Chromophobia
David Batchelor’s essay on the modernist avoidance of colour struck a chord. Why do some modern architects avoid colour so much?
The essay cites Wim Wender’s film Wings of Desire and the Michael Powell wartime film with David Niven A Matter of Life and Death – I remember that one from Sunday Telly in the 70s. Both films use monochrome and colour to mark aspects of the story. In the Wender’s film, the angel lands with a bump in a building site in Berlin (just before Unification) and makes the transition from monochrome to colour…
My most intense colour reflections are almost always in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (aka ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’) in Liverpool. I fully intend to take a camera, tripod and macro lens with some slide film and record the imperfections in the 4 inch thick glass, the deep blue and resonant reds really enhance your view of the world.