OK, I have to admit, I’ve got it a little bit longer then today :) but it’s only recently in the press (lots of Stuart Semple interviews), and I really didn’t had the time to write.
So it arrived, Black 2.0! Stuart Semple used the feedback he received from artists all over the world to improve his Black 1.0 beta, and came with a better, darker, blacker black.
It’s a pre-mixed bottle this time, and his mail said it’s the most pigmented, flattest, mattest, black acrylic paint in the world.
I did some tests the minute my package arrived: made it from the front door to my studio in 0.5 seconds ;-).
No comprehensive report this time, instead I made a little movie about a black rabbit:
So, Black 2.0, is it really a better black?
Where we come from:
- We had Black 1.0 Beta: pigment + SuperBase = more black / more matte then all other black paints “normal” human beings can buy. But it was not black enough.
- my experiment SuperBase + ivory black pigment = more black then 1
- my own black pigment (I’ll talk about that later) + SuperBase = a little bit more black then 2
- Now we’ve got Black 2.0, and it is … more black / more darken then my black!
So yes, Black 2.0 is a better black.
But, I wouldn’t be myself if I leave it at that, so I can already tell you that - Black 2.0 + my own pigment = even a little bit more black :)
But do we have a “Vantablack” for everyone? A black that absorbs 99,6% of all the light? No. But we do have a black that’s much more black then everything we had before. And this is just a plain acrylic paint, everyone can use it. Except for Anish Kapoor, of course.
Surey NanoSystems also came “on the market” (sarcastic giggle) with some kind of “Vantablack 2.0”: VBx1. It’s a spray. I have to say: impressive movies on YouTube.
Frederik De Wilde
But the most important of all questions at this moment is: how’s Frederik De Wilde doing? I remember some press articles years ago about a Belgian artist who invented the Blackest Black, in cooperation with Nasa. They invented the nano tubes, if I’m correct.
So when I first heard about the Anish Kapoor versus Stuart Semple saga, I supposed he worked for/with Surray NanoSystems.
Well, no. SurrayWhatever probably used knowledge of the scientist who worked with Frederik De Wilde. And his NANOblack, is, word say, more black then Vantablack.
Personally, I like the artworks made by Frederik De Wilde also a lot more then that watch of HeWhoDoesntWantToShareHisBlack.
So it’s time to give this man some honour: Frederik De Wilde.
You can read an interview with him about his black on Dazed
His website: http://frederik-de-wilde.com
Stuart Semple
is the British artist who launched Black 2.0, the blackest black for everyone (except for Anish Kapoor). You can find the interviews I was talking about are here:
- http://stuartsemple.com/xoxo-mag-black-saga-full-unedited-interview/
- https://www.format.com/magazine/features/art/anish-kapoor-stuart-semple-vantablack-blackest-black
- http://www.wmagazine.com/story/anish-kapoor-stuart-semple-blackest-black
- http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/03/someones-made-the-blackest-black-even-blacker-to-be-as-petty-as-possible-6551429/
But how is it in reality, that new black?
I’m afraid you have to see that for yourself… so you’ll have to wait for my next solo exhibition :-p.
Or you can come over and have a look in my studio: that’s possible, if you make an appointment first.
