Color monopoly

We hear of corporations patenting or copyrighting anything they can lay their hands on, whether it is bioprospecting or biopiracy of plants used by native cultures (see for instance Of patents & pi®ates, The gene rush), or laying claims to human genes. According to the ACLU, about 20% of our genome is currently patented. Although they successfully fought two patents on genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, resulting in a 2013 invalidation by the U.S. Supreme Court (Whether human genes can be patented).

But here is the case of an artist – the sculptor Anish Kapoor – who acquired exclusive rights to a specific black pigment. Vantablack was developed originally for military purposes, because it absorbs 99.96% of the light. Often shown on aluminium foil, to highlight its lack of… highlights, it appears to flatten anything it is on.

Anish Kapoor … Exclusive Rights to Blackest Black

Exclusive ownership of a color (or rather a pigment) seems extreme, and it is certainly causing a stir amidst fellow artists. But pigments have had colorful developments throughout the history of visual arts (The Colorful Stories of 5 Obsolete Art Pigments).