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White

March 1, 2013
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2 min read

Kenya Hara, 2009

"White" is not a book about colors. It is rather Kenya Haras attempt to explore the essence of "white", which he sees as being closely related to the origin of Japanese aesthetics – symbolizing simplicity and subtlety. The central concepts discussed by Kenya Hara in this publication are emptiness and the absolute void.

"There is no such thing as "white". Rather, "white" exists solely in our perception. Therefore, we must not attempt to search for "white". Instead, we must search for a way to feel whiteness. Through this process, we gain an awareness of a white that is slightly whiter than the white we experience normally. This in turn makes us aware of the surprising diversity of whiteness found in Japanese culture: we come to understand words such as silence and empty space, and distinguish the hidden meanings contained in them. As we achieve this rapport with white, our world glows more brightly, and its shadows deepen."

"White can be attained by blending all the colors of the spectrum together, or through the substraction of ink and all other pigments. In short, it is "all colors" and "no color" at the same time."

"When we try to imagine color, it may be necessary to erase from our minds all pre-established categories and return to a blank state. The box of twelve crayons we are given to draw with when we are small children shapes our perception for better or for worse - it is from them that we garner concepts like "the color of water," "flesh color," and so on. But what if such parameters did not exist, and the words we had to describe color were far fewer? Would we see color the same way we do in today's world?"

Where can I find it?

Comments
Hi, unusual request, but I am doing a translation and need the page number for the second quote “When we try to imagine color, it may be necessary to erase from our minds….” The book looks beautiful and I would love to read it/have it in my hands, but right now (Covid) libraries are closed and I only have the Internet as resource. Thank you!
Radley
My copy is in storage. My best guess is that it’s very soon after the prior quotes.

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