BLACK 2.0

dolmadis · Post by **dolmadis** » Sat Apr 01, 2017 2:12 pm

Might be of interest.

https://culturehustle.com/collections/f ... t-material

BR

John

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Apr 01, 2017 2:34 pm

Definitely interesting.

On a side note, I was intrigued by the advertisement's treatment of some entity named "Anish Kapoor":

*Note: By adding this product to your cart you confirm that you are not Anish Kapoor, you are in no way affiliated to Anish Kapoor, you are not purchasing this item on behalf of Anish Kapoor or an associate of Anish Kapoor. To the best of your knowledge, information and belief this material will not make it's way into the hands of Anish Kapoor.

#ShareTheBlack

until I searched and found this article: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/anish ... hts-436610.

All that said, I'm still thinking this is April 1, and there might be a coincidence...

Edited to add: I checked the internet archive WayBack Machine, and found that a page for V1.0 of this product had been captured on 20 Feb 17. So, apparently it's not an April Fools' Day joke, or if it is, it's quite a bit more elaborate than most.

--Rik

Beatsy · Post by **Beatsy** » Sat Apr 01, 2017 2:42 pm

Oooh! I wonder how black it is when hit with incident light at a low, grazing angle? Only one way to find out...

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sat Apr 01, 2017 3:53 pm

Anish Kapoor did a scrap-iron "art" thing at the 2012 Olympic site in London.

He has some rights over a paint containing something like carbon nanotubes, it seems:
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/02/anish ... k-pigment/

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Sat Apr 01, 2017 4:48 pm

And it smells like Black Cherry!

siliconGary · Post by **siliconGary** » Sat Apr 01, 2017 5:50 pm

Don't you hate it when you are not sure if you've been April Fooled? There is a wikipedia entry for VantaBlack that references the Anish Kapoor issue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack
So I am thinking it's legit.

Chris S. · Post by **Chris S.** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:50 am

John, thanks for sharing this!

For some time, I've been looking for a very-very black, non-reflective "paint" for macro-subject substrates, with several photographic goals in mind. This product seems to potentially be just that. So I've ordered a tube, and look forward to trying it.

Regarding the information Rik turned up about Anish Kapoor: This fellow comes off as jerk-ball of the first order. Unless he presents information to the contrary, I'll despise him.

--Chris S.

Beatsy · Post by **Beatsy** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:59 am

Ditto on every point. Plus I'm going to try it as a flocking substitute (but with limited expectations).

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 4:53 am

Chris and Beatsy, I hope you'll report on the results. (And do tell us if it really smells like Black Cherry...)

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 5:45 am

I think the smell would be the solvent ?:)
If this is something like I suspect - carbon nanotubes or a graphene product, then it's been around for a while uninfluenced by the antics of an irrelevant architect.
It has been expensive, though. I've seen apparently similar stuff on the inside of chambers used in physics experiments at the NPL.
I've delayed ordering until I hear that the product is in stock, and I asked about the "medium".

nathanm · Post by **nathanm** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 6:57 pm

Vanta Black is a real product. It is similar to Acktar Black which I just posted on in a different thread. It may or may not be better than Acktar. Each of these places like to say they have the "blackest" material in the world.

https://www.acktar-store.com/store/stra ... kit-mv236/

I have used Acktar and it is good. There is some sheen for low angle grazing reflection, but that is always a problem.

Vanta black does have some exclusive deal for art. It is also export controlled from the UK, presumably due to defense uses.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:31 pm

Cultrehustle said Black 2.0 is "awaiting delivery" to them, by the way.

Beatsy · Post by **Beatsy** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:22 am

My bottle of Black 2.0 arrived this morning. I haven't time to do proper testing today but curiosity and impatience had me paint a few small swatches onto a piece of black card. Initial impressions...

1. It's not dead black - more a very deep charcoal grey - somewhat as expected.
2. But - it is *extremely* matt, particularly at a low angle of incidence. It appears to show less low-incidence reflection than proper flocking paper!!!
3. It is sensitive to application technique. A bit less matt if you overbrush too much, or apply too thickly or thinly.
4. A second coat improves the "mattness" - multiple thin(ned) coats may do better
5. It takes a while to achieve full "mattness" - and may improve further as it dries more. This sample only had a couple of hours drying

I applied the paint by brush, straight from the container. It is very thick as supplied (about the same as an average oil paint) and can be thinned with water to practically any degree (down to thin as ink).

I'll paint some better and more varied test swatches tonight, along with a few other materials for comparison and post results/pics tomorrow.

So far though, as a flocking substitute, I'd say it looks *very* promising indeed!

Edit: Forgot to add. Yes, it does smell a bit like black cherry. I'd describe it as smelling more like Vimto, but not sure if that's available anywhere other than here (UK).

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:28 am

What I really want to know is whether it smells like black cherry.

Beatsy · Post by **Beatsy** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 5:34 am

Lou Jost wrote:What I really want to know is whether it smells like black cherry.

It does