On Color Hardcover – May 22, 2018

The last thing I expected was to laugh out loud several times while reading David Kastan's latest book, “On Color.” It was pure pleasure: smart, witty and illuminating. When I’m getting dressed in the morning I keep hearing Coco Chanel...,‘When I find a color darker than black, I’ll wear it.” At first, after reading the chapter on orange, I was sure it was my new favorite color, but then I got to blue and he made me rush to watch/ listen to Jarman’s ‘Blue." I finally settled on black being closest to my heart after the quote, “It is the dress of pure possibility. It allows everyone to imagine that social gaps can be narrowed and perhaps, if only for a moment, closed.”It is as if Mr. Kastan culled the literary, film and art world for us. I imagine it as a museum that he curated and where I would want to spend hours and hours! I loved every quote, painting, photograph, and anecdote. It felt like the book was cleverly arranged in the same way he described experiencing color, layer upon layer and tapping all our senses.

Kastan and Farthing’s On Color manages to be both provocative and playful, able to move from Bertrand Russell to “The Dress” of internet fame with intellectual dexterity and wit. And the book is not only a great read: the edition from Yale is beautifully designed, presenting its own feast of color from the dust jacket to the pastedowns and photos within.

I thought this would be a good book, and it is. But it's a little more broad than Kassia St Clair's 2016 the Secret Life of Colors. I really preferred St Clair's book. If you're purchasing for a designer or artist friend, get St Clair's book. This book would be best for someone with a literary bent.

There's so much knowledge in this book, worn so gracefully. I learned something new (and usually something astonishing) on every page, but the book never feels didactic or ponderous. It's brilliantly and invitingly written, and never strays far from the sheer joy of *seeing* color (the gorgeous images don't hurt). I came away from this book feeling like I'd been listening in on Farthing's and Kastan's conversations; it's hard to imagine better guides to the nature and culture of color.

"On Color" seems to me to be the best kind of pub talk: smart and agile, thought-provoking, and sometimes even funny. It is willing to get into the weeds, but is never stuffy or self-serious. Fun to read and gorgeous to look at. In the past months it has rested on my office desk, my dining-room table, and on my bedside table, and I’ve never failed to enjoy the conversation.

Surprisingly cool book with unexpected breadth. It’s as entertaining and enjoyable to read (it’s often very humorous) as it is instructive. Full of interesting observations. A great read for anybody, because of its broad cultural applications and engaging narrative style.

I have been studying colors for a while now and read a lot about the meaning, pigments, history, science, art and architecture. Many of the subjects mentioned here to not cover all there is to know but it does however cover very few subjects very profoundly and interestingly. It portrays and explores one specific meaning of each color in a particular context. Also very well referenced that gives authority and confidence in the subjects discussed.

Brilliantly written, exhaustively researched, beautifully produced, On Color is a gem of a book, a tour-de-force, a creative feast for the eyes, mind, and heart. It not only delights and enlightens, it illuminates and instructs.