in memoriam
Ulf Klarén (1944–2021)
It is with deep regret and profound sadness that we announce the passing of Ulf Klarén, active member of the AIC Study Group on Environmental Colour Design. Ulf participated in AIC congresses since 2009 and also attended the AIC 2011 Midterm Meeting that I organised in Zürich, Switzerland. I remember him as a cheerful person who closely worked together with other Scandinavian colour-and-light researchers. Verena M. Schindler
Obituary by Harald Arnkil (Helsinki, Finland) and Karin Fridell Anter (Uppsala, Sweden)
Ulf Klarén (1944–2021)
Our friend and colleague in colour research Ulf Klarén died on 17th January 2021. Ulf committed almost all his professional life to education, pedagogic development and research at University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack), Stockholm. His last great project there was to create a unit called The Perception Studio. In this inspiring space he gathered all kinds of material, demonstrations and books which became the starting point for discussions about colour, light and perception for both students and colleagues. Rather than disseminating pre-packaged knowledge, Ulf’s pedagogy consisted of joint explorations that encouraged students to use their senses and see the world with open and inquisitive eyes. In his youth Ulf had been active in theatre as an actor, and his lectures were elaborated and dramatically staged demonstrations of visual phenomena which aimed at creating an ”aha-experience” in the listener.
The Perception Studio was also a base for research. During some years around 2010, Ulf was one of the leaders of the research project SYN-TES: Human colour and light synthesis. It was a transdisciplinary project in the best sense of the word and brought together researchers from five Nordic universities, as well as expert practitioners in the field of colour and light. This was the context in which we had the privilege to work with Ulf. His creativity and boundless curiosity made research together an enjoyable and inspiring adventure, and it would often lead to animated discussions about visual perception and experience in the specific context of the human ecological niche. The SYN-TES project issued many scientific papers which were published at AIC conferences, and at which Ulf was a frequent and active participant.
After the completion of SYN-TES Ulf continued to write on colour and light and on new approaches to understanding human perception. His last article on this theme, Upplevelsen i den fysiska världen (Experience in the physical world), was published only a few days after his death.
We are deeply grateful for havin g had the privilege of working with Ulf and will miss him very much.
Harald Arnkil (Helsinki, Finland) and Karin Fridell Anter (Uppsala, Sweden)
some important publications
Klarén, U., and K. Fridell Anter. 2011. OPTIMA. Method study about colour, light and spatial experience. SYN-TES report 1E. https://www.konstfack.se/syn-tes
Klarén, U. 2011. PERCIFAL: Perceptual spatial analysis of colour and light. SYN-TES report 2E. https://www.konstfack.se/syn-tes
Klarén, U., H. Arnkil, and K. Fridell Anter. 2012. Levels of experiencing colour and light. In: B. Szybinska Matusiak, and K. Fridell Anter, eds. Nordic Light and Colour. Trondheim: NTNU, 39–46,
https://www.ntnu.no/trykk/publikasjoner/NordicLightAndColour_2012/files/assets/downloads/publication.pdf
Arnkil, H., K. Fridell Anter, and U. Klarén. 2012. Colour and Light. Concepts and confusions. Helsinki: Aalto University. https://shop.aalto.fi/p/175-colour-and-light/
Fridell Anter, K., and U. Klarén, eds. 2017. Colour and Light: Spatial Experience. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. More
Klarén, U. 2021. Upplevelsen i den fysiska världen. Ljuskultur 1/2021. https://ljuskultur.se/artiklar/upplevelsen-i-den-fysiska-varlden/
Ulf Klarén participating at a conference. Photo: Harald Arnkil, Karin Fridell Anter.
Ulf Klarén giving a talk. Photo: Harald Arnkil, Karin Fridell Anter.
selected bibliography
Klarén, U. 2000. Den estetiska ytan: Om formell gestalt, analog abstraktion och logiskt expressive symbolik. Stockholm: Konstfack.
Klarén, U. 2006. Vara verkan eller verka vara. Om färg, ljus, rum och estetisk uppmärksamhet. In: Forskare och praktiker om Färg, ljus, rum. K. Fridell Anter, ed. Stockholm: Formas: 283–310.
Klarén, U., and K. Fridell Anter. 2009. Så vitt vi vet. Nominellt kulörta färger som vithetsankare. http://www.konstfack.se/sv/Forskning/Konstnarligt-utvecklingsarbete-KU/KU- projekt/Avslutade-KU-projekt-2009/.
Klarén, U. 2011. Percifal: Percepti rumslig analys av färg och ljus. Stockholm: University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, www.konstfack.se/syn-tes
Klarén, U. 2012. Natural Experiences and Physical Abstractions. On espistemology of colour and light. In: Color and Light–Concepts and Confusions. H. Arnkil, ed. Helsinki: Aalto University School of Arts, Architecture and Design.
Klarén, U. 2013. Percifal: Visual analysis of space, light and colour. Stockholm: Syn-tes Report 2E www.konstfack.se/syn-tes
Klarén, U. 2018. Common basis for colour and light studies. In: L.W. MacDonald. C.P. Biggam and G.V. Paramei, eds. Progress in Colour Studies: Cognition, language and beyond. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 357–369.
AIC conference papers
Klarén, U., and K. Fridell Anter. 2009. The spacious greyness: on colour, light and space. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2009, (219) s.p.
Fridell Anter, K. and U. Klarén. 2009. Neutral grey: an abstraction? In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2009 (236) s.p.
Klarén, U. and K. Fridell Anter. 2011. Colour and light in space: Dynamic adaptation and spatial understanding. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2011, 485–488.
Fridell Anter, K. and U. Klarén. 2011. Sussessive approximation in full scale rooms. Colour and light research starting from design experience. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2011, 217–220.
Arnkil, H. and K. Fridell Anter, U. Klarén and B. Matusiak. 2011. PERCIFAL: Visual analysis of space, light and colour. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2011, 229–232.
Matusiak, B., K. Fridell Anter, H. Arnkil, and U. Klarén. 2011. PERCIFAL: Method in use: visual evaluation of three spaces. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2011, 568–571.
Klarén, U., K. Fridell-Anter, and H. Arnkil. 2012. Always Something Else. Levels of experiencing colour and light. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2012, 68–71.
Arnkil, H., K. Fridell Anter, and U. Klarén. 2012 Colour and light: Concepts and confusions. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2012, 518–521.
Fridell Anter, K., H. Arnkil, L. Berggren, M. Billger, P. Duwe, J. Enger, A. Gustafsson, C. Häggström, Y. Karlsson, U. Klarén, T. Laike, J. Lång, B. Matusiak, A. Nilsson, S. Pettersson, H. Wijk. 2012. SYN-TES Interdisciplinary Research on Colour and Light. 2012. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2012, 80–83.
Klarén, U. 2013. Catching the aesthetic dimension: On aethetic experience of colour and light. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2013, Vol. 3: 989–992.
Klarén, U. 2014. Preconditions of research on a esthetic experience of colour. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2014, 159–164.
Fridell Anter, K. and U. Klarén. 2015. The ambiguous term of ”saturation”. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2015, 208–213.
Klarén, U. and K. Fridell Anter. 2015. Colour Education and Real Life Colour. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2015, 214–217.
Tonnquist, G., K. Fridell Anter, and U. Klarén. 2016. NCS and the Hering Heritage. Colour Research, Marketing and Scientific Responsibility. In: Proceedings of the International Color Association (AIC) Conference 2016, 229–233.
Expressions of Condolences
From Tehran, Iran:
RIP. Sorry for the sad news that I heard.
Mahdi Safi Assistant Professor of Color Science, Department of Color Physics, Institute for Color Science and Technology
From Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Thank you for informing us about the sad news and also for sharing the wonderful world. He was indeed a great researcher and teacher and disseminated his enthusiasm on color science and perception. Our best memories! RIP.
María del Pilar Buera Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Química Orgánica y Departamento de Industrias, Ciudad Universitaria
From Córdoba, Argentina:
Lamentamos el fallecimiento del miembro activo del Environmental Color Design....QEPD.
María Mercedes Avila
From Cairo, Egypt:
My deep and sincere condolences.
Ibrahim Elhady Consultant Architect, Master of Construction Management, Color Expert, Lecturer
From London, Great Britain:
I was greatly saddened to hear about the death of Ulf Klarén. This is a tremendous loss to colour studies in Scandinavia, and indeed to the world colour community as a whole. Ulf had so many insights into the perception of colour. He gave some of the best talks I ever heard at AIC conferences, so clear and full of understanding. Ulf participated in the Progress in Colour Studies (PICS) conference in London in 2016, where he was actively involved in the debate and discussion. Subsequently he contributed an excellent chapter to the PICS book published by John Benjamins in 2018. In that chapter, he argues cogently for the need for a systematic approach and conceptual structure for the human experience of light and colour. Ulf's ability was rare, his contribution was great, and we are all the better for havin g known him.
Lindsay MacDonald University College London
From Australia:
On behalf of the Colour Society of Australia, our President David Briggs and Executive Committee, and our membership
I would like to convey our sincere condolences to your group on the passing of Ulf Klarén. Such leadership, contribution, and in depth research and study has been a major contribution to our knowledge of colour and all its wonders. Contribution which we all value and respect. Ulf Klarén will be missed by those he collaborated with and those with whom he shared his knowledge. Our sincere condolences.
The Colour Society of Australia
Glenys Thomson
National Secretary
www.coloursociety.org.au
