Part of the Getty’s 2024 Pacific Standard Time initiative, Blue Gold is focused on the intertwined histories of art and science, past and present, addressing some of the most complex challenges of our century. Featuring stunning objects of creative expression, coupled with scientific study and explanation, Mingei’s exhibition will present indigo as a compelling manifestation of art and science.

Indigo—a varied plant family that grows worldwide and the deep, blue dye it produces—has a long and multifaceted history of cultivation, production, and distribution. Blue Gold combines science, craft, and history to explore this color’s complex past and present. Indigo’s beauty and ubiquity have eclipsed the unpleasant realities of its growth and manufacture, including hard labor and pollution, and its association with colonialism and slavery. As a pigment, indigo has been assigned protective properties, healing powers, and dangerous qualities that have shaped its uses in craft and the arts.

The exhibition highlights the roles of botany, chemistry, medicine, ecology, and economics in indigo cultivation. Contemporary craftspeople and artists working with indigo, such as Laura Kina and Porfirio Gutierrez, address questions about the sustainability of indigo, its problematic legacies, and technological alternatives to manual processing.