{"title":"BLUSH : Sold Pieces","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eIs pink the most controversial colour?…it certainly arouses an opinion.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eAt one end of it’s spectrum you have the strident shades associated with Barbara Cartland and Barbie, in the middle the soft corals and duskies beloved of high end paint brands, through to the faintest hint of a tint of blush of a newly opened Madame Hardy rose.  There is vivacity, joyousness and tenderness to this colour.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eThere is also a whiff of naughtiness about pink - think bubble gum, candy floss or blow up dolls - something of the boudoir about it, possibly rooted in the salon of that fashion icon Madame de Pompadour, turning what was a gender neutral colour at the time into her very own - Rococo Barbie turning her whole world rose. Pink to make the boys and girls wink.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eThere is no other colour which has flip flopped so much between the sexes as one to represent them.  Pink seems so firmly set as the colour for girls now that it seems hard to imagine that it was, until the mid twentieth century, the colour for boys, derived as it was from red, the strong manly military hue. Girls in blue as a nod to the colour used for the Virgin Mary - delicate, calm, sweet and demure. Yet no other colour has been taken up so many times to subvert the ‘norm’ when it needed subverting - think pink punk mohicans in the 1970s, the pink pound and the Pink Movement in the Philippines now.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eIn fashion, when Elsa Schiaparelli launched her signature perfume and the colour Shocking Pink in 1937, she called it ‘impudent’ and ‘life giving’, a brave new magenta tone with plenty of wow which was an immediate sensation.  And surely one thinks of Marilyn Monroe singing Diamonds Are Girls Best Friend in the 1953 classic Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in that show stopping dress which is one of the most iconic costumes in movie history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eIn art we can revel in the glory of such extravagant pink luxury as the The Swing by Fragonard  (1767), enjoy the more reflective work of Picasso’s Rose Period of 1904-1906, and if you want to see pure joy in a painting look up the pink paintings of Mark Rothko from the mid 1950s.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eThe cultural shifts of the mid 1970s saw pink once again adopted by the anti-establishment movement of the streets - the black and pink hair and clothes of the punks, the iconic LP cover of London Calling by The Clash (1979) with pink and green lettering on a black and white photo, and then the first copy of i-D magazine of 1980, that ground breaking zine for championing real people, was in landscape format with a black base and very bold bright pink lettering.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003ePersonally I love pink - to me it brings joy, it is happy and positive and makes me smile. The strident pink of the Red Campions in the hedgerows right now are a thing of true beauty that gladden my heart.  I want pink in my garden, all over my garden in the form of soft Roses, pastel Peonies, dazzling Dahlias and eye popping Lychnis and I want it in my home as an eye catching softener.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003eSo if you have a penchant for pink this is the show for you - come and delight in the good feeling vibes of this wonderful life affirming colour.  And if you don’t, come anyway and spare my blushes!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","products":[],"url":"https:\/\/studiocennen.com\/collections\/blush-sold-pieces.oembed","provider":"Studio Cennen","version":"1.0","type":"link"}