Back in December I went to see the exhibition "Colour" at the
Design Museum
in Holon. The exhibition explored the subject of colour from a variety of
perspectives: how we understand, perceive, and interpret colour, how it affects
objects, and how a specific colour becomes associated with a value, product, or
abstract concept. It showcased the works of some 30 Israeli designers from
various design disciplines: product design, textile design, visual
communication, fashion, and illustration. Most of the pieces were specially
created for the exhibition and were being displayed for the first time.
The lower gallery of the museum featured projects concerned with colour as a
material, exploring how it comes into being by means of both innovative and
traditional technologies. The upper gallery showcased works that demonstrated
how surroundings and experiences are created using colours.
The most interesting part of the exhibition for me was in the museum's
peripheral gallery. Displays explored colour trends and the historical and
cultural reasons for choosing a certain colour to represent a particular idea.
I learnt about the 17 different colours of berets that Israel Defence
Forces (IDF) soldiers wear and the reasons the colours were chosen, above.
Initially, most soldiers wore olive-green berets. Over time, however,
different colours came to be identified with different military corps and
brigades. For instance, the colour red was chosen for the berets worn by
paratroopers, since it is identified with paratrooper units worldwide; brown
is the colour of the berets worn by
Golani soldiers,
representing a connection to the earth and to roots; the green colour of the
Nahal
beret represents the brigade's affinity with agriculture and settlement
building; until 2000, the artillery corps wore black berets. It was then
decided to change the colour to turquoise, symbolizing the sky that the
artillery passes through, and thus strengthening the soldiers' sense of pride.
And what about the purple beret worn by
Givati
soldiers? The Hebrew word for purple,
sagol, is associated with violet
flowers,
sigaliyot (violets). It is also related to the brigade's
motto, which contains the word
segula (select, chosen), sharing same
root with the word
sagol.
Another display showed pigments produced from soil samples from the
Ramon Crater mixed into white clay, above, highlighting the crater's profusion of
natural earth tones, which vary from intense orange to deep purple.
The team colours of the Israeli football clubs have relevance too. The
colour red has been identified with
Hapoel Tel Aviv since its
foundation in 1926, above. The club's crest features a figure throwing an
iron ball alongside the Soviet hammer and sickle, which represented the
working class. The blood shed as part of the struggle for workers' rights
was symbolized by the colour red as a representation of self-sacrifice,
courage, rebellion and freedom. By contrast, the yellow colour of
the
Maccabi Tel Aviv
kit came to be associated with the team only in 1942, when it was chosen
as a means of identification with the European Jews persecuted by the
Nazis and forced to wear the Yellow Star.
The Flag of all Flags project, above, was displayed at the entrance to the
museum's upper gallery. The flag is a composition of various flat shapes,
symbols and colours that forms one playful and vibrant flag - a flag of visual
optimism. Recognizing how flags are often used for bad purposes, generating an
"us vs. them" sentiment, this flag was created aims to unite rather than
divide. It has a little bit of everything in it!
.jpg)
.png)
