Blue jeans frog

Petra shows the outer beauty and wonderful mathematics of nature and removes restrictions of scale and materiality from her subject matter by transferring it to the digital world. With a great eye for detail, she makes a three-dimensional drawing, composed of a grid of vectors and colors of the chosen subject. This digital grid then forms the basis for a play of lines which shows the digital, vector interpretation of the natural phenomenon in materials such as wood, aluminum, metal or silk, in combination with a sample of colors that the original once possessed.

This work of art is cut into metal and powder coated in the skin structure of the frog. The back is spray-painted with bio-fluorine in the color of the chosen subject. Partly due to the change of light during the day and because the artwork hangs 1 cm from the wall, it is a dynamic work. As the day progresses, there are different colors of drop shadow - light gray, gray, violet, dark gray, black - as well as the reflection of the fluor, visible on the wall and under UV light, the accents of the natural phenomenon are further emphasized.

Details
PETRA HART
Blue jeans frog
2018
70.86 x 39.37 inches 2 SOLD
3 + 1 AP 
 

The blue color of the Blue jeans frog is caused by the structure of the skin cells. In green frogs, these skin cells consist of yellow pigments, xanthophores and a layer of iridophores. When the blue light hits a frog's skin, the yellow pigment mixes with the blue, making the frogs appear green. The blue jeans frog, however, has almost no yellow pigments. Thus, the blue light scattered by the iridophores never mixes with yellow, making the frog appear blue.

While some plants can produce blue pigments thanks to anthocyanins, most creatures in the animal kingdom cannot make blue pigments. For example, flamingos get their pink color from carotenoids found in the shrimp they eat. Almost all cases of blue discoloration in animals are typically the result of structural effects such as iridescence and selective reflection.

The blue color of the Blue jeans frog (Oophaga pumilio) warns predators that it is highly poisonous. These frogs are half less likely to be attacked than brown or green frogs.

The blue part of the spectrum (450-490 nm) is visible for most taxa. The work of art is part of the art series Treasures of nature. More information