Maker Of ‘Blackest Paint’ You Can Buy Legally Changes His Name To ‘Anish Kapoor’
Image via Culture Hustle
Talk about carving a name in the industry! British artist Stuart Semple has taken his long-running rivalry with Anish Kapoor to the next level—by legally changing his name to, well, Anish Kapoor.
More than a prank, this provocative move, finalized in June, is a critique of exclusivity in the art world. Semple has long been outspoken about what he calls “color hoarding,” where individuals or corporations claim sole ownership of specific colors or materials. This act is the latest chapter in the duo’s public feud, which started in 2016 when Kapoor secured exclusive rights to Vantablack, a pigment that absorbs nearly all light.
For those unfamiliar with the saga, it all began with Vantablack—the blackest black, capable of absorbing 99.96% of light. Kapoor’s exclusive hold on this pigment sparked outrage in the art community, particularly with Semple. In response, Semple began releasing his own vibrant colors, but with one catch: Kapoor was explicitly banned from using them. Among Semple’s creations were the “Barbiest pink,” “whitest white,” and the latest Black 4.0, a more accessible alternative to Vantablack, meant for everyone except Kapoor.
Part performance art, part social commentary, the name change saw Semple documenting the entire process on Instagram, posting a video of himself at Bournemouth Crown and County Courts, where he signed the official paperwork to become “Anish Kapoor.”
The procedure was a “super easy” one, Semple shared with Artnet News, requiring only “a few minutes” to complete in the UK.
Image via Stuart Semple
He has since released a limited-edition print titled, I’m not a niche man. I’m Anish, man, signed with his new name and featuring his ultra-black pigment, Black 4.0.
View this post on Instagram
Image via Stuart Semple
Semple’s protests against artistic gatekeeping, under his studio Culture Hustle, span everything from art pigments to digital tools. Besides co-opting trademarked hues to “liberate” shades like ‘TIFF Blue’ and ‘Incredibly Kleinish Blue’ to the masses, he’s also developed ‘Freetone’, an open color palette to counter PANTONE’s proprietary color system. And through a software suite called ‘Abode’, he has taken aim at Adobe’s subscription model, offering alternatives like ONdesign and photoPOP as one-time purchase tools for artists and designers.
[via Hypebeast and Artnet News, images via Stuart Semple / Culture Hustle]
