Product Description

A meditation on the colour spectrum by the painter, poet and film-maker, Derek Jarman. He explains the use of colour in medieval painting through the Renaissance to the modernists. It also discusses the meaning of colour in literature, science, philosophy, psychology, religion and alchemy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82354 in Books
• Published on: 1995-01-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Derek Jarman's creativity spanned decades and genres - painter, theatre designer, director, film maker, writer and gardener.
From his first one-man show at the Lisson Gallery in 1969; set designs and costumes for the theatre and ballet (Jazz Calendar with Frederick Ashton at Covent Garden, Don Giovanni with John Gielgud at the London Coliseum, The Rake's Progress with Ken Russell at Teatro Communale, Florence); production design for Ken Russell's films The Devils and Savage Messiah; through his own films in super-8 before working on features: Sebastine (1976), Jubilee (1978), The Tempest (1979), The Angelic Conversation (1985), Caravaggio (1986), The Last of England (1987), War Requiem (1989), The Garden (1990), Edward II (1991), Wittgenstein (1993), and Blue (1993); to directing pop-videos and live performances for Pet Shop Boys and Suede.
His paintings - for which he was a Turner Prize nominee in 1986 - have been exhibited world-wide.
His garden surrounding the fisherman's cottage in Dungeness where he spent the last years of his life remains a site of awe and pilgrimage to fans and newcomers to Jarman's singular vision.
His publications include: Dancing Ledge (1984), Kicking the Pricks (1987), Modern Nature (1991), At Your Own Risk (1992), Chroma (1994), Derek Jarman's Garden (1995).

Customer Reviews

This book acts as a testament to the magican that Jarman was
Having read "derek jarman's garden" I felt that I needed to find out more about this man who's integrity was absolute, and above all, who's humanity beamed out of all that the touched. So I read "Chroma". This work is poiniant in the extreme when you concider that not only was Jarman's health fast deteriorating, but that as a result of the AIDS virus, he was going blind.

Here, in thuis book, we see Jarman concider the nature of each colour of the spectrum (including brown) by means of drifting freely in and out of quotes from various figures in history. This book is nothing if not well researched! In this respect Jarman shows us what he sees in terms of the resonance of Colour. It is moving.

The chapter on blue is taken from his greatest film, "Blue". It acts as testament to the man,and to his abiding humanity.

Buy this book, and learn from one of Britain's most humane of intects!

Chroma By Derek Jarman
Chroma, although being one of Jarmans lesser known books is an essential read for those people who want to learn about the style and content of Jarmans films and paintings.

The book takes a series of small chapters writen over the final years of the directors life and reflects on the history and importance of colours in art and nature, shot through with the usual Jarman humor and very intensive research into subject.

As someone who is deeply interested in the life of Jarman, Chroma was abook that gave me just that little bit more of an insight in to the world of one of the UK's best film makers of the late 80's - early 90's.