"White does not exist in nature." — Pierre-Auguste Renoir
White is the full reflection of all colors of visible light. It is the mixture of red, blue, and green light from this screen you are looking at. It is the lightest color, the color of milk and snow, which might also be the first thing that comes into your mind thinking of it. We argue about all other colors whether they are pretty, but there are a thousand reasons for us to all love white. Looking back to ancient or even prehistoric times, this love might have already been pressed into our genes.
In the famous Lascaux Cave of France, about 15,000 years ago, prehistorical people used white pigment from calcite as a background or a highlight. There were not a lot of colors that could be used at that time. So-called earth pigments such as red and yellow ochre, umber, and charcoal from the fire are used along with calcite white to contour the life of their age.
Ancient Egypt paintings are often drawn on a whitewashed stone surface; the extremely dry climate helped most of them survive. Their gods and goddesses, priests, and priestesses are often dressed in white, especially when they are related to death, as well as the linen used to wrap mummies.
In ancient Greece, Rome, and many other civilizations, the white color adapted and further developed in its meaning of purity, loyalty, chastity, and sometimes even holy. An adult Roman male commoner has to wear a plain white toga on formal occasions to represent his citizenship and attendant rights, freedoms, and responsibilities.
Part of the worship and respect for white color must come from the natural things around us. The sweet milk that nourished us, the untouchable snow on the tip of the mountains, the precious pearl from the deep side of the water, or the moonlight pouring down from the goddess of the night. White was usually expensive and luxurious because it was never easy to get, it was always fragile because it was easy to be contaminated. Therefore we all try to be extra careful around it, love, appreciate, protect, and admire it.
Inheriting ancient worship, for thousands of years, white has never left the center of both the arts and people's daily life. With its vulnerability, its preciousness, and its pure cleanliness. Kazimir Malevich was probably the first artist who only used white to create an art piece, but the white pigment was celebrated by lots of other artists as well. Though it is not common to expose the canvas in traditional western paintings, it is very common in Asian arts to show off the white paper itself that carries the artwork from beneath. That exhibition of emptiness is another form of using white, even the most difficult one. The acquisition of aesthetics often takes place in the emptiness around the existence of the artwork.
Regardless of the medium used for presentation, white is almost always relative. Just like Renoir said, white does not exist in nature. Because of its rarity, it always drags attention from all the other companies on the image. Maybe white does only exist theoretically and is based mainly on our imaginations. Dark horses in Moonlight and the silhouette in Pine Trees are the reasons why we see white, just like Yang and Yin depending on each other for their existence. Grown-up in Asian culture, this kind of association and dependency is one of the most subtle aesthetics that I appreciate.
Pages turned to modern-contemporary art, and a variety of bold artistic styles emerged. From impressionism to symbolism, from cubism to expressionism, the use of colors became braver and more experimental. Artists are less restricted by the theoretical dogma, individualism is celebrated. Especially in the era of the internet, anyone can be an artist, anyone can influence the whole world with their own perspective of view. We have been trying crazy things for more than a century now, also here white did not lose its central role in any existing form of art.
As human beings, we never stop with the appreciation of art, we always try to take that joy of beauty with us, we bring it home and make it our own. Applying white color on the items occurred as soon as the technologies allowed (the first white pigments for painting were often toxic), and served initially as a signature of the social status and wealth of the owner when it was difficult to execute. Much more interesting was when the technology got developed so white could become a part of our daily use.
White porcelain is enormously successful in playing an irreplaceable character in the history of human daily lives, which can be observed on all continents. The white color can both stand in the spotlight and play an auxiliary role for the other decorative elements. In almost all different cultures, we can see it emerge as itself in the first place, gaining decorative add-ons along the technological development, then returning back to its pure and minimalistic form every now and then.
Also in the modern age after the two industrial revolutions, white has been considered the go-to solution for almost all kinds of products we could see in our surroundings. White gives the feeling of clean, lightweight, and high quality without costing extra lots of money to produce. In some industries such as healthcare, white color is used very widely for the purpose of calming, presenting hygiene, and quality. With it being visually functional, the white color always touches the spot of softness in our hearts.
Studying and growing as industrial designers, our generation is strongly influenced by the minimalist aesthetic and design methods. Coming from Asian cultural background, this trend perfectly matches the poetic and subtle part of our traditional mindset. White is of course a very present part of it throughout my school days and career so far. However, the trend does not mean using white would always be proper and safe. After absorbing its principle, we shall all consider carefully if it is a fit for all kinds of functional needs and brand requirements.
Despite difficult maintenance, successful white architecture and interior design were never rare in history and in modern life. White reflects simply all possible light colors, with different materials, however, in diverse extents, which makes pure white designs distinct from each other and so never boring.
White also makes the architecture more personal and less an object, it shows the vulnerable side of artificial constructions and softens them up regardless of the mass.
Using white elements in a small and rather dark room at home brings more spaciousness to the living experience. Changing a dark brown carpet bravely to a rather white one, the whole floor would reflect more light instead of absorbing it, making the whole room brighter and less heavy. Combining with other materials such as mirrors and glass brings this effect even to the next level.
If you have any artwork or collection you are proud to display, white background is also one of your best friends. The color is used in almost all modern art museums and galleries, serving as a background for the visitors to focus on the exhibition itself. Reserving some white space between each piece creates a higher-quality showcase, just like the white space on the dining plates in a star restaurant.
We love white so much that we would love to have them directly connected to our bodies. White clothes appear in almost every culture on all continents, interesting enough though, with their own different meanings and traditions built upon it. In the western world and in Japan, it is the color of the wedding. In China, on the contrary, it is worn at funerals and memorial services.
When is it white and when is it not? With this subtle experiment, I try to show the dependency and relativeness of the white color. All the matrix have the exact same saturation and brightness values but look totally different on diverse backgrounds. "White does not exist in nature." It is a precious color, unstable, fragile, and at the end of the day, only relative.