violet passion flower & R O Y G B I V

violet passion flower
san pablo avenue, oakland, ca

Final photo from this first lap across the spectrum 

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R  O  Y  G  B  I  V

This was the proposal for an art exhibit I recently submitted to a gallery in SF.  

I wasn't accepted. 

Perhaps my photography wasn't good enough, perhaps they weren't interested in submissions from Oakland.

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Name of Show: R  O  Y  G  B  I  V 

Tagline: A Rainbow Seen by Colorblind Gay Eye  

Photography by Donald Cooper

Theme

I am one of the 10% of males who “suffer” from a specific type of color perception (aka “color blindness”) called a “red/green seeing deficiency”.

There's almost certainly a scientific name for the condition but “defect” is the word I remember being told I had that day in elementary school when I was tested and diagnosed. The news was shared with me in a pitying tone, I thought. The school nurse implied that the defect would hamper my pursuit of any number of careers careers. 

I was even told I couldn't be a bus driver because I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a red light and a green light.

So, no one's perfect. We all have defects and talents to overcome them. I didn't let having a “defect” limit me...but the concerning idea that the rainbow I see may differ from what the “90%” sees stayed with me through the decades. 

And I do see in color. I know “red” and “green”. Apples are red. And green too…. I didn't have a defect.  Through trial and much error I learned not to make the sort of wardrobe choices that made me look like an escapee from a circus. 

And I got very reluctant about discussing visual art.  

But, for 17 years I had  a job which allowed me to travel extensively and I learned I enjoyed photography.  Investing in a genuine SLR never seemed practical-- given my “defect-- but did all right with a basic disposable camera.

In 2010, I finally got a phone which came with a decent camera…. And I finally had the capacity to challenge my longtime self-perception as “defective’.

Describe your work, your vision for the type of art you want to be exhibited on the second floor, and why you want to show it at Strut.

Capturing images of my home in the Bay-- as well as a handful of other locations-- started out as a pastime something which simply brings me joy. The Gay Bay is often seen exclusively as San Francisco’s clubs and organizations, and the sights and scenes of San Francisco. Of my 30 years in the Bay, Oakland has been my home for 16 years.

Oakland’s unique combination of natural beauty and “hella” gritty realness has sharpened my eye to such qualities wherever I travel and has made me a more assured photographer. In fact, the photos I’ve contributed to Google Maps as a Local Guide have been viewed 538,000 times. 

I have visited 40 States (and DC) on my way to all 50 and have trained my eye to see details many might miss,

The significance of the rainbow is-- naturally-- the image of the Rainbow flag representing our LGBTQ community.

But R-O-Y-G-B-I-V also represents the range of color I was told I could never physically perceive. 

As I facetiously recounted above, I spent decades doubting my “visual sense. I only gradually started to consider the images I took with my Nexus 5 phone “photography”, developing a love for the art past the age of 50. 

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Self assessment

This piece was already for the most part composed.  It simply required some editing.  Posted in the niddle of the night as a result of insomnia