The Secret Lives of Colour
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The Secret Lives of Colour
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Narrated by:
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Kassia St Clair
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Written by:
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Kassia St Clair
About this listen
The Secret Lives of Colour tells the unusual stories of the 75 most fascinating shades, dyes and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso's blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history.
In this book Kassia St Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colours and where they come from (whether Van Gogh's chrome yellow sunflowers or punk's fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilisation. Across fashion and politics, art and war, The Secret Lives of Colour tell the vivid story of our culture.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.
©2016 Kassia St Clair (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton LtdWhat the critics say
"A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer." (Simon Garfield)
What listeners say about The Secret Lives of Colour
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-05-26
Calling all Colour Nerds and Art History Lovers
This was such a fantastic listen. St. Clair is a delight to listen to and has some excellent historical nuggets that span several cultures and religions within each colour chapter. As an artist and someone who enjoys art history in digestible amounts, I highly recommend this book. It’s certainly piqued my interest in diving deeper into the history of colour!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ColourMeGone
- 2020-11-13
Listened to it twice and tell others
I stayed in the car to continue listening! In my driveway ! Engine off! Totally immersed.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Morgan Gerrard
- 2023-04-13
“Is she just reading Wikipedia out loud?”
As a fibre artist, this was recommended to me by a patron after a brief discussion on the stigmatized history of green. While I’m used to seeking out historical, primary sources and academic articles discussing cultural impacts of colour, methods of creation, etc, this book left me wanting.
It’s not so much a manuscript as a collection of incredibly brief articles, comparable to paint chips. Rather than the square inch sample, I was hoping for much more. I wish she had discussed fewer shades and went more in depth with a selection of hues.
While the trivia were interesting, each detail wasn’t fully explored. As my fiancée observed while we listened in the car on day, “Is she just reading Wikipedia out loud?”
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