The Cyanometer Postcard by Macarena Ruiz-Tagle

Based on the original Cyanometer (previously here) invented in 1789 by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, the Cyanometer Postcard is a convenient, updated version. Artist Macarena Ruiz-Tagle created it for the 13th Annual Architecture Venice Biennale. She says "The Cyanometer Postcard captures the nuances of sky blueness at a specific moment, allowing senders to document and share this information with the recipient. Its purpose is to connect individuals globally, embracing contemplation of the sky's beauty across different latitudes."

Photo: Franziska Strauss

Photo: Franziska Strauss

She has also created a Sunsetometer to gauge the colors of a sunset...it might take a few colors to describe such an event.

And sadly, a Pollutionometer measures the color related to airborne particulates...but apropos of the Northern California coast in my backyard, it could be used for our nightly refreshing fog.

Photo: Macarena Ruiz-Tagle, at Tiananmen Square, China

https://macarenaruiztagle.com/

The Cyanometer

Who knew there is an invention to measure the blue of the sky?

Well, there is and it was invented by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology (and considered to be the first person to build a successful solar oven!) who was fascinated with the phenomenon of the sky appearing to be a darker blue the higher one ascended in elevation. So after climbing Mont Blanc to experience the phenomenon for himself, he invented in 1789 a device to measure the exact blue of the sky. He called this invention, a ring of paper with 52 different hues of blue arranged from light to dark on a gradated circular scale, a Cyanometer.

de Saussure’s original Cyanometer now at the Bibliothèque de Genève, Switzerland

A reproduction in a book of de Saussure’s original Cyanometer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanometer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Bénédict_de_Saussure

"Blue"

In honor of National Poetry Month, I am posting work by myself each Friday; here is "Blue," a recent piece from a series of color poems.

Blue

It was there when I had the Hong Kong flu.
I was three, my head shaved, IV and tubes
attached to the blue veins pulsing in my skull,
the only veins large enough to take the needles.
My parents cried when they saw me like that.

It was there when my father walked
through the damp, blue twilight to the shed
behind the house. It walked with him,
it sat next to him, steadied the rifle for him,
comforted him.

In a different hospital, years away, my mother in bed,
lying motionless under layers of blankets, the television’s
sub-oceanic flicker the only light. In the hush
it was there in the corner, behind a worn vinyl chair,
watching her, watching me.

And now, here I am, on stage, bathed in blue light,
I’m in the center ring, you can’t miss me,
and I say to it, if you think you’re ready, I’m right here,
come and find me,
I’m waiting for you.

©JEF

BEAUTY: Photography--Simon Butterworth

Here is Simon Butterworth's gorgeous, abstract photographic series Blue Fields.

From the artist's website:
"Blue Fields was shot at the Useless Loop solar salt operation situated in Shark Bay, the westernmost point of mainland Australia. The series is part of a larger, long term project, Aesthetics of the Unexpected, which explores the relationships between perception, expectation and reality.

About the Images:

The images were shot from a light aircraft flying at between 4,000 & 5,000ft. The height was crucial in order to flatten perspective by using long focal lengths. Time of day and cloud cover were also critical, the abstract effect being heightened by complete lack of signifying shadow."

http://www.simonbutterworthphotography.com/

BEAUTY: Installation--Konstantin Dimopoulos

Sculptor and performance/installation artist Konstantin Dimopoulos has created a moving, site specific art installation called The Blue Trees in which the trunks of groups of trees are painted a saturated blue. His natural water based pigment has colored trees at spots around the world including London, Vancouver, and various cities across the United States.

From Dimopoulos' Artist Statement:
"I think of the Blue Trees as a project that has a strong regenerative aspect to it, an organic artwork that is continually changing and evolving from site to site. From season to season the trees grow through the cycles of nature and the colors also begin to change and disappear. There is a sense of time as a part of the concept. Time that determines our own existence is measured through these trees."

Here is the installation in Houston, Texas showing the trees during the different seasons. The blue trunks look spectacular against the orange and yellow leaves of autumn.

http://www.kondimopoulos.com/

Blue, Mostly

Just another meditation on a color. (Previously red.)

"Blue Blue" by iamamiwhoami

Catching up with iamamiwhoami's newest project "Blue"--here is a song called "Blue Blue." The visual narrative of this particular series has clearly expanded to incorporate water in all forms, everywhere, whether Nordic and icy or warm and tropical...and the black shadow figures are no longer enemies...interesting...

http://www.towhomitmayconcern.cc/
https://www.youtube.com/user/iamamiwhoami