Chapter 02 of 5
The Exclusive Abyss
Anish Kapoor’s controversial monopoly and the ethics of color ownership.
- The Monopoly
A Private Void
In 2016, British artist Anish Kapoor secured exclusive rights to use Vantablack for artistic purposes. This meant no other artist on Earth could legally use the substance.
- Industrial Origin
From Space to Studio
Surrey NanoSystems, the creators of Vantablack, originally designed it for satellite shielding and stealth tech. The jump to art was unprecedented.
- Artistic Outcry
The Global Backlash
The art world reacted with fury, arguing that a color—or the lack of one—should belong to the collective human experience, not a single individual.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Why did the manufacturer Surrey NanoSystems initially justify the exclusive license to Anish Kapoor?
⬛ Vantablack and the Battle for the Darkest Hue
- 01A Void in the GalleryThe arrival of Vantablack and the sensory shock of the total abyss.
- 02The Exclusive AbyssAnish Kapoor’s controversial monopoly and the ethics of color ownership.
- 03The Pinkest RetaliationStuart Semple strikes back with a neon protest for the masses.
- 04Democratizing the DarkThe development of Black 3.0 and the open-source pigment revolution.
- 05Legacy of the Color WarHow the Vantablack saga redefined the relationship between art and IP.