Performance Art: Yves Klein

In college I studied Art History, and ever since I've always drawn inspiration for my work from the art world. I love contemporary and minimalist artwork, or anything with a story. My love of art and design definitely reflects in my clothing choices; I love structured, minimals pieces with contemporary twists, interesting textures or bold patterns, and I know this has developed from my love of Conceptualist/Minimalist movements.

Yves Klein
French artist, Yves Klein (1928 - 1962) initially emerged through post-war artwork, and was a pioneer of performance, minimalism and pop art.

The most recent Yves Klein exhibition was at the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC in 2010.

Video: "Anthropometry" (Performance Art)
One of his most famous, and one of my favourite, works was performances of 'Anthropometry', where he used naked women as 'human paintbrushes' to create psychiatric-like prints during a 40 minute show. The vivid blue used in these performances he patented as "International Klein Blue". Some of the pieces created during his performances were then exhibited as part of his art collection:

"Anthropementries of The Blue Period" (1962)

"People Begin To Fly" (1961)

Whilst I think some performance art is not made easily accessible to people outside of the artwork, I think whats refreshing about Klein's work is that whilst it remains innovative and true to its purpose, its understandable and no-frills for the average man to be able to appreciate. I think art should be inclusive and enjoyable for all, and that's what I love about Yves Klein.

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