In her essay, Lewis (2010) addresses the “Yellow Town” landscape phenomenon in Lexington, KY in which a massing of yellow signage colour codes the poorest parts of the city with a vivid wash of bright yellow (p.184). While this bright, shiny, primarily-yellow coloured signage associates with the poorest areas of the city, in “nicer” parts of the city more understated blues, greens or greys are seen.
Fig. 1 Yellowtown Collage. Image source: Lewis, 2010.
These colours—specifically yellow and grey—make me think of the colours of the year. Last December the Pantone Colour Institute revealed two hues for its colour of the year 2021: the neutral Ultimate Gray (Pantone 17-5104) and vibrant yellow Illuminating (Pantone 13-0647). In the year with undercurrents of uncertainty—owing to the global pandemic—Pantone wants to highlight how different elements, in this case the two extremely independent colours, come together to express the message of strength and hopefulness.
Fig. 2 Colour of the Year 2021. It is the first time an achromatic colour (grey) has been selected. Image source: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/pantone-color-of-the-year-2021/index.html Retrieved on February 1, 2021.
Fig. 3 The aspirational combination of colours. Image source: https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2021 Retrieved on February 1, 2021.
From this perspective, the bright, highlighter-yellow colour signifies the light at the end of the tunnel, the sun rising over a dark landscape, and even the dawning of hope that comes with the vaccines. The yellow here stands in sharp contrast with the yellow in Lexington and many other cities with the “Yellow Town” landscape. If put outside of the context of a town or signages, does yellow naturally mean vibrancy and hope? If colours are intrinsically linked with psychological associations, why do yellow signs inadvertently receive complaints (Lewis, 2010)? Does colour change its meanings (if it ever has a predetermined, set meaning) with the materiality they radiate through?
The Prenez Place! installation project in downtown Montreal reflects the Pantone colours of the year. Designed and first installed in the summer of 2020, the project was conceived to safely accommodate and attract Montrealers to reappropriate this public space (located at the Hydro-Quebec park at Quartier des Spectacles) while respecting the sanitary regulations. A 100 meter “urban table”, in bright yellow colour, was implanted between the existing furniture and trees. Visitors were invited to discover the full length of the table, find their place at the table while maintaining social distancing measures, and enjoy the colourful and vivacious atmosphere.
Fig. 4 The Prenez Place! Installation in Montreal. Image source: Judy Chen. Montreal, 2021.
The bright yellow installation was joined by a palette of grey—the concrete pavement, the poles, and the fixed sitting furniture. ADHOC architectes, the team behind this installation, used bright yellow to brighten up the environment and to create optimism and fortitude following the difficult pandemic time. Yellow in this urban installation hence represents hope and joy.
This installation was a temporary festive public space and it was removed in October 2020. Earlier this month, the urban table is brought back again and this time with 200 meters of length. I was both surprised and pleased to see the urban table again. Temporary urban public spaces are constantly in the cycle of being produced, consumed, circulated and destroyed. The brightly-coloured yellow table is back into the urban cycle; it has not yet been destroyed and the stories it carries go on. It is this process that generates spontaneity and improvisation of urban space and hence creates rhythms to the urban life.
Fig. 5 The urban table is back this year, starting in July 2021. The extended urban table runs through the Hydro-Québec Park, down Clark Street to Sainte-Catherine Street. Image source: Judy Chen. Montreal, 2021.
Yellow may code poorer parts of the city. Yellow may represent hope and aspiration. What do you see in yellow?
