april: color theory (part i)
"what is color in poetry" by dorothea lasky
essay on the relationship between color and poetry by the poet dorothea lasky, containing poems and musings on how color is chosen and described in the imagination.
color series from my private property by mary ruefle
series of pieces scattered through poet mary ruefle's collection my private property detailing the sadnesses of colors. in the book's acknowledgements section ruefle writes: "in each of the color pieces, if you substitute the word happiness for the word sadness, nothing changes."
a series of essays on color by the british filmmaker derek jarman, written in the year before his death from aids-related illness. the essays combine history, literature, and the work of color theorists with the author's memories and emotional experiences. the essay "into the blue" is also the text of jarman's 1993 film blue.
remarks on color by ludwig wittgenstein
a fragmented treatise on color by the german philosopher ludwig wittgenstein, focusing especially on the vexing relationship between color and language. like chroma, remarks on color was also written shortly before the author's death.
interaction of color by josef albers
contains many of the exercises, assignments, and discussions taught by the artist josef albers in his classes on color. also available as an ipad app.
essays on color from cabinet magazine
a collection of essays from cabinet magazine's colors column, where each week a contributor is assigned a specific color. a few i like are "red" by maggie nelson (p. 164), "white" by joseph grigley (p. 118), "violet" by daniel handler (p. 106), and "amber" by mark bradley (p. 168).
"the sea was never blue" by maria michela stassi
essay beginning with the notion that there is no word for pure blue in ancient greek, expanding on how "chromatic cultures" are reflected in language.
