Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

Architecture – the art of building – is the most prevalent form of public art, therefore, architectural painting is the most widespread and influential mode of painting. However, since architecture is not commonly perceived as art, architectural painting is relegated to a utilitarian role, as proven by my decade-long empirical research in this field. This paradigm ignores that humans receive 90% of information visually, hence, color in its monolithic architectural expanse has a profound effect on our psychology and aesthetics. Historically, painter-decorators hand-mixed and -painted buildings, while murals were an interdisciplinary link between fine arts and architecture, lending architectural painting an essential role in the development of local visual culture and nation-building. The purpose of this paper is thus to redefine architectural painting as a form of public art, cultural heritage, and conveyor of collective memory and national visual identity, which has quickly begun to vanish due to globalization. For this, I researched the building regulations of over 30 countries to assess how architectural color is approached in urban planning, ranging from no regulations to local administrations determining the colorways of entire cities according to research-determined traditional color schemes. To further understand why architectural color is undervalued, I studied the current politics and history of chromophobia, as well as architects’ preference of form over color and anti-artistic market interests creating palatably monochromatic architecture. These findings suggest we need more political and community intervention to return to human-centered design and revive architectural color as public art which enlivens our communal spaces.