much 🙂
      I have just been at your post and was amazed at how many visitors at your brilliant blog enjoyed the story of the end of the war in the high Arctic.
      Thank you very much 🙏 🙏 🙏
      With love from
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Fascinating. When I was at Grammar School, way back in the 1960s, our art teacher forbade us to use black in our paintings. If we wanted black, we had to mix it ourselves, because she said that it was too harsh a colour to use direct from the tin/tube. What would she have made of Anish Kapoor et al?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Margaret,
      there were and are a lot of artists who used black right from the tube BECAUSE it is so harsh. We immediately think of Piet Mondrian’s black stripes.
      Quite a while ago, we were told by a painter that she mixes her shades of black because the black becomes more lively mixing it this way. She used to mixe it with all these colours that she was intending to use in her picture. We noticed that this produces a kind of positive unity of the picture (Caravaggio did something similar with his dark colours). Maybe your teacher was thinking about this technique?
      On the other hand, your teacher’s statement amazes us because one of the big movements in art, the Pop Art, just came to an end during the sixties. In Pop Art, a harsh black was very much liked and wanted f.e. in Roy Lichtenstein’s pictures.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Keep well and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  23. I LOVE the colour black. Remember the song, “Black is the colour of my true love’s hair?” When I was a teenager, I thought that being a redhead was nice enough, BUT wouldn’t it be wonderful to change my hair colour to black. Without telling my parents, I saved up my money from babysitting and purchased an inexpensive hair dye and bravely followed the instructions. After the allotted time period, I washed out the dye with great anticipation. I found out that day, that being a redhead was my destiny. I am fascinated by the idea of artists hoarding colours for themselves. I can understand why that is because we all have strong feelings for colour. Even fashion has taken the idea of colour and suggested, even dictated, that every person has their own unique set of colours that give vibrancy to their skin. I went for what is called a “draping session” and found out that I was not to wear “black” under any circumstances. So, my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley, I want you to know, that I wear the colour black with great enjoyment. Dina – your photos add so much to your posts. I especially appreciated Klausbernd standing in front of “Rectangle in Rectangle. Thank you for another brilliant post – I look forward to every one. Much love and many hugs coming to my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Clanmother Rebecca,
      we can well remember this song too.
      The problem with changing the colour of your hair is that it easily doesn’t go together with the shades of your skin and colour of your eyes. I once had to wear a black wig in a TV programme. I had the feeling that this isn’t me anymore.
      My agent sent me to such a draping session as well. That helped really much because of the colour scheme I got in the end. Sticking with this colour scheme I could combine my outfit much better and it always looked well. There was this movement “Colour Me Beautiful”. On one hand, the chosen colour made me look quite nicely, on the other hand, this didn’t take into account what your favourite colours are. I was ‘warned’ of wearing black as well. Nevertheless, I sometimes do and then it’s fine but other colours look better on me.
      I can understand copyrighting special colour pigments. It seems to be quite similar to copyrighting a text.
      See you tomorrow at least in the virtual world. I am looking forward to talking with you about colours for our podcast. Sending you and your family hugs and lots of love
      Klausbernd
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • I remember feeling so disappointed that we couldn’t visit you in person this year. We were to have left for England this week. What has been life-affirming for me during this period of Covid19 solitude is that we are learning to connect virtually. Of course, we are familiar with the technology of connecting virtually, but there is another (psychological?) step that we must take that will give us the same sense as if we were physically present in the same room. I tried envisioning you in a black wig, which was quite difficult. My red hair now leans towards white, which I tried to cover up with many trips to the hairdresser. And then the day came when I decided to let my hair do what it must. And you are so right, Klausbernd, – it works so much better. I am very comfortable with my ‘real’ colour. Many hugs!!!Take care my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley – you always make my day pure sunshine.

      Liked by 3 people

    • Ha, I had to chuckle reading your kind comment, Rebecca. I love black too, especially as a black background in photography and I do have some black pieces in my wardrobe – although I was also told NEVER to wear black; many years ago, I book a draping session “colour me beautiful” and I was told “you are summer”; cold tones like blue and black and silver and makeup that I didn’t have. My mother was appalled when she saw the result as she knew exactly what suits me and whatnot. In the end, she booked a session with another colour expert and this time it was right; for my red-blond hair, all the soft, warm colours of autumn are right.
      We are all excited about your podcast on TEA TOAST and TRIVIA. Very much looking forward to next week.
      Big hugs to three of you,
      Dina-Hanne x

      Liked by 2 people

    • Colour Me Beautiful – that was the name of my draping session too. I enjoyed the session – loved being draped with all of the different colours and seeing the different affects. Ah, the warm colours of autumn would be perfect for you. I can only imagine the shock your mother experienced when she saw the result of the first session. YIKES! I’m beyond thrilled that we will be working together on a podcast. Life is the best with shared with kindred spirits. Hugs and love to my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Rebecca
      Many comments above we wrote a short excerpt of “Men in Black” by John Harvey (answering Laurie Graves) about black in fashion. Harvey writes about black giving men power. Unfortunately, he looks at men only. Black is the colour of power for women too, to our reckoning. Nevertheless, we find it interesting how he looks at black outfits in history.
      Love xx
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Found the book and love the opening quote by Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dog, as well as the idea that men, throughout the centuries, seem to enjoy dressing up like they were going to a funeral. Have you noticed that many of the articles on women “dressing for success” suggests that “red” is the colour that signifies power for women. The more I read about colour, the more I know that I know very little. I LOVED this post and all the discussion that followed. Hugs coming back across the ocean to my dear friends The Fab Four of Cley.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good afternoon, our dear friend Rebecca,
      we just have a warm gale, 24 degrees C and gusts up to 125 km/h.
      Red is a colour, as every colour, that doesn’t suit everyone. The colours of power for women as for men are black and darker blues. They give an aura of decency. At least in Europe, everyone thinks of a woman in red in business she tries too hard. For you with red hair, certain shades of green would be an ideal colour because it’s the complementary colour. The colour of one’s eyes suits one often quite well too. Coming back to red, it’s too sexually connotated for business.
      In former times men liked to wear red, the red uniforms of the English redcoats f.e. and many other uniforms in the 16th and especially 17th c. Funny was the fashion during the middle ages. Mi Parti (a different colour on your right side and on your left side) was the highest fashion during the 13th and 14th c and especially red on one side and green on the other. But people of power wore black like the scholars and the clergy of the reformed church as well as the Spanish King Philip II, who ruled Spain from 1556 to 1598, who wore black constantly. In the 19th c. the English King George IV made black then THE colour to wear for men in the 19th c.
      We really enjoy our inspiring communication 🙂 Thank you!
      We are sending big hugs to you, Don and Thomas, have a wonderful rest of the week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Klausbernd – I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude that you shared your knowledge on TTT. Colour influences everything, from art to fashion, science to philosophy. Your breadth and depth of knowledge is remarkable. The review from your publisher says it best: “There is the speech pope, the soccer emperor and the greatest magician in the world. And there is Klausbernd Vollmar, who, within the framework of color theory, is THE quintessential par excellence, who would therefore deserve a title like the one mentioned above. For many years he has not only dealt with the scientific knowledge on the subject, but also combines this with the esoteric or spiritual aspects. The result is round, colorful, colorful and not only informative, but also entertaining thanks to a lively, colorful Language”. Sending many hugs and love back to my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Oh, thank you sooooo much! I am blushing.
      We think that’s a great project this podcast ‘Tea Toast & Trivia’ and you do it with Don so professionally. We are utterly impressed and feel as fluttered as honored that we can be part of it.
      Love xxx
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Sorry, we can’t tell you if the monolith in “2001: A Space Odyssey” was inspired by Kapoor as well. Originally it was inspired by the short story “The Sentinel”. In it, you find a plexiglass pyramid. Kubrick liked it for his film but didn’t want that glassy appearance and wanted a monolith. Therefore he asked his art director Anthony Masters to colour this glassy object black and formed it to a monolith.
      Thanks for reminding us of this black monolith.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good afternoon, dear Cornelia,
      you are absolutely right. Black, however black it is, is necessary to produce a photographic image. And photography started with black and white, black as a chemical reaction that produces these fine graduations of grey.
      If we see grey as a close relative to black then we could say with every mixture of colour we get a shimmer of grey or we could say we are nearing us the colour black.
      If we see it more differentiated, we have to distinguish between colours of light (digital photography, RGB) and surface colours (prints, CMYK – K means black). This difference between a subtractive mixture and additive mixture makes mixed colours of light lighter – away from black – and mixing of surface colours moving towards black.
      Thanks for commenting and wishing you a happy weekend.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Klausbernd for your defined response. Indeed when someone looks at the scala of the 10 rays of black , from dark black to different shades of gray till white, I have been taught at the photography school back than, it all makes sense of the importance of the color black. Have a great Sunday in different rays of color, in your mind or seeing it.

      Liked by 2 people

  28. Wow! I didn’t realize there was a “copyright on colors.” Interesting. TV makers have been searching for the “blackest black” for the electronic screen. So far, the winner is the OLED technology. I don’t own one because they are more expensive, but the in-store demos sure demonstrate that they have a “blacker black” than the standard LED TV.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Hi, dear John,
      thanks a lot for your info about the OLED technology. It’s amazing what a race there is to produce the blackest black on screen. Probably we will end up with nano-tech surfaces there as well.
      The copyright is only for certain pigments. Fortunately, you can’t get it for a colour.
      Keep well and happy and thank you for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  29. When we help our dear Dina editing her photos in Photoshop and she is not sure which brush to use on the layer mask, we say

    Black conceals, white reveals

    Black hides, while white brings to light.

    What black covers, white uncovers.

    It’s as simple as that.

    Siri and Selma, the clever book fayries 🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Wow, dear Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma,
      thank you very much for your GREAT commentary (and thanks that you didn’t kidnap my notebook).
      With lots and lots of love
      🤗 🤗 🤗
      🥰 🥰 🥰
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

  30. Awesome, I hope to come up to Norfolk and see this exhibition before it ends in November. So many interesting facts about black I have never thought about. Love your photos, especially the one of Klausbernd in front of the Rectangle in the Rectangle.

    For me personally, black is a very calming, peaceful colour. It is happy, it is beautiful. It is the colour of night, the sky around the stars, the sweetness of sleep. It is a slimming colour. It is the colour of our shadows, that are with us when no one else is. It is a cooling colour. It is more pure than white. It isn’t as bland as white. It is the colour of wonderful, dark roasted coffee. It is good. Many, many cultures and ideas have black as good and white as evil.

    Have a great weekend, dear fab Four.
    Sending you hugs from London,
    Sarah Xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Sara,
      thank you VERY much for listing a lot what black stands for, all its positive sites – and there are many!
      The Kapoor exhibition is perfectly organised. There is a limited number of visitors only and in Houghton’s big park, it’s easy to keep a distance. But I expected more artefacts to be shown. For the big mirror, it’s ideal to see it on a day with clouds on a blue sky. We were not impressed at all by the two pieces showing Vantablack but especially Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma liked the installation of the mirrors in the main hall.
      Come around when visiting Houghton.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  32. Very interesting read. I must also say that black may or may not represent pessimism, depending on what each individual thinks. I myself disagree on that statement. It is because I believe there is a balance in life. Where there is brightness, there is darkness. Day and night. Dawn and dusk. Both are equal and inter-dependent towards each other. When one falls, the other falls.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear John,
      black makes only sense because there exists white as well. Therefore the spectrum of the achromatic neutral colours between black and white is linear in contrast to the order of the prismatic colours in a circle. But one could say what are complimentary prismatic colours are equal to the two poles black and white for the achromatic colours.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Good morning, dear Tina,
      there are unlimited shades of black and quite a lot are reflecting too. There is always the question with the neutral achromatic colours between black and white where black ends and grey begins. It goes back to the Impressionists who saw black not as a colour that there is not so much literature and discourse about black.
      All the best and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  35. Eine amüsante literarische Einschwärzung findet sich in Heinrich Hoffmanns Kinderbuchklassiker “Der Struwwelpeter” aus dem Jahr 1845: “Es ging spazieren vor dem Tor/ ein kohlpechrabenschwarzer Mohr.” Und nachdem die bösen Buben vom Nikolaus in die Tinte getaucht worden sind, heißt es am Ende: “Du siehst sie hier wie schwarz sie sind/ viel schwärzer als das Mohrenkind.” Eine immer wieder lesenswerte Moritat. Treffend auch, wie der “Mohr” lustig-unbekümmert triumphierend mit Sonnenschirm den Scherenschnitt-Reigen der eingeschwärzten Bullie-Boys anführt.
    Mit besten Grüßen
    Walter & Colleen

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Walter & Colleen
      Ja, Heinrich Hoffmanns schwarze Pädagogik, aber ich liebte sie. Gerade dieser kohlpechrabenschwarze Mohr hatte es mir angetan. Er war so anders. Und wie er den Reigen anführt, da habt ihr recht, das ist großartig. Auch die sicherlich zum ersten Mal in der deutschen Sprache benutzte Wendung ‘kohlpechrabenschwarz’ finde ich toll, so sprachkreativ.
      Habt ganz herzlichen Dank, dass ihr uns darauf aufmerksam machtet. Wir hatten das vergessen, obwohl wir vor vielen Jahren anläßlich der Frankfurter Buchmesse in Frankfurt waren, wo Masterchen zu einer Heinrich Hoffmann Ausstellung eingeladen wurde. – Zu meinem Schrecken stellte ich gerade fest, dass sich der Struwwelpeter nur in English in unserer Bibliothek befindet – eine Schande ist das!
      Habt eine höchst angenehme Woche
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  36. Fascinating information on the color black. I really enjoyed reading about the history of the color and how [silly] man is wanting even a blacker black. I know as a photographer black is extremely challenging to capture especially when there are extreme contrasts. And then black can get tricky in that it reflects so for example if there is a lot of blue in the photograph the blue will pick up a blue hue. I’m going to have to take a look at the book you have. It looks like something I could be very interested in. Thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear AmyRose 🌹
      the problem with black is often that it reflects and that there is an interference with neighbouring colours (and from outside lights as well). To cut this all out is the idea of Vantablack and even more so of the newest MIT black. It seems to work like a black hole.
      Thank you very much for your comment.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  37. What an interesting post! Many people think of black being wholly negative – no colour at all. Can this be so? I have always regarded black as a useful colour but I didn’t know much more about it than that. Thank you for awakening my interest in it. 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Clare,
      black is a discriminated colour. Especially the Christians tried to discriminate this colour for reasons of competition as black was the colour of Isis and other very popular black deities. The slaves, therefore, choose white for their ideology in the late Roman epoch. On one hand, it’s the doing of the Christian ideology that black is seen as negative and on the other hand, it has to do with darkness and the night. Both were in former times connected with danger. Today black is in, it’s seen as beautiful and avantgarde, as exclusive and powerful, cool and fashionable. That it always was THE colour in fashion has inter alia to do with its beautiful contrast to the colour of the skin and its sexual connotations.
      If you study black in history you can see that black is connected with the female world or the ANIMA the female archetype and white the male world or the ANIMUS the male archetype.
      Thanks for your comment.
      All the best, keep healthy and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Tanja,
      the people were asked for this statistic what their favourite colour is. But ‘favourite colour’ is very abstract. We would have answered yellow (or grey for our dear Master). But we have nothing in yellow in our wardrobe and we would never buy a yellow car.
      It’s not only in Europe that black is a colour of power. Black contrasts nicely with the skin of European people and therefore most European people look quite smart in black.
      Thanks and wishing you all the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  39. Das dunkelste Schwarz…
    Habt ihr gewusst, dass Hebammen manchmal mit Taschenlampen den Ungeborenen den Weg leuchten?! Also, wenn die z.B. den Purzelbaum vergessen oder verlernt haben und den Ausgang nicht (rechtzeitig) zur Geburtszeit finden?!
    Manchmal gehe ich in die Gnadenkapelle zur schwarzen Madonna in der Wallfahrtskirche, obwohl ich keineswegs katholisch bin. Dort ist es still. Dort spielte ich als Kind schon immer gerne.
    In Chartres ist die schwarze Madonna ja jetzt hell angemalt. Die spinnen wohl, aber es geht mich nichts an. Mische mich nicht in kirchenpolitische Belange ein…
    Witzig, gerade fällt mir auf, dass ich mit weißen Buchstaben in ein schwarzes Feld tippe.
    Manchmal besucht uns Nachbars schwarze Katze und schaut, ob unsere getiegerte Mieze noch Futter übrig gelassen hat.
    Dunkle Materie, dunkle Energie,…, hat man eigentlich jetzt schon herausgefunden, wie genau das Sehen vor sich geht, diese schwarzen Löcher in unseren Augen, Pupillen genannt???
    Das reicht. Super Blogbeitrag. Gibt nicht viel zu sehen außer schwarz, aber vielleicht umso mehr zu erkennen…?!
    Liebdrücker vom Pialein

    Warum hat man den Nil begradigt? Wißt ihr das zufällig Siri und Selma?
    Unser Lieblingssatz in letzter Zeit: “Zu kurz gedacht.”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Pia,
      als ich das Buch über Schwarz schrieb, lebte ich in dert Gegend von Maastricht. In dieser Gegend gibt es die meisten schwarzen Madonnen in der Welt, was wohl u.a. mit den Merowingern zu tun hat. Ich ging dort auch regelmäßig mich vor einem Bild einer schwarzen Madonna sammeln, obwohl ich nicht christlich bin. Eigentlich wollte ich über den noch lebendigen Kult der schwarzen Madonnen schreiben, von denen ich fast alle in Europa besuchte. Da kam mir jedoch einer zuvor und so wurde es ein Buch zur Farbe Schwarz.
      Wie man sieht, ist kein Geheimnis mehr. Das kannst du in einem Physiologiebuch nachlesen. Interessant ist die Datenübertragung auf elektrochemischer Basis nach dem Schloss-Schlüssel-Prinzip. Grundsätzlich fällt Licht durch die Pupillen, regt Stäbchen und Zäpfen an, die Info über den Chiasmus des Sehnervs übertragen, die dann im Gehirn dekodiert wird – aber das ist nur eine ganz grobe Beschreibung des Sehvorgangs. Interessant ist, das man sich in der Wissenschaftsgeschichte über das Sehen immer viele Gedanken gemacht hat – mehr als über andere Sinne.
      Hab Dank für das Teilen deiner Überlegungen.
      Mach’s gut. Halte dich gesund und munter
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Habe wieder etwas gegoogelt…aha, 130 Millionen Pfund für die Exclusivrechte an der “Farbe”, aha, “Marsyas” habe ich bestimmt gesehen im Tate Modern, und bestimmt habe ich auch in Kopenhagen “Athene und Marsyas” gesehen…
      Cloud Gate verbinde ich eher mit einer Tanzcompany als mit einer Bohne der Verzerrung. Wenn das Cloud Gate Dance Theater im Pfalzbau auftrat, hatte ich von der ersten Sekunde an Gänsehaut…
      Jetzt versuche ich noch zu verstehen, wie diese Kohlenstoffnanoröhrchen wachsen.
      Habe eine Dunkelbrille, klasse, das Sehen ohne Augen, was scheinbar einige Kinder bereits beherrschen, würde mich echt interessieren, vielleicht als neues Hobby.
      Meine Lieblingsfarben sind Rosa und Türkis. Apricot mag ich auch…aber darauf kommt es ja nicht an…das Thema Farben ist so umfassend und weit.
      Eine dunkelhäutige Freundin hasste mich kurzzeitig, als ich ihr erzählte, dass es unter den “weißen” Tanzkindern schon welche gibt, die nicht spontan und freundlich die Hand von dunkelhäutigen Kindern anfassen wollten. Sie war der Meinung, dass Kinder von sich aus da keine Probleme hätten. Ich erlebe das doch aber…und tue mein Möglichstes…
      Außerdem habe ich das Gefühl, dass manche zur Zeit so viel Angst vor dem Tod haben, dass sie fast schon Angst vor dem Leben entwickeln. Kommt mir echt übertrieben und unrealistisch vor…
      Ludwigshafen und Mannheim sind extrem dreckige Städte, die Hygiene ist unterirdisch…bin heute mit der Straßenbahn über die Rheinbrücke gefahren, es war nicht so schön.
      Substantia nigra im Gehirn, darüber habe ich auch mal etwas gelernt…
      So, Danke wieder einmal für all die Impulse zum Nachforschen und Nachdenken!!!
      Liebste Grüße
      Oh, bekomme gerade Dakini Post…na so etwas…ein Wunder!!! Ich liebe das…

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Pia,
      Du liebst Rosa, Türkis und Aprikot, die landläufig als Frauenfarben angesehen werden. Statistisch gesehen, werden die seltenst von Männern als Lieblingsfarben genannt, aber häufig von Frauen. Alle drei sind ja gebrochene Farben, wobei Türkis eine moderne Farbe ist, die vor dem 19. Jh. kaum Beachtung fand. Rosa ist die weiß gebrochene Kraft des Rots. Die Königinmutter nannte es Rücknahme der Körperlichkeit, was farbsymbolisch stimmt. Aprikot ist wie Rosa auch keine prismatische Farbe. Ich hatte mal eine Freundin, die nur Aprikot trug und schöne flauschige aprikot Handtücher hatte. Bei ihr sah das toll aus, aber es war nicht meine Farbe.
      Hat Kapoor für 130 Mio. GBP die Fa. gekauft, die Vantablack herstellt?
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom stürmischen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      P.S.: Marsyas is die Verkörperung der Hybris in der griechischen Mythologie. Weil er so überheblich war, Apollo zum Wettstreit herasuszufordern, musste er sterben. Aber das hat weniger mit Farbe zu tun.

      Like

    • Eine schwarz-weiße Taube hat mir mal in Grün mein Wohnzimmer vollgekackt, es ging ihr nicht gut, ich habe sie 2 Tage lang versorgt, bis mir die Idee kam, den Taubenretter anzurufen. Der kam und versprach, dass die Taube dem rechtmäßigen Besitzer übergeben würde. Es war eine verirrte Brieftaube.
      Im Pepita-Look.
      Seit diesem Erlebnis denke ich viel über Schwarz (und Weiß) nach.
      Das Tanzen mit den kleinen KIndern ist ganz besonders schön zur Zeit. Sie tragen am liebsten Rosa. Augenfreundlich für mich.
      Bei der Ballettausbildung wurde uns gesagt, dass wir nicht erlauben sollen, dass die Schülerinnen zu viel Schwarz tragen, weil das zu anstrengend für unsere Augen sei. Das Schwarz würde so viel Licht schlucken. Stimmt das?
      Also, wenn ich schon d e n Fachmann hier als Informanten fragen kann…
      Die Kinder spielen vor Beginn der Tanzstunde gerade “Hexe, Hexe, was kochst du heute?” Diese Spiele wechseln saisonal, nach einem geheimen, mir nicht verständlichen Konsens unter den Kindern.
      Ich finde es ein wenig gruselig. Wenn die Hexe antwortet: Kinder!, rennen sie minutenlang schreiend durch den Raum…
      Sie spielen das offensichtlich in den Kitas zur Zeit auch am liebsten.
      Steht schon in meinen Pädagogik-Büchern: Kinder brauchen Ventile zum Stressabbau.
      Du musst sie, die Ventile, im Tanzunterricht rechtzeitig anwenden, sonst herrscht Chaos, weil sich die Stressenergie sonst verselbstständigt. Sozusagen Überdruck entsteht, der sich Raum macht.
      So, jetzt nehme ich ein Salzbad und beschäftige mich privat mit dem Thema Schwarz weiter.
      Danke, Eure Pia

      Liked by 1 person

    • Heute bin ich mit meiner bisher größten Angst konfrontiert worden: Ich kann meinen Kindern nichts mehr zu essen kaufen…(diese kommt wahrscheinlich daher, dass meine Oma Nanni, eigentlich Anna, aus Kroatien, fast ihr ganzes Leben als Mutter mit dieser Angst leben musste…)
      Warum? Ich dachte heute sei schon der 1.9.
      Die Bank bucht nicht mehr weiter…aber Quatsch, heute ist erst der 31.8….
      Man darf nicht zu schwarz sehen.
      Das nackte Schwarz, ohne Licht, oder das Schwarz, das die Farben mehr zur Geltung bringen lässt…
      Ob psychisch Kranke meditieren sollten?
      Ob man erst mal eine geistig stabilisierende Substanz fürs Gehirn einnehmen sollte?
      Ob psychisch Kranke Kunst zeigen sollten?
      Das habe ich mich schon oft gefragt…das Theaterprogramm, nicht immer leichte Kost…
      Oft verließen Zuschauer türenschlagend das Theater, wenn sie sich einfach nur noch provoziert fühlten, von der “Kunst”, die sie nicht verstanden und/oder die so gar nicht ihren Erwartungen entsprach.
      Naja, es gibt ja nichts mehr zu sehen auf den Theaterbühnen zur Zeit. Die Inszenierungen haben sich räumlich verlagert…

      Ich überlege auch weiter, wie es mit meiner “Gelegenheitskunst” weitergehen könnte:
      Naturinstrumente bauen, Klang und Tanz-Workshops, Aufführungen einfach unten auf dem Schillerplatz.
      Oder “Sommertag im Park”: Wir tanzen mit unserem Publikum durch den Ebertpark, mehrer kleine Bühnen, die Konzertmuschel nutzen, Schwäne und andere Wasservögel-Kinder tanzen rund um den See, wenn es regnet, benutzen wir bunte Schirme…
      Mal sehen, was die verantwortliche Eventmanagment Firma vorort dazu sagt….
      Liebdrücker vom Pialein
      …so jetzt weiter die ToDo Liste schreiben…

      Like

    • Guten Tag, liebe Pia,
      Schwarz bringt Nachbarfarben mehr zur Geltung, da kein Licht, also kein Photon (nur im Idealfall), abgestrahlt wird, das die elektromagnetische Schwingung der Nachbarfarbe beeinflusst. Echtes Schwarz gibt es jedoch nur bei einem Schwarzen Loch, da die enorme Gravitation auch die Photonen einfängt und es keinerlei Abstrahlung gibt. Bei echtem Schwarz sieht man nichts, auch kein Schwarz, da das Auge Licht zum Reagieren benötigt. Man sieht eine Leerstelle, sozusagen ein Loch in der Realität.
      Es ist völlig kontraproduktiv, wenn Psychotiker z.B. meditieren. Ihr Problem ist ja, dass sie abgeschlossen in ihrer Welt leben. Sich dazu noch in eine weitere abgeschlossene Welt zu begeben, erhöht das Angstpotential. Ein anderes praktisches Problem kommt noch dazu, dass Menschen mit starken psychischen Problemen gar nicht zur Meditation zu bekommen sind. Meditation setzt doch einen hohen Grad von Konzentration voraus und zugleich ein Loslassen in dieser Konzentration. Genau das können Menschen mit dieser Erkrankung nicht. Der Kernsatz der Meditation lautet “don’t get attached” (erster Lehrsatz Buddhas), aber psychische Erkrankung zeigt sich gerade dadurch, dass man sich mit allem identifiziert.
      Wir wünschen dir eine wunderbare kommende Woche
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Liebe Pia,
      du fragtest ja noch nach den schwarzen Madonnen, die weiß angemalt wurden. Das war vom Papst am Ende des 13. Jh. angeordnet worden, um den Kult um die schwarzen Madonnen zu unterbinden. Es wurde argumentiert, dass die Madonnen alle ursprünglich weiß seien und nur durch den Kerzenruß geschwärzt worden seien. So weißte man viele schwarze Madonnen. Davon ging man jedoch ganz schnell wieder ab, da die Gläubigen nicht mehr kamen und sie behaupteten, diese weiße Madonnen besäßen keine Wunderkräfte mehr. Der Kirche gingen dadurch erhebliche Gelder verloren und so wurde das Weißungsprogramm der schwarzen Madonnen schnell wieder aufgegeben. Du musst bedenken, dass das Mittelalter und bes. die mittelalterliche Kirche viel Geld mit dem Wunderglauben machte.
      Liebe Grüße vom sonnigen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Sorry, du hast ja noch etwas gefragt: Kinder, die Schwarzes tragen. Also, was sie euch da erzählt haben, ist völliger Quatsch, eine Art Fake News. Wenn man Schwarzes sieht, geschieht physiologisch gar nichts, weder wird Rhodopsin abgebaut noch auf eine Wellenläge des Lichts reagiert, also Stäbchen und Zäpfchen bleiben inaktiv. Schwarz zu sehen, ist beruhigend. Der Optische Cortex hat nichts zu verarbeiten. Blau und Schwarz zu sehen wirkt beruhigend, die warmen Farben zu sehen regt an.

      Like

    • Vielen Dank! Ich hatte viele Zweifel und deshalb viele Fragen.
      Ein paar gute Antworten, dann noch mehr Fragen…aber macht nix…
      Heute habe ich mir ein Mantra erfunden oder ist das eine Affirmation?
      “Ich beobachte nüchtern und wach, mein Herz ist voller Liebe und meine Gedanken sind “”lichtvoll”” “. Lichtvoll in extra Gedankenstrichen, weil ich noch nicht genau weiß, was das ist…
      Außerdem meditiere ich über die Worte Mut und Demut.
      Astrales Licht, Sternenlicht, nicht mehr vorhanden in schwarzen Löchern, das wirft Fragen auf…
      Ex it , it ex…

      Habe 2mal den “Dance macabre” für die Pfalzbaubühne einstudiert, die Musik hat mir einfach gefallen, damals wusste ich nicht viel.
      Heute auch nicht, vielleicht etwas mehr, dadurch weniger.

      Ja, nicht anhaften, identifizieren.

      Ich hoffe, die um schwarze Würfel herum laufen z.B., wissen warum sie das tun, irgendwann. Oder auch nicht.
      Ballerinas drehen sich in jedem anständigen Ballett 32 mal peitschenartig auf einem Bein um die eigene Achse.
      Meistens rechts herum. Bei Nussknacker eigentlich links herum.
      Naja, moderne und freie Choreografen studieren ja frei und modern ein.
      So, jetzt plane ich mal die heutigen Tanzstunden.

      Seit Jahren, wenn ich mit nichts mehr weiter komme, sage ich: Lies doch mal im Internet die Erklärung für Neurose und Psychose durch. Aber nicht erschrecken.

      Jetzt wird mir klar, warum das nicht zu Abmeldungen führte: Sie werden es nicht durchgelesen haben…

      DANKE sehr vielmals and die fab4s!!! Have a nice day!!!

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      man muss ja nicht alles wissen, aber Wissen hilft. Halten wir es doch mit dem Motto der Aufklärung ‘wage selbst zu denken’.
      Warum die Muslime die schwarze Kaaba umrunden, keine Ahnung. Aber dieses Umrunden haben wir ja in vielen Religionen, z.B. die Umrundung einer Stupa oder des Berges Kailash der Buddhisten. Sicherlich hägt das mit der Drehung unseres Planeten zusammen.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom sonnigen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Vielen herzlichen Dank! Ja, konnte jetzt nicht nachmessen, ob der Trageriemen deiner Tasche einer Achsenneigung von 19,5 grad entspricht, aber ja, ein a mehr und zu weg, dann steht da: Waage selbst denken….so mach´ ich´s!!!
      Liebste Grüße vom Pialein

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Bernhard
      but there is always some light except in a black hole. The blackest black is a problem of reflection and absorption.
      Best regards
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  41. Thank you for this great explaination. Honestly, i never before had read so much about the colour black. 😉 But its very interesting, and forces me reading the book too. Hope you are staying well and save. Best wishes and many greetings from the rural rurality. 😉 Michael

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Michael
      from rural rurality – we love this 🙂 🙂
      You wouldn’t believe it but there is so much more to say about black. Black is very VERY interesting and has so many aspects. We didn’t mention black as the colour of anarchism, the connection of black with the female archetype and black magic, black in history etc. After I had written this book about black, I wrote several books about all the colours and colour-theories. But the most interesting colour of all is black because it’s ideologically that overdetermined.
      Thanks and stay well, save and happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you very much, dear Klausbernd!
      Yes, the colour black needs not to be consumed by the anarchism movement. Even not by the clerics. 😉 Great to hear there are books about the other colours too. Will look for them, because its more and more getting my attention whats behind. Best wishes back, and all the best to you all. Michael

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, dear Michael,
      the problem is that my books about colour are out of print. They were written in the very beginning of the eighties and were for sale in different editions until 2010. Maybe you’ll find some second hand copies. Good luck!
      Wishing you a happy week
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Michael,
      here is a list of all my books about colours:
      * Das große Buch der Farben (Königsfurt-Urania, 2017, 5th ed.), ISBN 978-3-86826-161-5
      * Die Magie der Farben – erleben und anwenden (Königsfurt-Urania, 2010, 6. ed.), ISBN 978-3-86826-110-3
      * Farben (Droemer-Knaur 2009, 8. ed.), ISBN 978-3-426-87393-9
      * Farben, abr. ed. (Knaur, München 2017), ISBN 978-3-426-87773-9
      * Das kleine Buch der Farben (Königsfurt-Urania, 2008), ISBN 978-3-89875-196-4
      * Die faszinierende Welt der Farben – ein Glossar von A-Z (ars momentum 2008, 4. ed), ISBN 978-3-938193-41-9
      * Sprache und Macht der Farben (ars momentum, 2007, 3. ed.), ISBN 978-3-938193-34-1
      * Das Geheimnis der Farbe Rot (Bauer Vlg., Fischer Media Vlg. and Tramontane Publ.)
      * Das Geheimnis der Farbe Schwarz (Fischer Media, Bruno Martin Publ., Bauer Vlg.)
      * Das Geheimnis der Farbe Weiß ((Fischer Media, Bruno Martin Publ., Bauer Vlg.)
      * Das große Handbuch der Farben (Königsfurt Publ.), ISBN 3-89875-165-1
      * Farben (Gräfe & Unzer Vlg 2005)
      * Schwarz-Weiß (Goldmann Vlg.)
      These are all my books in German about colour and which book is translated in which other language you can see on my website http://www.kbvollmar.com
      Good luck and happy reading
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

  42. Danke für diesen schwarzen Überblick zum Schwarz, ihr vier!
    Wird das Kapoorschen Vantablack mit den Exclusivrechten nicht zum eigenen Kunstwerk? Ist es dann mehr als “nur eine Farbe”? Es gelingt mir auch tatsächlich nicht, Ultramarin ohne Yves Klein zu denken. Beim Benutzen dieses Blautons sehe ich immer die in blauer Farbe gewältzten Frauen auf dem Boden liegen und sich auf dem Papier abdrücken.
    Der Tag ist schon zu Ende, ich werde noch ein wenig lesen und dann schlafen.
    Liebe Grüße von Susanne

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Susanne,
      wir haben heute unseren wöchentlichen Fastentag, an dem wir schon einen langen Spaziergang machten, bei dem wir mit dem halben Dorf quatschten.
      Dieses eigentlich nicht so Aufsehen erregende Vantablack, wenn man es nur sieht und nicht seine Geschichte kennt, sehen wir eher als ein ganz eigenen Typ von Farbe. Eben eine auf Nano-Tech beruhende High-Tech-Farbe. Aber im Grunde ist das eine natürliche Entwicklung, indem die Pigmente sich ständig weiter von der Natur entfernten und immer mehr meist chemisch manipuliert wurden. Wir sind uns nicht sicher, ob mit diesen Nano-Tech-Blacks eine neue Qualität der Farben erreicht wurde oder ob man es einfach als natürliche Entwicklung in der Farbherstellung sehen kann. Wie immer kommt es auf den Standpunkt an. In der Ausstellung gingen übrigens die meisten Besucher an diesen beiden Vantablack-Farbflächen vorbei, ohne sie speziell zu würdigen.
      Unserer Meinung nach ist Vantablack für die Kunst relativ unerheblich, aber äußerst wichtig für die Astronomie und wohl auch fürs Militär.
      Wir wünschen euch in Berlin eine feine Woche. Wir trafen übrigens eben einen jungen Mann, der gerade aus Berlin gekommen war und Verwandten bei der Gartengestaltung hilft, da er nach seiner Graduierung in Deutschland keine Arbeit findet.
      Liebe Grüße von der sonnigen Küste
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Lieber Klausbernd,
      ich überlege, ob man unter der Kreation dieser chemischen Farbe Vantablack nicht den künstlerischen Schaffensprozeß verstehen könnte. Micha und ich waren vor einigen Jahren bei einer Präsentation von Schminckefarben (Fa. Schmincke), wo uns am Beispiel der Aquarellfarben die chemischen Zusammensetzungen und die dazugehörigen Auswirkungen erläutert und präsentiert wurden. Ich fand es interessant. Mir als Künstlerin ist wichtig, dass die Farben trotz chemischer Herrstellung natürlich aussehen. Das ist gerade bei den Grüntönen nicht immer der Fall.
      Wie erheblich siehst du für die Kunst das Yves Klein Blau? Hat es für dich einen anderen Stellenwert als das Vantablack?
      Ich höre sehr häufig, dass Akademiker nach ihren Abschlüssen keine Stellen bekommen. Heute müssen die Absolventen sehr flexibel sein. Mein Sohn wird im Dezember 2021 das zweite Jura Staatsexamen abschliessen. Letztes Jahr, nach seinem 1. Staatsexamen hat er an vier verschiedenen Orten gewohnt und gearbeitet: Göttingen, Berlin, in der Nähe der Zugspitze/Österreich und München. Es wird eine enorme Flexibilität von den jungen Menschen heute erwartet.
      Schön, dass der junge Mann aus Berlin, den ihr kennengelernt habt, sich wenigstens zu beschäftigen weiss, obwohl es sicher nicht einfach ist.
      Deine Mail habe ich nicht vergessen, ich beantworte sie auch gleich …. 🙂
      Liebe Grüße sendet euch allen Susanne

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Susanne,
      ich sah also vor etwa 2 Wochen Kapoors Vantablack und vor Jahren Kleins Blau in Venedig. Irgendwie besteht da für mich ein Unterschied: Yves Klein stellte auf seinen Leinwänden etwas dar und waren es auch nur Strukturen und Abdrücke, aber es war etwas. Kapoor präsentiert seine Farbe einzig als monochrom unstrukturierte Fläche. Man könnte allerdings sagen – und als Intellektueller findet man ja immer eine Begründung – dass nichts darzustellen zu der absorbierenden Eigenschaft von Schwarz passt – sozusagen eine Form-Inhaltskongruenz. Aber irgendwie kommt mir das etwas zu weit hergeholt vor. Die meisten Leute gingen mehr oder weniger achtlos an diesen beisen beiden Vantablack-Formen vorbei. Gemacht werden diese Oberflächen mit einem High-Tech Prozess, der winzigste Nano-Röhrchen wie einen Wald aufstellt, die dann durch ständige Reflektion von einem Element zum anderen mehr als 99% des Lichts absorbiert. Ich sagte es ja schon, ich finde diese Farbe für die Kunst relativ belanglos, aber für einen großen Gewinn für die Astronomie.
      Ich muss jetzt mein Podcast über Farbe vorbereiten. Da es in Englisch ist, wie einige Interviews in letzter Zeit, muss ich das gut vorbereiten. Ja, wir werden eben immer internationaler. Ich sollte mein Englisch dringend etwas auffeschen. Es benötigt etwas mehr sprachliche Eleganz und Lässigkeit – oh dear.
      Mit lieben Grüßen
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

    • Lieber Klausbernd,
      das das Auffrischen von der englischen Sprache immer notwendiger wird, kann ich nur bestätigen. Ich werde am Montag für die Galerie Singulart in englisch interviewt und es werden Portraitfotos von mir gemacht, um meine Präsentation internationaler zu gestalten. Ich bin schon sehr aufgeregt und “lerne” die Keywords meines Artist Statements auf englischer Sprache. Die Lässigkeit, die du ansprichst empfinde ich auch als sehr wichtig. Ich bin schon sehr aufgeregt.
      Nun zurück zur schwarzen Farbe: Was sagst du dann aber zu Malewitschs schwarzen Quadrat? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Schwarze_Quadrat
      Es revolutionierte ja die Kunstgeschichte und ich verstehe Kapoors Vantablack ein wenig als ein “hochtechnologisches” Zitat darauf.
      Ich habe heute einen Homeoffice Tag und versuche meinen Schreibtisch leeerer zu bekommen. Mal schauen, ob ich das schaffe 😉
      Ich sitze bei schlechtem Wetter am Rechner und werde mir gleich für eine bessere Konzentration ein großes Glas Wasser holen.
      Liebe Grüße an euch vier, Susanne

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Susanne,
      don’t worry, bleib cool 😉 Ich sehe hier, dass mein deutscher Akzent von Engländern meist als charmant angesehen wird. Du hast vollkommen Recht, eine Präsentation und Selbstdarstellung muss heutzutage unbedingt auch in Englisch geschehen. Aber ich bemerke, wenn ich interviewt werde, dass ich mich einrede sozusagen. Die ersten 5 Minuten sind immer etwas schwierig, aber dann fießt es einfach und alles ist fein. Also, keine Angst. Ich bin gerade über 2 Stunden in Englisch interviewt worden, war auch ziemlich aufgeregt, aber es lief toll und wurde zur lässigen Plauderei. Wenn ich den Gesprächspartner sympathisch finde, wird mein Englisch sogleich ‘sophisticated’. Ist das nicht der Fall, klingt es eher hölzern.
      Ich habe das berühmte schwarze Quadrat in Moskau gesehen. Das ist eine mir sofort einleuchtende Idee, dass Vanablack auf dieses revolutionäre Bild anspielt. Übrigens fiel mir ja der Unterkiefer herunter, als ich las, dass Kapoor Vantablack (naja, die ganze Fa., die es herstellt) für 130 Mio. GBP (fast 150 Mio. €) kaufte. Erstaunlich, wie viel ihm diese Farbe zu besitzen Wert war.
      Wir halten hier alle fest unsere Daumen, dass dein Interview bestens läuft und Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma helfen da auch etwas mit hochwirksamer Feenmagie nach.
      Liebe Grüße an euch beiden in Berlin
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Lieber Klausbernd,
      das englische Interview am Montag lief eigentlich ganz gut, ein Glück wird es noch genschnitten. Ich bin gespannt, wie es insgesamt wirken wird. Mein Sohn und ich haben uns in der Berliner U-Bahn mit einem jungen Mann aus San Francisco unterhalten, er fand meinen Akzent ebenfalls charmant.
      150 Euro für “ein bißchen schwarz” ist schon eine stattliche Summe. Wow!
      Gerade habe ich einen Flyer in den Druck gegeben, ich werde am 3. Advent im Kunstreff Moosach in München unterrichten. Der Unterricht findet im Rahmen einer Gemeinschaftsausstellung statt. Die Ausstellung habe ich deshalb angenommen, weil mein Sohn ja inzwischen in München lebt und so kann ich drei Dinge verbinden, meinen Sohn, eine Ausstellung und ein Workshop.
      Mal schauen, ob das gut zusammenwirken wird.
      Ich werde mal gleich den Workshop auf meiner Homepage aufnehmen.
      Meine Kaffeetasse ist leer, ich werde mir einen neuen Kaffee machen und wünsche dir, Hanne und den kleinen Feen einen schönen Tag.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Liebe Susanne,
      GRATULATION, das ist ja nicht so einfach, charmant und klug in Englisch herüberzukommen, wenn man nicht in englischer Umgebung lebt.
      Dina versucht gerade mit dem Fahrrad bei Ebbe zum Blakeney Point zu radeln. Die Frage ist, ob der Sand auch hart genug ist. Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma rechneten ein exaktes Timing aus.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom hochsommerlichen Cley – the summer came back 🙂
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Da hat sich Hanne ja was vorgenommen! Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, dass der Sand hart genug ist. Da braucht die liebe Hanne sicher dicke Reifen am Fahrrad.
      Liebe Grüße von einem herbstlich werdenden Berlin….

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Cindy,
      actually ‘Vollmar’ is quite rare in Germany, the kind of normal spelling is ‘Vollmer’. But I had a friend in the Swiss county of St Gallen and I was as astonished that some people had the name ‘Vollmar’ there.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  44. It’s very interesting to read about what is being done technologically to create the blackest black. Personally, I don’t love black or hate it. Whether I appreciate black depends on where it is, etc. I can’t imagine life without it though! 😉 You were lucky to be able to experience the Kapoor exhibit – it sounds very interesting and I understand what you said about the very different experiences of seeing color on a screen versus seeing pigments. Color is fascinating, no wonder Klausbernd has written about it! I can’t help thinking that people fighting over who can use the blackest black is more about childish, egotistical competition than anything else. Seriously!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Lynn,
      in a way it always matters where we see a colour if we like it or not. Therefore the question what one’s favourite colour is doesn’t make sense. F.e. we would hate to live in black rooms but a black outfit suits a lot of people quite well.
      The search for the blackest black is important for astronomy. As blacker the black is as better one can see these tiny rays of light astronomers are looking for.
      When we saw Kapoor’s Vantablack we weren’t that impressed. We think, in art Vantablack is not such an important development.
      Wishing you a happy week. Stay save and well and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  46. Pingback: Arctic Operation Haudegen Dr. Wilhelm Dege | Pacific Paratrooper

    • Dear Vincenza,
      a black Pope would be revolutionary, we suppose. But we suppose I will come eventually.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Wishing you a great day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  48. Do our eyes adjust to black as a color the same as our eyes adjust to a dark sky? If so, I wonder if our opinion of the artist’s Vantablack would change if we were to stare at it exclusively for a long period of time?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • First of all, we couldn’t try that out as the surfaces of the Vantablack shown at Houghton Hall were too small. One needed a bigger surface of Vantablack to stare at that the neighbouring colours don’t interfere. We can only guess. We suppose it must be different as staring at Vantablack no stimulus is transmitted to the cones and rods in our eyes. If we look at a dark sky there is always some light stimulating our eyes. Even in these few areas without any light pollution you hardly have no light at all.
      Thanks and cheers.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  50. Love the cover of the book, I think it must be a fascinating read as I too find black to be so interesting. From a child all I knew about black was the good which was the darkness of night, but it also meant scary places where evil lurks 🙂 As a grown up, I now am fascinated with it – and as a photographer occasionally frustrated. When Vanta black came out, I loved it and now there is even a blacker black than Vanta… I’d like to experience the feeling of being in a room painted in Vanta black with no other light sources…I wonder how long I could last? Wish you a great Sunday evening.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  51. Pingback: On Display | FabFourBlog

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.