Italian photographer, Mario Rossi sees the world as a multi-faceted thing - exploring shapes, hues and how people interact with their environment in cultural settings - for example: museums, city streets, countrysides, and in and on the water. One cannot but notice that blue plays a role in a good percentage of his works. This apparent interest increases in curiosity when we consider the history of the color and some of the symbolism found in the color. Historians believe that ancient civilizations were largely color blind and it is not until the Ancient Egyptians that our first forays in blue began as the human color spectrum grew. Since then many varieties of blue have emerged since Egyptian Blue - they are: Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean, Indigo, Navy Blue, Prussian Blue, Klein Blue and YInMn (as recent as 2009).
With regards to the symbolism of blue it can vary from the heavens, freedom, open spaces, inspiration and imagination, and much more. Taking all of these and the importance of the color, when we look at works such as: VM23.2 one cannot but delve into the expanse of blues confined by the frame of the lens of Rossi’s camera. Although there is a logical confine, because of the importance and symbolism of the color it affords an imagination of infinity. Easily, our eye and imagination can travel in and through the photographic composition - and beyond. The role of the imagination is key to Rossi’s works, as he gives over all interpretation to the viewer not just in the composing of his abstract photography, but also in his titles - which are devoid of detail, inviting the viewer to be the conductor of their experience with the work.
Statement by Melanie Prapopoulos
