This Artist Is the Only Person Banned From Using the World’s Pinkest Pink (2024)
Anish Kapoor has long been known for his large-scale, intensely coloredartworks, but his penchant for being proprietary has long irked others in the art world.
Earlier this year, Kapoor sparked outrage from artists all over the world with the announcement that he had made a deal to become the only person in the world allowed to use the blackest pigment of black paint ever developed. Known as Vantablack, the unique carbon nanotube-based pigment is produced solely by a British company called NanoSystem, and was originally developed for military technologies. However, Kapoor made an agreement with the company that he is the only person allowed to use it for artistic purposes.
Needless to say, that made plenty of other artistsfurious.
"When I first heard that Anish had the exclusive rights to the blackest black I was really disappointed," artist Stuart Semple tells Kevin Holmes for The Creators Project. "I was desperate to have a play with it in my own work and I knew lots of other artists who wanted to use it too. It just seemed really mean-spirited and against the spirit of generosity that most artists who make and share their work are driven by.”
Like Kapoor, Semple’s work often uses vivid shades of color, and for years he had worked with scientists to develop increasingly intense pigments to use in his artwork. So as a response to Kapoor’s exclusive deal with Vantablack, Semple decided to release his own special pigment, known simply as “Pink,” the Irish Examiner reports.
While “Pink” isn’t based on nanotechnology, like Vantablack, Semple says it is the pinkest pink pigment ever created. Now, in an effort to thumb his nose at Kapoor, Semple is making it for sale to everyone in the world—except Kapoor, Tom Power reports for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Q.
Semple is currently selling “Pink” through his website for £3.99 per pot (about $5). However, before purchasing the powdered pigment, buyers have to agree to a legal disclaimer that states they have no intention of letting it fall into Kapoor’s hands.
As Semple’s website states:
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 paint will not make it’s way into that hands of Anish Kapoor.
Of course, Semple isn’t cruel enough to ban Kapoor from using this color for life—only until Kapoor agrees to give up his exclusive rights to Vantablack, Power reports. While Kapoor has said that Vantablack isn’t actually that useful for painting, since it’s so hard to make enough of the pigment, for Semple it’s the principle that counts.
“[Kapoor is like the] kids who wouldn't share their felt pens,” Semple tells Power. “They just sat there in the corner without any friends."
Now the ball is in Kapoor’s court.
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Danny Lewis is a multimedia journalist working in print, radio, and illustration. He focuses on stories with a health/science bent and has reported some of his favorite pieces from the prow of a canoe. Danny is based in Brooklyn, NY.
This Artist Is the Only Person Banned From Using the World's Pinkest Pink. Anish Kapoor has long been known for his large-scale, intensely colored artworks, but his penchant for being proprietary has long irked others in the art world.
But Kapoor believed in its artistic potential right from the get-go. So much so, that he signed a contract securing the exclusive rights to the new material's use in painting and sculpture.
Vantablack is not a pigment, cannot be applied to a surface like any other normal paint. It is constructed using carbon nanotubes, so a little too expensive for the average joe. And applying a clear coat, which it will need because it is not a "concrete" paint application, probably won't stick on either.
There's a paint, a “material,” that an artist patented, and no one else is allowed to use it. Anish Kapoor bought the exclusive rights to Vantablack, the blackest black available to artists. (Feel free to insert a “Spinal Tap” joke here, if you are of a certain age.)
The cerise pink shade is available to all artists except Kapoor, who is legally banned from purchasing it. It is sold in 50-gram pots on Semple's website for no profit, with a price label of £3.99.
To the best of your knowledge, information and belief this paint will not make it's way into that hands of Anish Kapoor. Of course, Semple isn't cruel enough to ban Kapoor from using this color for life—only until Kapoor agrees to give up his exclusive rights to Vantablack, Power reports.
The color pink was recognized as a concept in 800 B.C. in Homer's Odyssey. The term was coined in the 17th century by a Greek botanist for the ruffled edges of carnations. In the mid-18th century, pink was a fashionable color among male and female aristocrats as a symbol of class and luxury.
Looking at it the other way, Black 4.0 reflects 0.05% of the light, and Vantablack 0.035%. So Black 4.0 reflects about 40% more light. The difference is not that small. On the other hand, Vantablack is highly toxic (similar to asbestos), while Black 4.0 should be quite a lot safer.
Ben Jensen, founder and CTO of Surrey NanoSystems, invented the coatings, which were publicly unveiled in July 2014, and eventually commercialized by the scientific team from Surrey NanoSystems.
Vantablack releases incoming radiation as heat—a principle familiar to anyone who has worn a black T-shirt on a summer day—but it does not reflect light.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday a ban on most uses of methylene chloride, a toxic solvent used in paint stripping that has been linked to at least 88 accidental deaths since 1980.
Soulages is known as "the painter of black", owing to his interest in the colour "both as a colour and a non-colour. When light is reflected on black, it transforms and transmutes it.
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