brian cassidy bookselle

62.
[Art]: [Color Theory]. WHITESIDE, Forbes J.
COLOR BOOK [Vols.] 1, 2, & 3
np: [Forbes. J. Whitehead], nd [ca. 1960s?]
Three oblong 8vos. 5” x 6.5” approx. Black plastic spiral-bound stiff
wrappers. Vol. 1: pp. [1], 1-53. Vol. 2: pp. [1], 54-105. Vol. 3: pp.
[1], 106-158. Limited edition, one of unknown number of copies signed
and numbered by the artist, this #11. Wrappers soiled. Else clean and
sound throughout. Very good.
Remarkable series of three matching hand-made books by color theorist,
educator, architect, and artist Forbes J. Whitehead. He is
perhaps best known for developing a systematic program for teaching
color appreciation, and we suspect these volumes were likely created
as maquettes for a potential book about his approach (we find no
evidence any such text was ever published, however). But in absence
of any text, these intricate assemblages (which include overlays,
pop-ups, and other movable elements) have a fascinating minimalism
about them, one that creates an almost conceptual air. Whitehead
was an expert in on color theory and perception and was one of the
inventors of the Synchroma machine, which created constantly-changing
visual images based on sonic inputs supplied by an artist, an
invention that predated the advent of laser-light displays. His work
with the Synchroma was exhibited in an “Experiments in Art and Technology”
show in the Brooklyn Museum in 1968 and his paintings are in
the collections of the MoMA, the Cleveland Art Museum, and elsewhere.
One of an unknown number of copies, but given elaborate nature of
the production likely very small. OCLC does not locate the title. An
intricate and evocative creation.
-900-
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