Janoschka magazine Linked_V5_2020

issue #5 ©
l i n k e d
21
Artists were immediately fascinated by this super-black – above all the
British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor. He managed to secure exclusive
rights of use for the new colour in his art. Nobody else is allowed to use
Vantablack. Just imagine how furious his fellow artists were.
In response another artist, Stuart Semple, decided to produce his own
"blackest black": a mixture of the pigments pinkest pink, yellowest yellow,
loveliest blue and greenest green. Semple sells this DIY black
online under the name "Black 3.0". According to his web shop it is a
"super matt, ultra-black acrylic paint". It absorbs between 98 and
99 per cent of visible light and thus comes close to the
"black hole-ishness" of Vantablack. With the hashtag #sharetheblack,
Semple made it clear that anyone could buy Black 3.0 – anyone, that is,
except Anish Kapoor.
The hashtag went viral. Images of artworks painted using Semple
pigments were posted all over the web, including one of an
outstretched middle finger dipped in Semple’s pinkest pink. No prizes
for guessing that the finger was Anish Kapoor’s.
*Note: By adding this product to your cart you confirm that
you are not Anish Kapoor, you are in no way affiliated to
Anish Kapoor, you are not purchasing this item on behalf of
Anish Kapoor or an associate of Anish Kapoor. To the best
of your knowledge, information and belief this material
will not make its way into the hands of Anish Kapoor.
stuartsemple.com
But that’s water under the bridge. At the end of last year, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced that it had
discovered a black that absorbs 99.995 per cent of the light –
"the blackest material ever measured". A German artist demonstrated
it at the New York Stock Exchange: instead of a twinkling 16.78 caret
diamond worth two million dollars, visitors saw precisely nothing.
Like a camouflage cloak, the new black made the diamond invisible.
Stuart Semple – doesn’t always look
on the dark side. In a bid to
highlight and spread happiness
worldwide he sent "Happy Clouds"
up into the skies over London,
Milan, Moscow, Dublin und
Geelong (Australia)
We do not know whether anyone will ever find the remaining 0.005 of
black. What we do know is that people find colours inspiring and that
the end of this magical mystery tour is a long way off.