Vantablack

version

Well-known member
I read a little about Goethe's theory of colours a while back. Apparently he was way off on a lot of it, but interesting in places nonetheless. He seemed to think that darkness wasn't an absence of light, but some polar opposite which worked on light the way light worked on it: blue being darkness exposed to a bit of light, yellow being light exposed to a bit of darkness.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I think Pynchon has a tendency towards the whacky but his natural talent and taste prevent him indulging it...except in Inherent Vice his whackiest and worst book. Except Bleeding Edge which is boring - the worst sin.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
What's the objective definition of perfect blackness? Just a complete absence of light?

Absorption of all energy at all wavelengths.

The surface of the sun is, in fact, almost perfectly black. It just happens to be glowing white hot.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I read a little about Goethe's theory of colours a while back. Apparently he was way off on a lot of it, but interesting in places nonetheless. He seemed to think that darkness wasn't an absence of light, but some polar opposite which worked on light the way light worked on it: blue being darkness exposed to a bit of light, yellow being light exposed to a bit of darkness.

Sounds like an inspiration for de Selby in The Third Policeman.
 
Goethe was interested in synaesthesia too, the meaning of colours. His last words were "Mehr lecht", more light.

So, what sound is vantablack? Dread bass?

Vantablack is made about 5 miles from where I'm sitting, I wonder if they have a factory outlet?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I just hated how it became very hysterical towards the end. Felt like a disservice to the book (not that I've read it).
Brilliant comment. I haven't read it either I don't think and I bet the film is a disservice... I can't really remember much about it to be honest, not exactly a good sign.
 

catalog

Well-known member
Brilliant comment. I haven't read it either I don't think and I bet the film is a disservice... I can't really remember much about it to be honest, not exactly a good sign.

Thanks.

I mean, I've read enough Ballard to know that the ending was all screwed up. It actually made me so angry that I vowed to read it, but then couldn't get hold of a copy for a while. I was going on a long plane journey and thought it would be good for that. Not having it was actually really helpful though, cos it made me imagine some other stuff.

Still not read it, and my anger has passed. But maybe I should. I did manage to get hold of 'the drowned world' instead, and read that instead (excellent). I think it's a similar period in terms of when he was writing. and the ending of that is far less bombastic. I mean, there's a bombast, but then the actual ending is much more ambiguous and unsettling. I think that's a key thing with ballard - he can do high stakes, bravura drama, but it's definitely not what he's about. so the film really felt like a pisstake.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Cool cool... you never know on these things. Probably when I do wanna take the piss it comes across as a compliment or something...
 

woops

is not like other people
Goes back at least as far as Yves Klein who patented his shade of "International Klein Blue"
 

version

Well-known member
Goethe was interested in synaesthesia too, the meaning of colours. His last words were "Mehr lecht", more light.

Is this one of those things that sounds profound now, but he was actually asking them to open the curtains or something?
 

catalog

Well-known member
Lee Rourke has a book out on Dostoyevsky wannabe which is poetry and called vantablack. Some extracts here, I couldn't get past page 1, but others might like it

https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/vantablack/

I've read and enjoyed the canal by Lee Rourke, but not read anything else by him. Dostoyevsky wannabe is the Manchester based publisher who have an amazon publish on demand model, ie they don't do advance print runs of anything, you get your copy printed at point of order. I've only read their expermental books sampler, which had the odd interesting bit.

They are also, I suppose, interesting, cos they banned morbid books from the book fair they organised, cos of the swastika pasta thing.
 
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