🧵 Vantablack: The Colour War Between Artists
How the world’s darkest colour sparked a feud over creativity and control.
In the art world, colour is everything. But what happens when one artist claims exclusive rights to the darkest shade of black ever created? Here is a story about Ventablack.
Vantablack, a name derived from "Vertically Aligned NanoTube Arrays," is a synthetic material developed by British company Surrey NanoSystems in 2014. Ventablack is not a regular paint but a special coating that absorbs up to 99.965% of visible light, making it the darkest substance known to man.
The art world took notice. Imagine the possibilities: paintings that captivate the eye and sculptures that appear to vanish into thin air. But there was a catch. In 2016, Surrey NanoSystems announced an exclusive licensing deal with British artist Anish Kapoor, giving him sole rights to use Vantablack in art.
Anish Kapoor’s Exclusive Rights
The artistic community strongly objected to this move because they saw it as monopolizing this unique material. Concerns were voiced by artists such as Christian Furr, who said, “We’ve never had a material that absorbs light quite like this… It isn’t right that it belongs to one man.”
Stuart Semple’s Response
In retaliation, British artist Stuart Semple created the “Pinkest Pink,” a vibrant pink pigment available to all—except Kapoor. Purchasers were required to confirm that the pigment wouldn’t reach Kapoor or his associates. Semple’s move was a form of protest against Kapoor’s exclusive hold on Vantablack.
The feud intensified when Kapoor obtained the “Pinkest Pink” and posted an image of his middle finger dipped in the pigment.
Angered about Kapoor putting his hands on his pinkest pink, Sample retaliated again, and this time by creating his own super-black paint, available to everyone... except Anish Kapoor. He even included a legal disclaimer:
"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."
Cultural Impact
Kapoor, for his part, defended his use of Vantablack, stating that he was pushing the boundaries of what's possible in art. But many in the art community saw it as an issue of artistic freedom and equality.
Here is a bit from his interview:
Some of the artworks in this exhibition incorporate the use of Vantablack, which has been described as a fusion of art and science, but has also raised questions about artistic ownership and property rights in the art world. Can you share your perspective on these issues and how you think the art world can strike a balance between protecting innovation and promoting inclusivity?
It’s complicated. This black material, the blackest material in the universe, isn't a paint. So it's not just a thing you paint on. It's a highly technical, complicated physical process, difficult physical process.
I've been working with it for nearly ten years now and in ten years I’ve only made a few objects. It’s almost been necessary because of that complicated process to, for the company who does it, for me, for both of us, to engage in it in a very particular process. So if there's some idiot person who's out there trying to making a fuss about it, well, it isn't as he says it is. Whatever, I couldn’t care less.
In a way all sorts of processes are if you like, right across the world, in all sorts of things, given to very specific use and therefore have a particular authorship, ownership or whatever you want to call it. I mean, honestly, it's a non-issue as far as I'm concerned.
There is also another possible example of this situation, but I could not find any other sources to confirm it, so here is a little theory straight from Reddit:
The Vantablack debate might seem like a silly argument, but it raises some really important questions about art and ownership. Can a colour actually belong to someone? Should it? And what happens to creativity when certain shades are kept off-limits?
With technology constantly creating new materials, these questions will keep popping up. The Vantablack story is a good reminder that in art, just like in life, things are rarely as simple as black and white.
Catch you next time,
Marta
