Mark Wirth, better known as Purple Mark, is a Seattle, Washington resident who has become locally known, especially around the Capitol Hill neighborhood where he lives, for his colorful attire and his equally colorful dyed hair and beard. [1] [2] [3] He has been quoted as saying, "So many people are against color, so many people are afraid to live." [3]
Purple Mark usually dresses and dyes his hair, beard and other hair on his body, such as on his eyebrows and arm-hair, in accord with the cycle of the seasons: blue and purple in the winter, then the weather warms up green, yellow, and orange, then red in the autumn before cycling back to his winter colors. [2] The process of applying the dye takes about four hours when he changes color, with two hours every two weeks for touch-up for "vibrancy." [1] He also attempts to eat and drink along a similar pattern of color. [2] By his own account, the name "Purple Mark" predates his colorful self-presentation, dating back to when he was hit by a purple streak of lightning on Mount Sneffels in Colorado at age 11. [2] He moved to Seattle in 1985.[ citation needed ] He has said he was first influenced to dye his hair by the wild styles he saw around Pike Place Market, but soon went well beyond the street fashion of the time to develop his unique look. [2] On another occasion he explained his rainbow tones as originally springing from observation of the sun's rays coming through his eyelids: "Your vision attempts to correct this color to white, and some hair had fallen across my eyes, so when I opened them, my hair appeared bright green. I thought to myself: 'I'm gonna do that.'" [1]
From 1994 to at least 2007, he worked in the Ballard neighborhood in what was basically an assembly line job at motor oil and fuel additives company Bardahl. [2] Most of his wardrobe is purchased second-hand or made by himself. [1] [4] He brings a variety of techniques to making his own outfits, ranging from dying human-hair wigs to metalsmithing, in which he has a degree. [4]
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575–585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the RGB color model, used to create colors on television and computer screens, yellow is a secondary color made by combining red and green at equal intensity. Carotenoids give the characteristic yellow color to autumn leaves, corn, canaries, daffodils, and lemons, as well as egg yolks, buttercups, and bananas. They absorb light energy and protect plants from photo damage in some cases. Sunlight has a slight yellowish hue when the Sun is near the horizon, due to atmospheric scattering of shorter wavelengths.
Violet is the color of light at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum. It is one of the seven colors that Isaac Newton labeled when dividing the spectrum of visible light in 1672. Violet light has a wavelength between approximately 380 and 435 nanometers. The color's name is derived from the Viola genus of flowers.
Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is made by combining magenta pigment with either cyan pigment, black pigment, or both. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purple is created by mixing red and blue light in order to create colors that appear similar to violet light.
Hair coloring, or hair dyeing, is the practice of changing the color of the hair on humans' heads. The main reasons for this are cosmetic: to cover gray or white hair, to alter hair to create a specific look, to change a color to suit preference or to restore the original hair color after it has been discolored by hairdressing processes or sun bleaching.
The Stranger is an alternative biweekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, U.S. The paper's principal competitor is The Seattle Weekly, owned by Sound Publishing, Inc. It has a progressive orientation.
Manic Panic is the original line of fashion hair colors in the USA. Based in New York City, the company is run by Tish and Snooky Bellomo.
Grey or Gray is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed of black and white. It is the color of a cloud-covered sky, of ash, and of lead.
Media in Seattle includes long-established newspapers, television and radio stations, and an evolving panoply of smaller, local art, culture, neighborhood and political publications, filmmaking and, most recently, Internet media. The Seattle–Tacoma Designated Market Area, as defined by Nielsen Media Research, includes most of Western Washington and the Wenatchee metropolitan area. As of 2021, it is the 12th largest television market and 11th largest radio market in the United States by population.
Tekhelet is a highly valued dye described as either "sky blue", or "light blue", that held great significance in ancient Mediterranean civilizations. In the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition, tekhelet was used to color the clothing of the High Priest, the tapestries in the Tabernacle, and the tzitzit (fringes) attached to the corners of four-cornered garments, including the tallit. The mention of tekhelet is particularly notable in the third paragraph of the Shema, referencing Numbers 15:37–41.
The Capitol Hill massacre was a mass murder committed by 28-year-old Kyle Aaron Huff in the southeast part of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. On the morning of March 25, 2006, Huff entered a rave after-party and opened fire, killing six and wounding two. He then killed himself as he was being confronted by police on the front porch of 2112 E. Republican Street.
The 21st-century hipster is a subculture. Fashion is one of the major markers of hipster identity. Members of the subculture typically do not self-identify as hipsters, and the word hipster is often used as a pejorative for someone who is pretentious or overly concerned with appearing trendy.
Capitol Hill station is a light rail station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. The station is served by Sound Transit's Link light rail system and is located near the intersection of Broadway and East John Street. It is situated between the Westlake and University of Washington stations on the 1 Line. The station consists of an island platform approximately 65 feet (20 m) under street level, connected to three surface entrances via two mezzanines. It contains pieces of public art, including Mike Ross's sculpture Jet Kiss and two murals by cartoonist Ellen Forney.
Blue hair does not naturally occur in human hair pigmentation, although the hair of some animals is described as blue.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
The Purple Gang, also known as the Sugar House Gang, was a criminal mob of bootleggers and hijackers composed predominantly of Jewish gangsters. They operated in Detroit, Michigan, during the 1920s of the Prohibition era and came to be Detroit's dominant criminal gang. Excessive violence and infighting caused the gang to destroy itself in the 1930s.
Saint Patrick's Day, although a legal holiday only in Savannah, Georgia, and Suffolk County, Massachusetts, is nonetheless widely recognized and celebrated throughout the United States. It is primarily celebrated as a recognition of Irish and Irish American culture; celebrations include prominent displays of the color green, eating and drinking, religious observances, and numerous parades. The holiday has been celebrated in what is now the U.S. since 1601.
Kimball Allen is an American writer, journalist, playwright, and actor. He is the author of two autobiographical one-man plays: Secrets of a Gay Mormon Felon (2012) and Be Happy Be Mormon (2014). The latter premiered at Theatre Row in Manhattan on September 24 and 27, 2014, as part of the United Solo Theatre Festival. From 2015 to 2017 he hosted the recurring Triple Threat w/ Kimball Allen, a 90-minute variety talk show at The Triple Door in Seattle.
Jet Kiss is a 2015 sculpture by American artist Mike Ross, installed at the Capitol Hill light rail station in Seattle, Washington. The 90-foot-long (27 m) sculpture consists of two decommissioned A-4 Skyhawk fighter jets that were sliced and arranged nose-to-nose; the piece is suspended above the station's platform level.
Unicorn is a bar and restaurant in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, in the United States.
Rione XIII is an Italian restaurant in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.