5. Chromophobia or Fear of Colour in Contemporary Art

Work

David Batchelor, Chromophobia, London, UK, Reaktion Books, Paperback ISBN: 1 86189 0745
www.reaktionbooks.co.uk

Program Description

In his collection of essays entitled Chromophobia, British artist and writer David Batchelor examines why colour is noticeably absent from vanguard contemporary art. Citing sources such
as Melville’s litany of the attributes of whiteness in Moby Dick
and Conrad’s meditations on blackness and whiteness in
The Heart of Darkness, Batchelor explores the literary and
philosophical thinking that has led to a dearth of colour in
cutting-edge exhibitions. He enumerates the ways in which the sensual pleasures of colour have been treated with suspicion
by thinkers beginning with Aristotle and Plato. Furthermore,
he links the bias against colour with repressive and fearful
responses to the “Other,” that is to say, to the feminine and
the non-Western. The provocative ideas in Chromophobia will
be put to the test during daily encounters with real art in
Toronto museums and galleries.

Discussion Leader

Betty Ann Jordan is an art writer who heads her own art tour company, Art InSite. She also teaches art appreciation courses and organizes behind-the-scenes encounters with artists, gallerists, collectors, designers and makers.