Acclaimed photographer Abe Frajndlich has completed an extraordinary visual journey spanning over five decades, creating a deeply personal photographic series titled "This is the Color of My Dreams." The comprehensive body of work represents a significant departure from his traditional lens-based photography, instead offering what he describes as "an internal visual journey" that draws from both public and private visual universes to construct his personal cosmology.

The ambitious project began in the early 1980s during the analog photography era, when Frajndlich gained access to a process printer that allowed him to experiment with innovative techniques. He would lay visual elements on a flat bed and shoot with 8x10 color negative film to create the first series of images, which he initially called "Transpositions." These groundbreaking works were first exhibited at the Akron Museum of Art in 1982, shortly after their creation, marking an early milestone in the photographer's experimental period.

The original analog works proved remarkably durable over time, with the contact C-type prints maintaining their color saturation exceptionally well after nearly four decades. Several pieces from this initial exhibition were acquired for the Akron Museum of Art's permanent collection, recognizing their artistic significance and technical innovation. The success of these early works established the foundation for what would become a much larger exploration of visual manipulation and artistic expression.

In the early 2010s, Frajndlich embraced digital technology and became proficient in Photoshop and digital manipulation techniques, enabling him to create a second set of images that expanded on his earlier analog experiments. It was only during this digital phase that he began to recognize the strong thematic and visual connections between the two bodies of work created decades apart. This realization helped him understand the project as a cohesive artistic statement rather than separate experimental phases.

The photographer describes his creative process as continuous appropriation from "an entire visual universe, both public and private," which has sustained his photographic explorations since 1970. Unlike his traditional photographic series that rely on camera optics and lenses, this particular body of work represents a more introspective approach to image-making. Frajndlich characterizes the project as exploring "a dense private/public realm" that requires viewers to engage differently with the visual material.

The series title pays homage to Joan Miró's painting of the same name, which currently hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Frajndlich first encountered this influential work in the home of Pierre Matisse, the renowned art dealer and son of the famous painter Henri Matisse. This connection to art history adds another layer of meaning to the photographer's exploration of visual appropriation and artistic dialogue across different mediums and time periods.

Frajndlich encourages viewers to approach these photographs with an open mind, advising them to "get completely lost" in order to thoroughly experience the work. This invitation reflects the artist's intention to create an immersive visual experience that transcends traditional photographic viewing. The complete series represents not just technical innovation but also a philosophical statement about the nature of visual perception and artistic creation in both analog and digital eras.