Scientist-Inspired Artist Alleges Innovative, Impossible Color Formulation
Artistic maverick, Stuart Semple, has stirred up a storm with his latest creation, "YOLO" paint. But this ain't just your regular Art Supply Store haul. Semple claims it's a replica of the "new color" that scientists at UC Berkeley served up, beyond our natural human vision. Now, let's make one thing clear: this ain't the "natural human gamut" we're talking about.
The UC Berkeley scientists whipped up this unusual sight by blasting laser pulses into volunteers' peepers, tricking their eyes into seeing a never-before-seen hue. A British artist, evidently on a mission, took it upon himself to bottle this color and hawk it online. He calls it "YOLO."
Semple's Instagram brags about his midnight labor for this spectacle, "Scientists discovered a new color, and I already liberated it!" He promises a "super affordable" paint for artists at culturehustle.com, while the scientists on the Berkeley team claim it's a claim too far.
Austin Roorda, one of the Berkeley researchers, poured cold water on Semple’s claims, stating, "It's impossible to recreate a color that matches olo." This color, it seems, is more an optical illusion than a tangible reality, given its creation process. Critics might accuse Semple of peddling a light teal paint as the same color from the Berkeley experiment.
However, Semple defends his creation, stating that he meticulously crafted a unique paint product to mimic the Berkeley experiment's experience. He included fluorescent optical brighteners, absorbing ultraviolet light and re-emitting it as blue light, making the paint appear whiter or brighter.
Semple's motivations are clear from his quotes: "I've always thought that color should be available to everybody." His artistic rebellion isn't a new phenomenon. In 2016, when a dark coating called Vantablack was exclusively licensed for artistic use to Anish Kapoor, Semple countered with an extraordinarily matte black paint accessible to all but Kapoor. He's done the same with a super pink pigment and released at least four iterations of his black paint, striving to create the paint version of Vantablack.
YOLO comes with a hefty price tag of £10,000. However, if you fancy yourself an artist, you score a £29.99 discount. Is it the real deal? Well, the scientists say no. But for Semple, it's an artful attempt to bottle the essence of a color our eyes were never meant to see.
- Stuart Semple's latest creation, "YOLO" paint, is not a typical art supply store purchase; it's a replica of a color scientists at UC Berkeley developed, exceeding our natural human vision.
- The UC Berkeley scientists utilized laser pulses to trick the eyes of volunteers into perceiving a new, never-before-seen hue, which a British artist later bottled and sold online.
- Semple's claims about replicating the "YOLO" color have been contested by Austin Roorda, one of the Berkeley researchers, who asserted it's impossible to recreate a match.
- Semple's paint product, despite the controversy, contains fluorescent optical brighteners, designed to mimic the Berkeley experiment's experience by absorbing ultraviolet light and re-emitting it as blue light.
- Semple's artistic mission revolves around making colors, like "YOLO" paint, available to everyone, a crusade that began in 2016 when he created an extraordinarily matte black paint in response to an exclusive licensing of Vantablack for artistic use, reserved for Anish Kapoor.
