Good Quotes: "Color is Like Sex"

Nothing like a provocative Tuesday afternoon "good quote". And this one, "color is like sex", comes from an unexpected source: Stephen Drucker, editor of House Beautiful. While I'm not so sure about Drucker's metaphor, I certainly appreciate the sentiment behind it, which he explains in a recent Huffington Post piece.

Drucker's premise is that the "science of color" desperately tries to pinpoint and summarize something completely unpredictable, something that is so personal and subjective for every person.

"Color is like sex. It's mysterious. It's unknowable. It never looks the same twice. No two people see the same thing. No two people feel the same thing. I once went to China on a cruise ship. Eight hundred of us got off the ship wearing white, because it feels festive and shippy and says "I'm on a cruise." In China white is the color of mourning. We looked insane."

Check out Drucker's full, amusing post, which he concludes with a good question, "Why are we so determined to make color into a science? Why can't we just leave it alone and enjoy it?"

Image: Flickr member Wolfgang Staudt licensed under Creative Commons

Comments (11)

If color is like sex...

...is bad color like bad sex?

bad color is more like syphilis, if left untreated will cause blindness and insanity

An interesting topic for me as I contemplate putting GREEN counters (silastone) into a small bathroom with bright blue floor-to-ceiling tile. It was the only sample the silastone guy would give me, because he felt it was so right, and he knew I'd chicken out if I also had a safe alternative. I'm still thinking, and don't want my new bathroom to be "bad sex"!

happy4me, I would get a new rep who will give you whatever colors you like. If you want a safe alternative, you should be able to have one - you're paying and it's your bathroom! Who cares what the silastone rep says?

I have started decorating my living room, the inspiration is teal/turquoise (think rooftops of Santorini) I am having a very difficult time finding window curtains...any suggestions?

"Color is like sex" is a simile, not a metaphor.

@happyforme.....please take the advice Anne(in Reno) offered.
even if it feels like good sex at first....i think it will eventually turn bad....ending in divorce and redo.

meanwhile, simile or metaphor....color has a bigger impact on people emotionally and physically than most are aware of. Color is one of the original forms of healing and therapy.

Colour is like sex; you wake up the morning after indulging in it, filled with regret and wishing that it would just go away.

Thanks for your advice - after reading the replies, I bid farewell to the green this morning and I'm looking ahead! I love this website and all you interesting people!