March 5 – March 24, 2013  |  Spencer Museum of Art

 

Color was a critical element in ancient and medieval East Asian life and thought. In contrast to Western thought—in which color has been associated with light at least since the time of Aristotle—ancient and medieval East Asian beliefs suggested that the primary colors were earth-bound, associated with specific plant or mineral substances. Many of these materials were also potent medicines, toxins or primary ingredients in Daoist elixirs of immortality. The idea that these colors shared the transformative powers associated with the substance from which they originated—that they possessed a life-force or energy of their own—permeated early religious, political, and social thought and practices. 

 

– Mary Dusenbary, Spencer Museum of Art Research Curator

 

This brochure served as a reference for the exhibition as well as the international symposium, Color in Ancient and Medieval East Asia. This short run of brochures was a highly collaborative endeavour between Mary Dusenbary, scientists, artists, and myself.