It cannot get too dark...unless your name is Anish Kapoor

Believe it or not, I was looking for some cheap walking shoes when I stumbled upon paint sale/grudge match on Amazon. When I went to the site to start searching this morning, the first page was this one, selling what is supposed to be the flattest black matte acrylic paint in existence, and in the description of said paint was this:

WTF?
So I did a little research and found this article describing the reason behind the feud between Stuart Semple and Anish Kapoor. Apparently, this feud extends to who had the pinkest pink, also.

Interesting article, thanks!

Things are so strange on this planet.

FYI, Anish Kapoor is the artist responsible for Cloud Gate, the mirrored Bean in a Chicago park.

Been there, done that, loved it.

Ummmm, do you have permission to use that silver?

Yep, which is actually relevant. Kapoor is a materials artist, and part of his work is that he makes some things that are simply unique to look at. Cloud Gate is an excellent example. It sounds really simple on paper, but the ability to have such a massive, clean, mirrored object that has withstood Chicago’s weather and a constant mob of tourists without being permanently damaged in any real sense took impressive engineering.

From the article:

“Black 3.0 is “the blackest, the mattest paint in the known universe,” Semple said in the Kickstarter video for the new paint, which reportedly absorbs up to 99 percent of all light, compared to 99.96 percent for the original Vantablack.”

Well I’m no mathamatician, and these artistic types probably aren’t scientists, but something doesn’t seem right.

“There’s something about this that’s so black, it’s like how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” - Nigel Tufnel

See the Amazon listing description. It’s not the blackest paint that is also matte. It’s the most matte paint that is black. And unlike Vantablack, it’s a simple paint purchasable by anyone with $20, and not an arrangement of carbon nanotubes that would cost you $$$.

Except Anish Kapoor.

That’s interesting too. Cloud Gate is one of the few works of art I actually “get”.

You see my name on it, don’t you? :wink:

That’s something I have often wondered about. I thought that when I had looked into it, that the “artists” of most monumental arts did not set out all of the specifications to construct their work but, instead, depended on fabricators.

Here’s just one article that came up on a quick google. And here’s one about Cloud Gate.

Was there on Sunday. Pretty cool. And folk really love it.