Chromorama: How Colour Changed Our Way of Seeing

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This book is a wonderful celebration of the impact of colour on our lives , and a reminder that so much of the world we take for granted has had the thoughtful eye of a designer behind it -- Stefanie Posavec, co-author of Dear Data

A book that not only makes the world brighter and more complex, but which sharpens our sense of how that world might look differently and might be made differently. Falcinelli has a luminous appreciation for human creativity, and a passionate and quietly radical sense of the richness of experience possible outside of modern mass-production. Chromorama is a luxurious and immersive work Seán Hewitt, author of All Down Darkness Wide A book that you can hear and taste, read and savour. Ranging widely across ideas and images, it follows in the footsteps of Roland Barthes Il Messaggero Fascinating. A mine of ideas and questions, suppositions and facts. Although Keats mourned the rainbow's unmaking, Falcinelli, in drawing his myriad-hued references together, weaves a different magic into its arc -- Rachel Campbell-Johnston ― The Times A fascinating montage history of the perception, money and technology behind colour, running across the spectrum all the way from dragon's blood to E120 Owen Hatherley, author of Trans-Europe Express The Italian colour bible- a gorgeously illustrated exploration of colour and the modern gaze, from an award-winning designerIn Chromorama, acclaimed graphic designer Riccardo Falcinelli delves deep into the history of colour to show how it has shaped the modern gaze. Dazzlingly beautiful. . . A covetable book, perfectly designed, filled with enchanting images and stories. Falcinelli answers an essential question: what are books for? To remind us that nothing is fixed. Tastes, rules, prohibitions. . . everything changes La Repubblica Fascinating. A mine of ideas and questions, suppositions and facts. Although Keats mourned the rainbow's unmaking, Falcinelli, in drawing his myriad-hued references together, weaves a different magic into its arc Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times Falcinelli is an esteemed graphic designer and the book has been a success in Italy; it covers a rich subject, familiar to all but so little understood outside a few specialisms that it has endless capacity to surprise. . . The elegant integration of text and images calls to mind John Berger's 1972 Ways of Seeing Literary Review CHRONORAMA” represents both the passing of time and the images that remain of it by bringing together the work of more than 150 international artists including Edward Steichen, Berenice Abbott, Cecil Beaton, Lee Miller, André Kertész, Horst P. Horst, Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, and Helmut Newton, among others, as well as the illustrators Eduardo Garcia Benito, Helen Dryden, and George Wolfe Plank. Among the foremost talents of their generation, they have shaped the photographic and artistic aesthetics of their time through the publication of their work in the various Condé Nast publications, including Vogue, Vanity Fair, House & Garden, Glamour and GQ. Portraits of famous actors and actresses and important figures of the 20th century are interspersed with fashion photography, photojournalism, photographs of architecture, still lifes, and documentary photography.

Since the mid-1850s when Adolphe Braun published what is considered to be the first book on fashion photography, this glamorous world has stolen the heart of photographers, stylists, models, set designers and lighting technicians. Unlike lots of photographic genres, fashion photography is highly collaborative and offers the chance to work with other creatives who bring their own artistic flair. It's high-pressure and chaotic but it's also charismatic and completely magical when it all comes together. One of the best books on colour I've read. A layered tapestry of stories, insights and ideas, each beautifully and clearly written. I expected to read about things I already knew about, but it kept surprising me in its twists and turns. For anyone interested in colour, it's a must. Marion Deuchars, author of Let's Make Some Great Art One of the best books on colour I've read. A layered tapestry of stories, insights and ideas, each beautifully and clearly written. I expected to read about things I already knew about, but it kept surprising me in its twists and turns. For anyone interested in colour, it's a must. -- Marion Deuchars, author of Let's Make Some Great Art One of the most important graphic designers in Italy, Falcinelli takes us on a journey to discover the meaning of colour. With four hundred images featuring comics and architecture, movies and everyday objects, he tells the story of why we understand colour the way we do Il Libraio

Completely fascinating . . . I had no idea I knew so little about colour, Chromorama explodes the myths and fills in the blanks. A wonderful book. Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 6 I mention this to explain that I approached Riccardo Falcinelli’s Chromorama with very high expectations. Falcinelli is an esteemed graphic designer and the book has been a success in Italy; it covers a rich subject, familiar to all but so little understood outside a few specialisms that it has endless capacity to surprise. When graphic designer and educator Riccardo Falcinelli started out writing his comprehensive book on colour, Chromorama, he’d intended it to be for students – namely, the sort of design and visual perception students he teaches at ISIA Faculty of Design in Rome. What he hadn’t expected was the runaway success of the book: it turned out it appealed to a far wider audience, and he found himself not only selling a tonne of copies, but appearing on Italian radio and TV. CHRONORAMA’ is, at a time when millions of images are produced every minute and instantly shared, of definite importance in its role of transmission to this and future generations. The exhibition, presented by the Pinault Collection, focuses on the prolific culture of photography in the last century, before the advent of digital technology.” “Awakening from a strange dream with the feeling of having crossed through time in a night or a single moment; having seen and lived an epic voyage through different ages, we are faced with this great flux of images, like a kaleidoscopic vision of a journey through a bygone era. This is the sensation which endures after experiencing ‘CHRONORAMA’.” This is how the curator Matthieu Humery introduces the exhibition. Falcinelli is an esteemed graphic designer and the book has been a success in Italy; it covers a rich subject, familiar to all but so little understood outside a few specialisms that it has endless capacity to surprise. . . The elegant integration of text and images calls to mind John Berger's 1972 Ways of Seeing ― Literary Review

Completely fascinating . . . I had no idea I knew so little about colour, Chromorama explodes the myths and fills in the blanks. A wonderful book . -- Lauren Laverne ― BBC Radio 6 Beautifully designed, deeply researched, and written with warmth and wit, Chromoroma is an engrossing account of shade and light, of tone and hue, of dyes, pigments, and pixels. It is the story of why we now see the world the way we do. The Italian colour bible: a gorgeously illustrated exploration of colour and the modern gaze, from an award-winning designer The Italian colour bible: a gorgeously illustrated exploration of colour and the modern gaze, from an award-winning designer. Brilliant. Chromorama looks at the history of colour in an accessible, innovative and very human way Creative ReviewDazzlingly beautiful. . . A covetable book, perfectly designed, filled with enchanting images and stories. Falcinelli answers an essential question: what are books for? To remind us that nothing is fixed. Tastes, rules, prohibitions. . . everything changes ― La Repubblica