YANSE: Culture and Color

 

The YANSE project attempts to document the phenomenon of color from a variety of perspectives. Above all, it seeks to examine the cultural significance of color alongside different theories and opinions. 

 

The articles on color theories and concepts are based on various sources and personal experiences. Regarding Chinese color theory, Ten Lectures on Chinese Color History by Xiao Shimeng provides an interesting overview. Other cultures, particularly Egyptian, Islamic, Persian, and Indian ones, are only briefly mentioned and require further exploration. Regarding Western ideas, the main sources are the color theories of Wilhelm Ostwald and Aegidius Müller, as well as the didactic approaches of Josef Albers and Johannes Itten. Equally important are the publications of Karl Gerstner (1930–2017), particularly Die Formen der Farbe (The Forms of Color) and Der Geist der Farbe (The Spirit of Color).

 

Another fundamental source is Narcisio Silvestrini's magnificent work, "Idee Farbe" (The Idea of Color), from 1986, which documents the history and development of color theories in different cultures.

 

Peter Vetter and XI Li developed the project for the Shenzhen International School of Design (SISD/HIT) in Shenzhen, China, in 2024.