害羞草研究所淚 think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don害羞草研究所檛 notice it,害羞草研究所� Shug tells Celie in Alice Walker害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淭he Color Purple.害羞草研究所�

In nature, among the , as a symbol of independence, pride and magic, purple is weighty in history and culture. Now, with the Christmas Day opening of based on Walker害羞草研究所檚 1982 book, purple takes a seat at the box office after the and all things pink.

Consider it a many-layered cultural counterpart to its frothier cousin.

Power, ambition, luxury. Purple reflects them all. It also expresses creativity, independence, pride, peace, mystery and magic.

In contemporary history and fiction, it often represents something sought dearly. In the early 20th century, purple attire and signage signified loyalty and dignity . In Walker害羞草研究所檚 novel, Celie, the main character, wants a pair of purple shoes but can害羞草研究所檛 afford them, so she settles on blue.

Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia in the 1985 film version of 害羞草研究所淭he Color Purple,害羞草研究所� has donned purple frequently to promote the new musical she helped produce. And in her recently unveiled portrait for the National Portrait Gallery.

To Oprah, purple is 害羞草研究所渟eminal.害羞草研究所� To others, it害羞草研究所檚 a shapeshifter, said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, which analyzes and consults on color, including for the folks who made this year害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淭he Color Purple.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚t can take on so many contexts,害羞草研究所� Pressman said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a color that stands out, that makes a statement, that has a singular presence in the world.害羞草研究所�

Some ways to think about purple, the hues nestled between blue and red:

PURPLE, THE DYE

The Romans conquered the Greeks in the second century B.C. and returned home with lots of pigments and dyes, writes Victoria Finlay in 害羞草研究所淭he Brilliant History of Color in Art.害羞草研究所� The most celebrated was 害羞草研究所減urpura,害羞草研究所� which turned into a fashion phenom made with secretions of certain mollusks. The liquid transformed into purple when left out in the sun.

When Julius Caesar traveled to Egypt in 48 B.C. and met Queen Cleopatra, he noted her love of purple and embraced it himself. It害羞草研究所檚 a love later taken up by Byzantine emperors. But before them, Caesar decreed that only Caesars could wear togas dyed completely purple.

Many, MANY mollusks were required to make purpura, which sometimes wasn害羞草研究所檛 the color we know today. (Finlay wrote that at least 250,000 were needed for half an ounce of dye.) Ancient Tyrian purple, named for the town of Tyre in what is now southern Lebanon, was also rose, bluish red or velvety black, she writes.

Purple was reserved for royalty, priests and nobles at various times in history and in various places.

By the 14th century, the secrets of Tyrian purple were lost, according to the University of Chicago Library害羞草研究所檚 2007 exhibition 害羞草研究所淭he Origins of Color.害羞草研究所� But all hail Tyrian purple! In 2001, through trial and error, the technique for making it resurfaced. Well before then, synthetic dyes, including purple were available.

PURPLE, IN SONG

Jimi Hendrix害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淧urple Haze.害羞草研究所� Juice WRLD害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淧urple Devil.害羞草研究所� The rockers Deep Purple. The Grammy-winning song 害羞草研究所淒eep Purple,害羞草研究所� a No. 1 Billboard single for April Stevens and her brother, Nino Tempo, in 1963.

Purple has been peppering songs for decades, but no musical artist has been more closely aligned with the color than Prince. He became The Purple One after he and his band, the Revolution, put out 害羞草研究所淧urple Rain害羞草研究所� in 1984 and a won a Grammy for it, along with an Oscar for the score to the companion film.

Though the song peaked at No. 2 on Billboard害羞草研究所檚 Hot 100 in 1984, it forever connected Prince with the color. And he leaned in with his purple attire, purple guitar and purple piano. After his 2016 death, his estate worked with Pantone to come up with an official Prince purple, dubbed 害羞草研究所淟ove Symbol #1.害羞草研究所�

Of the song害羞草研究所檚 meaning and title, Prince once explained: 害羞草研究所淲hen there害羞草研究所檚 blood in the sky 害羞草研究所� red and blue equals purple. Purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/God guide you through the purple rain.害羞草研究所�

Prince害羞草研究所檚 Paisley Park estate outside Minneapolis remains bathed in purple at night.

In creating a world in sound, 害羞草研究所減urple doesn害羞草研究所檛 have as clear a set of connotations害羞草研究所� as some other colors, like the sadness of blue or the rage of red, said Nate Sloane, who specializes in the history of popular music and jazz at the University of Southern California害羞草研究所檚 Thornton School of Music.

For musical artists, he said, that害羞草研究所檚 freedom.

害羞草研究所淚ts ambiguity means you can explore more emotions and concepts that are less clear and established,害羞草研究所� Sloane said.

PURPLE, THE PROSE

The term 害羞草研究所減urple prose害羞草研究所� stretches back to circa 18 B.C. and the according to Charles Harrington Elster in his 2005 book, 害羞草研究所淲hat in the Word?害羞草研究所�

A phrase Horace used, the Latin 害羞草研究所減urpureus pannus,害羞草研究所� denoted an irrelevant and excessively ornate passage. Literally, it害羞草研究所檚 a purple garment or raiment (think fancy). Horace害羞草研究所檚 476-line poem, a manual of sorts on how to write poetry, warns against 害羞草研究所渕ediocrity in poets no man, god or bookseller will accept.害羞草研究所�

Generally speaking, purple prose came to mean writing that is laden with flowery descriptors and/or an oppressive structure with no real payoff to a reader. Consider this: Many writers of the 19th century were paid by the number of words they used or pages they produced.

害羞草研究所淧urple prose doesn害羞草研究所檛 seem to have become wholly pejorative until the 20th century when steep declines in the vocabulary and reading comprehension of college-educated Americans caused a panic in the education establishment and the newspaper industry,害羞草研究所� Elster wrote.

A blog post from the publishing site Reedsy offers this made-up example: 害羞草研究所淭he mahogany-haired adolescent girl glanced fleetingly at her rugged paramour, a crystalline sparkle in her eyes as she gazed, enraptured, upon his countenance.害羞草研究所�

PURPLE, ON CANVAS

Chagall, Derain, Rothko, Matisse, Klimt. All were admirers of purple.

The color is said to have first surfaced in art during the Neolithic era, writes Hannah Foskett at the site . The pre-Raphaelites in Britain especially loved purple.

Monet stands out for his use of violet in his Lily, Haystack, Snow and Rouen Cathedral series of paintings.

Another interpretation of purple, Foskett writes, is that it tires the eyes, 害羞草研究所渙ften symbolizing lust or sorrow in major artworks.害羞草研究所�

Color, in visual art, was helped along by the American portrait painter John Goffe Rand. In the 1840s, he invented a collapsible tube of tin in which to put his paint, rather than the pig bladders he and his counterparts had been struggling with for years, according to Finlay. With the invention of paint tubes, there were suddenly dozens of new pigments, including manganese violet.

害羞草研究所淚t was the first opaque, pure, affordable, mauve-colored pigment,害羞草研究所� wrote Finlay, 害羞草研究所渁nd it was seen as a wonder.害羞草研究所�

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