In the following weeks this will be my visual diary of chromatic resemblances, inspired by the city of Berlin and everything else I see.
Expect every week a new perspective on a new colour.

Astronaut - Victor Ash

April 22: BLUE.

Görlitz, Berliner Straße

Why start with BLUE?

Blue has so many meanings I am sure I am not aware of at least half of them.
First of all, because this is a turning point in my life, I was blue, in the sense of sad and low in London, but arriving in Berlin changed my perspective and mood about my future; it was a much-needed fresh start. With this commemoration of the blue I want to leave that feeling far behind my back once and for all (or, being more realistic, at least for a while).

Moreover, it is the prevalent colour in our lives, thanks to the colour of the sky always covering our little heads. We are very likely to always have something blue in our sight, even if we are not conscious about it.
Blue is also the colour of my hair; it was not only me seeing Berlin with my inner blue aura, but Berlin as well saw me blue as I came.

I think I could go on with so many facts connected to blue. One thing I am appreciating about Berlin is its nightlife… The night always starts with some beers, and often ends with too many.  During one of my first nights out I soon discovered that 'blau' in German also means 'drunk', and found it a funny coincidence.

What else?

How not to notice that the boards of the U-Bahn are blue, the front page of my Berlin travel-guide, the name of my mobile network company…

Few random facts about the colour/word blue:

-On social media an image containing the color blue has more chances to get likes.
-Ancient Romans and Greeks didn’t appreciate blue and didn’t consider it noble, as it was the colour of the eyes of the barbarians
-It is between violet and green in the optical spectrum and one of the three primary colours
-It is the national colour of my home-country (Italy)
-Blu is probably the most important and famous Italian street artist. Maybe you remember the huge man with golden handcuffs (“Chain”) and the two masked faces next to it (“Brothers”) in Kreuzberg, that the artist decided to erase in late 2014.

Spreading activation - Peter Beyls @DAM Gallery

Famous artworks with blue as predominant colour:

-The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
-The Conversation, Henri Matisse, 1908-1912
-Blue Lovers, Marc Chagall, 1914
-Blue Monochrome. Yves Klein, 1961
-Triptych Blue I, II, III, Joan Mirò, 1961

ibm stick on hollerith - Dierk Schmidt @HKW