Black is defined by an absorption of light, the absence of color. To many, black represents evil, pain and sadness. Part of this can be explained by the negative rap the color has received in popular culture throughout the years, the website TvTropes has even defined “villains wearing the color black” as a trope or common theme throughout media. But I also believe part of this stigma surrounding the color black is embedded in human nature. If black is the absence of light, then it is also the absence of safety. Light reveals the true form of everything, making us feel safe, darkness has the potential to hide threats and therefor makes us nervous. Now, this made since for our ancient ancestors who lived in a eat or be eaten world where the darkness of a cave could easily hide a predator, but in our modern society I believe this fear of the dark, and by extension the color black, is out of place.
Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement, animal control and locks we no longer have to fear tigers lurking in the darkness of our homes. So why not paint our bedrooms black and rock those black T-shirts with black jeans? It is not as if black is a particularly unaesthetic color, in fact my three most popular home designs have featured black as a main color (see an example below). It is a well known fact that the color black can be paired seamlessly with any color, from a fiery red to a pale silver. And well it’s true, black has the ability to hide tigers and mask the identity of murderers, it also has the ability to hide food stains and dirt. I mean, some of the prettiest things in the world are black, Midnight skies, storm clouds, rain soaked roads and little black kittens. So what I’m getting at is, when you’re trying to choose a new outfit or picking a paint color for your living room, don’t automatically exclude black, it might just surprise you.
