Yves Klein Untitled Anthropometry

Victoria V., V.V. (2017) Yves Klein Anthropometries de l’époque bleue. Available from: www.wipplay.com/blog/2017/06/21/yves-klein-anthropometries-de-lepoque-bleue-vers-1958/ (Accessed 1st Nov 2017)

Steve Klein has always been one of my favourite artists, completely insane but achingly clever. The humour he brought into galleries is unparalleled. The first conceptual piece to be shown at the Galerie International d’Art Contemporain, Klein gathered one hundred people to witness the creation of this magnificent, career altering piece. He set the show to The Monotone Symphony, a tune consisting of a singular note. Klein had substituted paintbrushes with naked women who to rolled in his signature shade ‘Klein Blue’ and press their bodies against walls covered in paper. 

I love imagining the feeling in the room: a night out in Paris, the city of glamour and sophistication – a hundred guests all show up in black tie expecting an evening of glamour and art, only to witness multiple nude models dragging their bare bodies drenched in paint across the walls and floors. The effectiveness of this piece stems from its duality, figurative yet abstract.

Beatrice Lartigue, B.L. (2015) Empreintes. Available from: www.epure.it/empreintes/ (Accessed 2nd Nov. 2017)

Klein’s works most obvious characteristic is more literal than most, he vowed to only use the shade ‘Klein Blue’. One of his later works ‘Portrait Relief of Claude Pascal’ in 1962 consisted solely of his signature blue embossed on bronze and gold leaf painted on wood. The piece was a part of a series Klein wanted to produce of his friends; each to be set in the same colour scheme, Yves Klein’s own portrait was meant to instead be in a contrasting gold against a blue background. Meant to imitate Roman statues, each would hold the customary rigidity and certain unfinished limbs. The authoritative bodies amalgamated with the two tone colour palette make this piece appear regal. Unfortunately he only completed three before his early death, presumably because of the significant cost.  Klein had this incredible ability to capture human expression and harmonise it with a contemporary edge. I think it’s this consistent sense of self that inspired Celine to feature his work in their designs; a fashion house with one of the strongest identities in the business.