Image title: Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement
Medium: Tempera on wood
Date: ca. 1440
Source:
The Met Collection
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Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, ‘Make me feel important.’ Never forget this message when working with people.
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— Mary Kay Ash
Ultrablack Mirror: Artists Working with Vantablack and Beyond
The Lure of Darkness: Why Artists Seek the Blackest Black
From the cave walls of Lascaux to the void-like minimalism of 20th-century abstraction, black has always been more than just a color—it is a symbol: of absence, mystery, eternity, authority, rebellion. Artists throughout history have been intoxicated by its evocative power, seeking ever deeper shades to convey existential truths or spiritual silence. But in recent years, thanks to scientific advancements in nanotechnology, artists have begun to work with materials that go even further than traditional pigment—materials that essentially erase the surface, absorbing over 99.9% of visible light. Chief among these is Vantablack, a substance so black that it causes physical and perceptual disorientation. This blog explores how contemporary artists harness these ultra-dark materials, examining the technological breakthroughs, aesthetic implications, and even bitter disputes that surround these obsidian artworks.
From Canvas to Singularity: Black in Art History
Black pigments have long played a powerful role in visual art, from the carbon blacks used in ancient Egyptian tombs to the monochromatic experiments of Kazimir Malevich, who in 1915 painted his now-famous ‘Black Square’ as a metaphysical void. Later, American artist Ad Reinhardt pursued what he called “the last painting” through nearly black compositions that flirted with total abstraction. Yves Klein, in mid-20th-century France, turned to International Klein Blue, but also experimented with pure monochrome black that he saw as embodying the “void.” These historical examples show a consistent artistic fascination with stripping down visual elements to their most essential forms—an impulse that finds new tools in the materials of the 21st century.
Enter Vantablack: Science Meets Perception
The leap from pigment to Vantablack marked an extraordinary confluence of science and art. Developed by Surrey NanoSystems in 2014 for military and aerospace use, Vantablack is not paint but a forest of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. When light hits the surface, instead of reflecting back, it becomes trapped in the microscopic maze and is absorbed. The effect is dramatic: shapes disappear into an uncanny void, light and form seem distorted, and the object appears flattened or engulfed in visual nothingness. The technology enchanted the art world for its potential—but also incited fierce controversy over its exclusivity, particularly when British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor secured exclusive artistic rights to use it.
The Vantablack Controversy: Ownership and Access in the Art World
When Kapoor obtained exclusive artistic rights to Vantablack, many in the artistic community were outraged. Critics argued that the commodification of a breakthrough material by a single artist undermined the collaborative nature of art and science. In response, artists like Stuart Semple launched defiant counter-projects. Semple released “the world’s pinkest pink,
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