Due to the pandemic we are going through at this time we are limited from the places we’re allowed to go to. Instead of going in person our class was able to go through a virtual tour for the blue exhibition at the Nassau County Museum of Art. This exhibition displayed multiple art pieces from various artists that have incorporated the color blue.
There are three pieces that have caught my eye and recognized. The first piece I enjoyed was Yves Klein’s Venus Bleue done in 1962. This piece resonated with me because I had done a presentation on his famous photography piece called Leap into the Void. He was very fascinated with the voidness and the whole concept of capturing the invisibility of art that we don’t see until after. His famous pieces are the monochromatic with the color blue so much so that the color International Klein Blue was created. This piece, Venus Bleue, is a painted plaster sculpture representing the greek goddess in a more modern way. By using sponges and rollers he was able to apply the paint to create textured surfaces.
Leaping into the Void, 1960 
International Klein Blue 
Venus Bleue, 1962
Another piece that caught my attention by its dreary look was Deborah Turbeville’s Unseen Versailles: Aurelia Weingarten done in 1980. This is a small print photograph measuring in 9 x 13 inches. What caught my eye was a statement that Turbeville said, “I like to hear a clock ticking in my pictures”, and this statement is something that I do feel when looking at it. The photograph has a woman laying on the ground and the color overall is a pale blue, almost deadly. The gradation of blues get darker on her making her the focal point. It invites feelings of dread, mystery, and something dark. It felt like I was in a fogging dream of fear. This image is one of many where she explores a different approach rather than the work done by other photographers who brightly lit the models.
Unseen Versailles: Aurelia Weingarten, 1980 
Unseen Versailles: Aurelia Weingarten, 1980
The third piece that I enjoyed was Pablo Picasso’s lithograph Buste de Femme done in 1902. This piece was part of the series of works he has done during his blue period. I mainly thought of this piece because it is Picasso and another piece from his blue period I loved is The Old Guitarist done in 1903. For Picasso, his blue period was the reflection of poverty and sadness. It is said that the color blue is meant to calm and give a feeling of serenity, but in both pieces I’ve mentioned he uses darker tones of blues. The darker tones mixed in with little hints of lighter blues gave me a sense of distance and heaviness. I also like how he chose to paint the heads at a downwards angle, which emphasizes more of the sadness or gloom.
Buste de Femme, 1902 
The Old Guitarist, 1903
