Bibliograph

The world according to color, a cultural history, James Fox

Type

Label

The world according to color, a cultural history, James Fox

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

illustrationsplates

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The world according to color

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1246145359

Responsibility statement

James Fox

Sub title

a cultural history

Summary

"A kaleidoscopic exploration that traverses history, literature, art, and science to reveal humans' unique and vibrant relationship with color. We have an extraordinary connection to color-we give it meanings, associations, and properties that last millennia and span cultures, continents, and languages. In The World According to Color, James Fox takes seven main colors-black, red, yellow, blue, white, purple, and green-and uncovers behind each a root idea, based on visual resemblances and common symbolism throughout history. Through a series of stories and vignettes, the book then traces these meanings to show how they morphed and multiplied and, ultimately, how they reveal a great deal about the societies that produced them: reflecting and shaping their hopes, fears, prejudices, and preoccupations. Fox also examines the science of how our eyes and brains interpret light and color, and shows how this is inherently linked with the meanings we give to hue. And using his background as an art historian, he explores many of the milestones in the history of art-from Bronze Age gold-work to Turner, Titian to Yves Klein-in a fresh way. Fox also weaves in literature, philosophy, cinema, archaeology, and art-moving from Monet to Marco Polo, early Japanese ink artists to Shakespeare and Goethe to James Bond. By creating a new history of color, Fox reveals a new story about humans and our place in the universe: second only to language, color is the greatest carrier of cultural meaning in our world"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Introduction -- Black: out of darkness -- Red: inventing humanity -- Yellow: twilight of the idols -- Blue: beyond the horizon -- White: poisonous purity -- Purple: the synthetic rainbow -- Green: Paradise lost -- The world according to color

resource.variantTitle

Cultural history

Classification