At the very least, gradients offer an opportunity to self-soothe.

March 1, 2019 8:37 AM

"Gradients are the confluence of three different trends: Light and Space art, vaporwave, and bisexual lighting." (Vox)

"Gradients might be a manifestation of longing for sunshine and surf. But they also belong to the placeless digital citizen. 1980s and ’90s kids may remember messing around in Microsoft Paint and Powerpoint as a child, filling in shapes with these same gradients. It’s no surprise that this design effect is part of the technological nostalgia that fuels the vaporwave movement."

posted by redsparkler (14 comments total)

bisexual lighting

I had not heard of this before.
Fortify Yourself with the Beauty of Bisexual Lighting - "With her stunning "Make Me Feel" video, Janelle Monáe has become the face of bisexual lighting—the objectively perfect color scheme of pink, purple, and blue."

Is 'bisexual lighting' a new cinematic phenomenon?
Hey BBC: Theres No Such Thing As Bisexual Lighting
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:25 AM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]

Of course, in the actual 90s, no browsers supported CSS gradients so you had to bake it in with one-pixel-wide images. Today browsers all support them natively, which is nice.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:48 AM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

Surely any discussion of “bisexual lighting” should mention orange and teal colour grading.
posted by acb at 9:50 AM on March 1, 2019

We have homemade bisexual lighting in our living room and now I’m tempted to paint that wall with a gradient too, for peak aesthetic.
posted by Stacey at 9:51 AM on March 1, 2019 [5 favorites]

Also: the mango-and-passionfruit sunset gradient colour scheme (most common exemplar: the Instagram app icon, though you see it everywhere; the advertising posters for the Eurovision semifinals in Sweden are one case).
posted by acb at 9:53 AM on March 1, 2019

Kanye West donated $10 million to James Turrell for Roden Crater!??!??!!!!??
posted by gwint at 9:53 AM on March 1, 2019

Ugh, I totally should have used this post as an exploration into bisexual lighting! Thanks for the additional info, the man of twists and turns!
posted by redsparkler at 10:42 AM on March 1, 2019

I now have a name for something I did not have a name for, and a lot of reading to do. Thank you for this post, and thanks for the additive comments!

(my request to add Hue strips throughout the apartment to provide such lighting was rejected at a speed hitherto unwitnessed in this relationship, sadly)
posted by ominous_paws at 10:54 AM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

There’s a bisexual flag???
posted by Thorzdad at 11:03 AM on March 1, 2019

Thanks for the additional info,

You're welcome!

*speeds away in a Countach, blasting Nightcall by Kavinsky*
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:41 AM on March 1, 2019 [4 favorites]

Oh, Thorzdad, there's an everything flag.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:18 PM on March 1, 2019

Gradients are the confluence of three different trends: ∂x, ∂y and ∂z.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:40 PM on March 1, 2019 [12 favorites]

This is why I love Hue
posted by Morpeth at 9:00 AM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

No mention of the Tunnel at O’Hare?
posted by skyscraper at 12:09 PM on March 3, 2019 [1 favorite]