At the onset of the darkness of winter, the oranges and reds of autumn give way to deeper winter tones of violet and blue. As the skies are darker with less sunshine, the earth takes on the darker hue of winter’s majesty.
Like the sleepy, misty time of year that produces its rays, violet is the color ray of intuition, dreams, nobility and luxury. As the color ray of influence that begins the cycle of life once again, violet is one of the most powerful rays of nature. Also, it withholds the highest vibration on the visible spectrum.
This color contains energy and strength of red and with the spirituality and integrity of blue. This is the union of body and soul creating a balance between our physical and our spiritual energies.
The color of the year for 2018 is Ultra Violet, according to the Pantone Color Institute, a consulting company that each year chooses a color that symbolizes design trends and cultural mood.
Every year, the self proclaimed color authority of the Pantone Color Institute sends color experts to trot the globe for research and analyses of design, film, food, fashion, art and entertainment, as well as materials, travel, sports and technology, to arrive at the color of the year. This year, it has been declared Pantone 18-3838 TCX, also known as Ultra Violet.
“It’s the most complex of all colors, because it takes two shades that are seemingly diametrically opposed- blue and red- and brings them together to create something new,” said Leatrice Eiseman told The New York Times.
Body World: Gunther von Hagens’ show taps into a macabre fascination with our own anatomy, and plays into this trend’s visceral edge.
In WGSN’s A/W 18-19 theme Dark Wonder, violet was highlighted in the color palette, which had an emphasis in virtual reality and science fiction, when used in a modern way, violet works well across all product areas.
Bjork’s immersive and engaging exhibition and tour features VR technology, panoramic displays and a cutting-edge sound system.
This exhibition of crystal-shaped resin sculptures for Laboratory Perfume’s scents interprets fragrances in physical forms.
Oefner offers a microscopic study of light refraction as it forms iridescent compositions when oil reacts to water.
Violet is the color of the imagination and spirituality, it stimulates the imagination and inspires high ideals. It is an introspective color, allowing us to get in touch with our deeper thoughts. The color violet relates to the fantasy world, and a need to escape from the practicalities of life. It is the daydreamer escaping from reality. “There’s still a passionate heat from enough red undertones, and a touch of periwinkle, but its really the cool that prevails” (Laurie Pressman, Vice President of Pantone Color Institute.) Violet assists those who seek the meaning of life and spiritual fulfillment- it expands our awareness, connecting us to a higher consciousness. For this reason, it is associated with transformation of the soul and the philosophers of the world are often attracted to it.
Historically, the color violet has been highly valued with its association of wealth and power and royalty. In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I of England had restricted to only close relatives of the royal family to wear violet/purple. In 1856, the British chemist named William Henry Perkin made the color more accessible to commoners. When he patented a process for synthetic purple, which was achieved as he was trying to concoct a treatment for Malaria. Of ancient times, coveted purple dye was made from the mucus of sea snails in the Phoenician city of Tyre.
*** The color has a history that has shifted over the decades.
It played a role in logos used by Women’s Suffrage Movement of the early 1900’s in Britain, lent a flash to the flappers in the 1920’s and has popped in paintings through history, from the work of Gustav Klimt to Bauhaus modernists such as Wassily Kandiskyand on to Keith Haring and Andy Warhol.
Richard Wagner surrounded himself with purple, when he composed and Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that meditation and prayer were “10 times more powerful if done while sitting in the violet light, shining through a stained glass window.” Fast forward to Jimi Hendrix and his Purple Haze, the penultimate song he played in concert on September 6, 1970 days before his death. The purple choice, a la Prince and glam rock of David Bowie- both of whom died in 2016- speaks to rebellion, finding new ways to interpret our lives and surroundings, Pressman said. It also speaks to the pleasing calm of Provence and its purple flower fields.
Well, there are mediation and yoga studios, some of which rely on violet light that some believe has a power to heal. A company in the United Kingdom has come up with a shower-head fitted with the same hue of light that turns bathing into violet rain. There’s an embrace of purple cauliflower and sweet potato, joining eggplant and purple-colored cocktails.
The 2018 color of the year follows 2017’s “Greenery,” a grassy fresh, revitalizing shade that reflected new beginnings.
One the other hand, Ultra Violet is an invitation to many who practice mindfulness, the movement that trains your mind for the present moment. This spiritual movement is fond of this color, which is connected with meditation and the crown chakra.
Amethyst is a natural tranquiler, it relieves stress and strain, soothes irritability, balances mood swings, dispels anger, rage, fear and anxiety. This crystal has strong metaphysical healing properties and cleansing powers.
Amethyst is a powerful and protective stone. It guards against psychic attack, transmuting the energy into love and protecting wearer from all types of harm including geopathic or electromagnetic stress and ill wishes from others. This stone represents the elements of air and water.
From a color psychology perspective, violet promotes harmony of the mind and the emotions contributing to mental balance and stability, peace of mind, a link between spiritual and the physical worlds, between thought and activity. Violet supports the practice of meditation.
In feng shui, violet is for inspiration and creativity, but should be used in moderation though. It is a very strong, high vibration color, the color of connection onto the spiritual realms. A focal point violet wall color, a large violet rug, or several big pieces of furniture are not ideal feng shui in home. Unless, under the fire element and wood energy in Bagua Template, which it thrives because violet is the highest expression of these elements. ( Guas- South, Southwest, Center, and Northeast of space)
Specifically violet is the color ray of following your heart, inspiration, intuition, and music.
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute, said: “We are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination. It is this kind of creative inspiration that is indigenous to Pantone 18-3838 TCX- Ultra Violet, a blue-based purple that takes our awareness and potential to a higher level.”
the clementina project 