Scientists' Purported Breakthrough Hue in Art Medium Claimed by Artist as Personal Achievement
Hacking Human Vision: The Art of Seeing the Unseen
In a groundbreaking development, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have managed to make humans see a color that's beyond our "natural human spectrum." Through laser pulses shot into volunteers' peepers, they've manipulated our perception to experience a new hue they've named "olo."
Now, a British artist, Stuart Semple, claims to have put this elusive color into a bottle. He's dubbed it "YOLO," and it's up for grabs on his website. Semple took to Instagram to spell it out, "Scientists discover new color and I've already liberated it." In typical Semple fashion, the most expensive paint on the planet is ridiculously affordable for artists.
However, the scientists from Berkeley aren't too pleased, stating that the color can't be reproduced outside of their experiment. Austin Roorda, one of the scientists involved, told The Guardian, "It's impossible to recreate a color that matches olo." Because the color is an optical illusion, it can't truly exist in the real world, and selling it might be nothing more than a light teal paint with a fancy label, according to Roorda.
Semple, however, insists that he's taken measures to create a unique paint product that captures the essence of the olo color experience. The Guardian notes that Semple's concoction includes "fluorescent optical brighteners that absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it as visible blue light, making materials appear whiter or brighter."
Semple's motive behind YOLO is to make this rare color experience accessible to artists. He's previously made waves by releasing colors inspired by more scientifically fantastical hues. In 2016, his extraordinary matte black paint competed with Vantablack, a coating exclusively licensed for artistic use to Anish Kapoor. Semple's response was to create a super pink pigment accessible to anyone but Kapoor. He's even released several versions of his black paint, aiming to create the paint version of Vantablack.
But Semple's YOLO isn't just a playful art stunt; it's also a attempt at creating a color that human beings lack the cones to see under normal conditions. Semple is currently selling YOLO for £10,000, but it's a steal if you consider yourself an artist—you can grab it for £29.99.
Enrichment Data:- Stuart Semple's 'YOLO' paint offers an artistic interpretation of the olo color, named for the color discovered by the University of California, Berkeley. Olo is an optical illusion visible only with laser pulses causing specific cone cells to react.- Semple's YOLO paint isn't an exact replication of the olo color but rather a vibrant blue-green acrylic paint that aims to evoke similar experiences using high-frequency pigments and brighteners.- Semple markets YOLO as an approximation of the olo color to make the extraordinary color experience accessible to artists at a significantly lower price than non-artists.The marketing strategy positions YOLO as a groundbreaking artistic material, emphasizing its vibrancy and uniqueness.
- Stuart Semple's artistic interpretation of the olo color, named from the optical illusion discovered by the University of California, Berkeley, is available as the 'YOLO' paint on his website.
- Semple's concoction of YOLO includes fluorescent optical brighteners to absorb ultraviolet light and re-emits it as visible blue light, creating a vibrant blue-green acrylic paint.
- Semple markets YOLO as an approximation of the olo color, making the extraordinary color experience accessible to artists at a fraction of the cost for non-artists.
- Although the scientists from Berkeley claim that the color can't be reproduced outside of their experiment, Semple argues that he's taken measures to create a unique paint product capturing the essence of the olo color experience.
- In an effort to democratize unconventional colors, Semple has previously released super pink pigment and several versions of matte black paint, competing with more scientifically fantastical hues in the field of technology and science.
