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DEATH BY CYAN

The color we know as cyan was once made from cornflower petals and was known as “corn blue.” In the late nineteenth century the poisonous chemical cyanide was used to create “corn blue” dyes and pigments for commercial purposes. After a series of “cyan poisoning” deaths occurred in the silk flower industry, the color was discontinued. The name “cyan” was revived when color photography became popular. The traditional art world shunned these new technical artists of photography. Consequently, photographers used this color term to separate themselves from the rest of the artists.

Today, the term cyan has been revived by the computer artists. Once again, perhaps this is a form of “technical” upmanship since the art world first rejected computer generated art.

Odeda Rosenthal, Inter-Society Color Counciil News, July/August, 1999 p. 5

Last edited by: Stina Carlberg
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