Color Chronicles: The World is in Cyan

The color cyan is everywhere. It's a hue of blue; a light blue that sometimes has a tinge of green. It's a bright color in which its name derives from the Greek word 'kyanos', referring to the color of lapis lazuli. The earliest record of the name comes from cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), which are used to produce blue dye.

Its name is not a basic term for most linguists, as in other languages, there is no distinction between blue and green.

But cyan is the color one will find anywhere. It's the color of shallow seawater over a sandy beach, absorbing tints of red from the sunlight. On rare occasions, the sky mirrors the color of the ocean, too. The brighter the sun, the starker the shade is. No wonder the ebb and flow of the waves feel so therapeutic.

However, it's such a deceitful color too, as one can conceive a case of cyanosis, in which blueness of skin occurs due to poor oxygen intake; the compound cyanide, albeit a dark blue in its pure form, is highly toxic; the planet Uranus' atmosphere is abundant with methane, thus its color.

There is also a risque technique among alternative printing processes, which is called the cyanotype. Unlike the usual sepia tones, the cyanotype process allows the printmaker to produce a monochromatic blueprint or image. Most notable for this is Anna Atkins, who produced the first botanical cyanotypes. The series is considered a huge contribution to the art and sciences in lieu of the photographic medium. The Cinecolor process in cinema also uses the color for the panchromatic partner of its orthochromatic partner, red.

Cyan is everywhere, simultaneously providing comfort and danger.

2018-03-09 #news #cyan #color-chronicles