In a lecture, professors at my design school argued that keeping white walls in a gallery/museum space promotes white supremacy. While European architects in the 20th century may have been trying to enforce this sentiment, do you think this still stands true today (or ever)? Some of my classmates agree that this is too far of a stretch, as the school's own museum and other progressive art institutions have white interior walls themselves. Therefore, do you think the lecturers are teaching material that doesn't actually apply to the professional world in architecture, art, and design just to seem morally competent?
They are missing the big picture. What is the provinance of the work on display? How was it acquired? Who actually does it belong to? Is it a true representative sample?
It's a lot easier to criticize the color of a wall than to turn down museum work because of the ethical failings of the client. A whole lot less meaningful too...
Ironically most of them were white. However, the entire theory and history department seemed to agree with this logic when I contacted professors to discuss further.
I have read articles in the past that drew a connection between the rise in white-painted buildings and white things in general equaling "clean," coinciding with other subtle (and not-so-subtle) anti-black, pro-caucasian actions in the 19th and 20th centuries. I was recently looking for those articles but can't find any online.
While I'm sure nobody is painting anything white, including museum interiors, to be racist, there is a connection between "white=good" and "black=dirty/bad" that is pervasive. It doesn't stop me from using white, but as a white American male, it's always worthwhile to inspect our behaviors to see where it may put others at a disadvantage. Call it "woke" in a pejorative way if you want, but to me it's just being aware of others and their plights.
Jul 26, 21 9:08 am ·
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Non Sequitur
But WG.... my office printer has 4 paper drawers and all contain white paper! Certainly this is a ploy by Canon to push a white supramicistical agenda on all us simpletons.
Jul 26, 21 9:23 am ·
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Wood Guy
All I'm saying is that I think it's worth examining things we take for granted, that may hurt others. Joke about it if you want.
The lecturers did argue that painting museum interiors white enforced the notion that white=default. However, they never refuted this concept for today's world, which many students found hypocritical considering the school's own museum contains white interior walls.
I choose to paint a wall in my dinning room dark grey just to display a few of my paintings. Def works better than white. Not sure why tho, but it does.
Jul 26, 21 10:06 am ·
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lower.case.yao
Grey definitely works better because there's usually less of a contrast between the art and the wall. This also works with undershirts, where grey is less conspicuous than white.
As someone who spent most of her life working in galleries, my mom always told me that besides white primer being the least intrusive color to use as a backdrop for art, it's also usually the cheapest option.
Throughout school, I've actually found that the students with the "cleanest" work and backdrop usually use a rich black. Obviously, virtual walls and physical walls will appear much differently, that's just my two cents.
The professors also claimed that the popular use of white canvases in art or in teaching painting promotes white supremacy because it establishes white as standard or default. Thoughts?
Jul 27, 21 1:12 am ·
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Non Sequitur
Idiots. White is easier to cover and likely cheaper.
You ever go look at the data sheets for paint on your projects? All the paint manufacturers are promoting white supremacy by only having information for white bases that colorant then gets added to.
I print my own data sheets and don't tell me what color to print them on.
Jul 27, 21 12:01 pm ·
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Non Sequitur
oh no, archinect's site is mostly white. The horror... they must be complacent in this secretive cabal. That's it, I'm changing my field colour in the specs to hot pink instead of white.
Jul 27, 21 12:04 pm ·
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tduds
Print your final boards on orange stock and they can see how well the colors render.
Since most museum exhibition spaces are windowless maybe white is chosen to 'enlighten' (sorry) the space and remove the 'in-a-bunker' feeling. Just a thought.
There are a significant number of people who view the world through the prisim of literal thinking. These are not woke people. They would think that this thread is filled with insults by liberal elites. This is imo a one joke thread.
One might argue that the association between whiteness and purity, blankness, etc. was an idea that had to be invented, and of course, we know the kind of 19th Century elitists it would have been invented by. Why not black, or gray, or natural material?
I think it's a bigger issue that a place like the MOMA in NYC still has a gallery named after Philip Johnson, who went really far out of his way to help the Nazis.
White Walls in Museums
In a lecture, professors at my design school argued that keeping white walls in a gallery/museum space promotes white supremacy. While European architects in the 20th century may have been trying to enforce this sentiment, do you think this still stands true today (or ever)? Some of my classmates agree that this is too far of a stretch, as the school's own museum and other progressive art institutions have white interior walls themselves. Therefore, do you think the lecturers are teaching material that doesn't actually apply to the professional world in architecture, art, and design just to seem morally competent?
Cookoo cookoo. Hopefully you didn’t pay too much for that bullshit course.
They are missing the big picture. What is the provinance of the work on display? How was it acquired? Who actually does it belong to? Is it a true representative sample?
This.
It's a lot easier to criticize the color of a wall than to turn down museum work because of the ethical failings of the client. A whole lot less meaningful too...
what color are the professors?
Ironically most of them were white. However, the entire theory and history department seemed to agree with this logic when I contacted professors to discuss further.
I have read articles in the past that drew a connection between the rise in white-painted buildings and white things in general equaling "clean," coinciding with other subtle (and not-so-subtle) anti-black, pro-caucasian actions in the 19th and 20th centuries. I was recently looking for those articles but can't find any online.
While I'm sure nobody is painting anything white, including museum interiors, to be racist, there is a connection between "white=good" and "black=dirty/bad" that is pervasive. It doesn't stop me from using white, but as a white American male, it's always worthwhile to inspect our behaviors to see where it may put others at a disadvantage. Call it "woke" in a pejorative way if you want, but to me it's just being aware of others and their plights.
But WG.... my office printer has 4 paper drawers and all contain white paper! Certainly this is a ploy by Canon to push a white supramicistical agenda on all us simpletons.
All I'm saying is that I think it's worth examining things we take for granted, that may hurt others. Joke about it if you want.
^correct WG, hyperbole and slippery slopes work both ways without context, which is missing the op's comment.
The lecturers did argue that painting museum interiors white enforced the notion that white=default. However, they never refuted this concept for today's world, which many students found hypocritical considering the school's own museum contains white interior walls.
Increasingly, architects are finding that gray is a better color to paint walls, the top image is of Gehry's addition to the Weisman.
Grey (seniors) supremacy. I'm good with that.
I choose to paint a wall in my dinning room dark grey just to display a few of my paintings. Def works better than white. Not sure why tho, but it does.
Grey definitely works better because there's usually less of a contrast between the art and the wall. This also works with undershirts, where grey is less conspicuous than white.
The white box is one of the principal failures of small-'m' modernism.
Smells like a troll.
those bloody white suprematist walls and their cubist spaces, I bet they’re straight walls too!
All the denizens of my home are colored, but all the walls are white. Need to color all of them STAT!
white walls are so that white art theives can camouflage. Sneaky white people.
As someone who spent most of her life working in galleries, my mom always told me that besides white primer being the least intrusive color to use as a backdrop for art, it's also usually the cheapest option.
Throughout school, I've actually found that the students with the "cleanest" work and backdrop usually use a rich black. Obviously, virtual walls and physical walls will appear much differently, that's just my two cents.
The professors also claimed that the popular use of white canvases in art or in teaching painting promotes white supremacy because it establishes white as standard or default. Thoughts?
Idiots. White is easier to cover and likely cheaper.
I'm guessing you're not at RISD.
Jar - your prof is a moron.
You ever go look at the data sheets for paint on your projects? All the paint manufacturers are promoting white supremacy by only having information for white bases that colorant then gets added to.
Just look at the white paper those data sheets are printed on!
I print my own data sheets and don't tell me what color to print them on.
oh no, archinect's site is mostly white. The horror... they must be complacent in this secretive cabal. That's it, I'm changing my field colour in the specs to hot pink instead of white.
Print your final boards on orange stock and they can see how well the colors render.
what about the background of this website?
Since most museum exhibition spaces are windowless maybe white is chosen to 'enlighten' (sorry) the space and remove the 'in-a-bunker' feeling. Just a thought.
To be fully woke one must set their all electronic devices to night mode.
Still smells like a troll.
White light is racist. All art must be black light art from here on!
woke af
There are a significant number of people who view the world through the prisim of literal thinking. These are not woke people. They would think that this thread is filled with insults by liberal elites. This is imo a one joke thread.
One might argue that the association between whiteness and purity, blankness, etc. was an idea that had to be invented, and of course, we know the kind of 19th Century elitists it would have been invented by. Why not black, or gray, or natural material?
I think it's a bigger issue that a place like the MOMA in NYC still has a gallery named after Philip Johnson, who went really far out of his way to help the Nazis.
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