Fargetiden

Fargetiden is a term found in Scandinavian critical discourse that denotes a color-centric phase in visual arts and media. Its meaning is not fixed; different writers use it to describe either a historical tendency, a theoretical framework, or a stylistic practice in contemporary work. Broadly, fargetiden highlights color as the primary vehicle of meaning, mood, and identity, elevating chromatic decisions to a central design principle rather than a secondary decoration.

Origins and usage: The word combines farge/färg (color) and tiden (time or era), and appears in discussions about painting, photography, film, and graphic design. In painting or printmaking, fargetiden may refer to periods characterized by bold palettes, synthetic pigments, and experimental color relations. In film and photography, it can describe a phase when color timing, grading, and lighting dominate storytelling or atmosphere, sometimes in tension with composition or narrative structure.

Impact and critique: Proponents argue that fargetiden draws attention to the cultural and perceptual effects of color, and helps categorize works that foreground color as a systemic practice. Critics warn that the term can be ambiguous or retrospective, potentially conflating stylistic choices with broader cultural shifts.

See also: color theory, chromaticism, color grading, visual culture.