Chromophobia [Signed copy]

Batchelor, David

ISBN 10: 1861890745 / ISBN 13: 9781861890740

Published by Reaktion Books, London, 2000

About this Item

VG- in thick French wraps, 125 pages, 6 color illustrations. Covers a bit scuffed & a few other4 mild signs of use. This copy SIGNED by David Batchelor in green ink on half-title page. Scarce thus.

Seller Inventory # 2921

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Chromophobia [Signed copy]
• Publisher: Reaktion Books, London
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1861890745
• ISBN 13: 9781861890740
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: VG-
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art
  • Joan Jonas Library
  • Signed

About this title

Synopsis

The central argument of Chromophobia is that a chromophobic impulse - a fear of corruption or contamination through colour - lurks within much Western cultural and intellectual thought. This is apparent in the many and varied attempts to purge colour, either by making it the property of some 'foreign body' - the oriental, the feminine, the infantile, the vulgar, or the pathological - or by relegating it to the realm of the superficial, the supplementary, the inessential, or the cosmetic. Chromophobia has been a cultural phenomenon since ancient Greek times; this book is concerned with forms of resistance to it. Writers have tended to look no further than the end of the nineteenth century. David Batchelor seeks to go beyond the limits of earlier studies, analysing the motivations behind chromophobia and considering the work of writers and artists who have been prepared to look at colour as a positive value. Exploring a wide range of imagery including Melville's Great White Whale, Huxley's Reflections on Mescaline, and Le Corbusier's Journey to the East, Batchelor also discusses the use of colour in Pop, Minimal, and more recent art.

About the Author

David Batchelor is an artist and writer based in London.