What Do Artists Argue About?
Not an Art Student, 1st grade
Art feuds usually don’t make it out of the art world. That’s why the war between Anish Kapoor and Stuart Semple is so unusual. It was a petty drama so people on the internet absolutely loved it.
It all started in 2017. I think everyone heard of Vantablack – „the blackest black“ to ever exist, so black it can be painted over diamonds. Anish Kapoor bought it, which made him the only person in the world who is entitled to using it. Artists from all over the globe were outraged. It didn‘t help that Kapoor had already been known for being very arrogant He is one of the wealthiest artists in the world, has over 110 000 followers on Instagram and, as Semple once said, „doesn’t write back to anybody“.
Stuart had been making his own pigments for years and finally decided on releasing one as an act of rebellion. „The World’s Pinkest Pink“ is an ultra-bright pink paint which creates a strong fluorescent effect and costs only £3,99 (a little over 20 zlotys). It is available on his website to everyone who is not Anish Kapoor or his associate, who is in no way affiliated to Anish Kapoor, who is not purchasing the pigment on behalf of Anish Kapoor and to the best of whose knowledge this paint will not make its way into the hands of Anish Kapoor. That’s how this war started.
Unfortunately, one of Kapoor’s London representatives violated the terms. Anish posted a photo on Instagram of his middle finger dipped in pink pigment with a vulgar caption „Up yours. #pink“. As a response, Semple made two new paints. One of them, called „Diamond Dust“, is one of the most reflective glitters. It’s made of glass so it would probably hurt to shove your finger in it (good luck with that Anish). The second pigment is named „Black 2.0“ and it’s black. Just black. It isn’t as dark as Vantablack but there’s nearly no difference to the human eye. It’s relatively cheap (£11,9 for 150 ml), non-toxic and smells like cherries. Vantablack, on the other hand, needs to be used in laboratory, is highly toxic, can’t be moved across borders and can be potentially explosive. It also costs thousands of dollars and, on top of that, only Anish Kapoor can use it.
Everybody thought that would put an end to the quarrel. But it didn’t. Threats of a lawsuit (which was never filed), two more pigments from Semple in spite of Anish’s behaviour and multiple events involving painting Kapoor’s statue „Cloud Gate“ in Chicago. The „nemesis“ trope just wouldn’t stop.
At the beginning of 2018, Stuart released a pigment called „Lit“. It is „the world’s glowiest of glowing pigments“ and the lightest of the light. Every other paint by Semple is not available for Kapoor but this one, as Semple’s website states. „If you are Anish Kapoor, you can prove you are associated with Anish Kapoor or, to the best of your knowledge, this substance is going to make its way into the hands of Anish Kapoor, your order will be free! We want you to know how lovely it feels to #shareTheLight“ and maybe it sounds rather petty of Semple but I would like to think about it as character development.
The quarrel wasn’t really about pigments. It was about what art is supposed to be about. Stuart Semple and Anish Kapoor represent two different worlds of art. Anish, as it was already said, represents the privileged, the elites, the chosen few and used it to deprive others of what he wanted to have just for himself. He stands for everything the internauts call „art world gone wrong“. Stuart is an opposite of that. For all we know, he lives frugally. He barely makes any money on his pigments. He makes them only so that he can give people something nice. And to spite Anish.