Charles A. , II Riley: Color Codes

At the outset of this scholarly work, Riley (English, Baruch Coll., CUNY) states: "The first thing to realize about the study of color in our time is its uncanny ability to evade all attempts to codify it systematically." In six intricate essays, the author discusses uses of color by the foremost contemporary artists, composers, philosophers, authors, architects, and psychologists. Excerpts from the writings of such proponents of modernism as Barthes, Derrida, Kandinsky, Stella, Schoenberg, Messiaen, Le Corbusier, Joyce, Pynchon, and Jung, combined with Riley's impressively wide-ranging knowledge, demonstrate the unique and varied perceptions in the field. Throughout, Riley urges his readers to explore the elusive mysteries and powers of color, though the book requires a degree of familiarity with the cited artists and thinkers. Recommended primarily for academic libraries.
Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago