Kind of Blue

Blue is visible light with a wave length of 450 to 495 nanometers.

In semiotics blue is considered an open signifier, having no single meaning, but referring to many, possibly contradictory concepts and things.

Blue signifies the emotion of cool, calmness, but also melancholy and deep sorrow.

It can signify infinity or great distance or volume, the blue sky or oceanic blue. Things in the distance look blue (astronauts looking at the earth from outer space refer to it as a blue orb).

In Western cultures, blue often refers to an individual’s sadness, but in Asian cultures, it can signify our relationship to the cosmos and nature.

 Several years ago, I had cataract surgery to replace my aged, yellowed lenses.

As I was wheeled out of the operating room, I was struck by the vivid, intense colors I saw. In particular, blues were utterly captivating.

What followed was a rediscovery of the beauty of the many shades of blue and a renewed exploration of the cyanotype process in my personal work.

I proposed the idea of a photographic show centered around blue to some other photographers and I got an immediate positive response. Everyone had interesting images that were predominantly blue.

This exhibit is a collection of those images.

Words by Neal Oshima