LADY SINGS THE BLUES
How Yves Klein Blue, so wonderfully used in the artist’s Anthropometries, fittingly made it’s way into one of Phoebe Philo’s last brilliant collections for Céline in 2016...
Untitled Anthropometry (ANT 100) • Imprints of the bodies of Yves Klein and Rotraut, in alternation • 1960 • Yves Klein • Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.
"What is blue"?" the nouveau realist, minimalist and performance artist Yves Klein famously asked. "Blue is the invisible becoming visible. Blue has no dimensions, it is beyond the dimensions of which other colours partake," he concluded... International Klein Blue (IKB) was developed by Yves Klein in collaboration with Edouard Adam, a Parisian art paint supplier in Montparnasse. IKB uses a matte, synthetic resin binder which suspends the color and allows the pigment to maintain as much of its original qualities and intensity of color as possible. Although Klein had worked with blue extensively in his earlier career, it was not until 1958 that he used the patented color exclusively as the central component of a piece (the color effectively becoming the art). He was inspired by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, whom he quoted: ‘First there is nothing, then a depth of nothingness, then a profundity of blue.’ One of his most famous works, The Anthropométries, provocatively combines theatre and blue paint, naturally exploring the measurements and proportions of the human body. As Stella Paul explains: "The works were created in performance, with nude women playing the role of human brushes commanded by Klein. Some of the performances were accompanied by Klein’s Monotone Symphony: twenty minutes of one continuous sound, ‘deprived’ of beginning and end, and twenty minutes of silence. Under Klein’s direction and before his eyes, the artworks took shape without his touch. He was conductor or director as much as painter, as the blue paint covering the women’s bodies transferred to the canvas with no intervening brush, roller or other artists’ tool." So too was Philo a conductor of art in her own right, in her case inventively using fabric as her medium...
Yves Klein realizing an Anthropometry with model Michèle in his studio • 1960 • Paris
Anthropometry of the Blue Period (ANT 132) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Image courtesy of The Estate of Yves Klein
Realization of an Anthropometry with model Michèle in Yves Klein's studio • 1960 • Paris • Image courtesy of Harry Shunk and Janos Kender via the J.Paul Getty Trust
Detail of Anthropométrie de l'Époque Bleue (Anthropometry of the Blue Period) (ANT 82) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou, Paris
Guinevere van Seenus modeling an Yves Klein inspired gown from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • March 2017 • Harper's Bazaar UK • Bibi Cornejo Borthwick
Yves Klein realizing an Anthropometry with model Elena Palumbo in his studio • 1960 • Paris • Image courtesy of Harry Shunk and Janos Kender via the J.Paul Getty Trust
Anthropométrie de l'Époque Bleue (Anthropometry of the Blue Period) (ANT 82) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou, Paris
Gown Featuring an Yves Klein Blue Anthropometry Print • Céline 2017 Spring / Summer Collection
Realization of an Anthropometry with model Elena Palumbo in Yves Klein's studio • 1960 • Image courtesy of Jacques Fleurant
Untitled Anthropometry (ANT 87) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Image courtesy of The Estate of Yves Klein
Yasmin Wijnaldum and Agnes Åkerlund modeling Yves Klein inspired dresses from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • March 2017 • Vogue China
Gabrielle Boucinha of @oldceline modeling an Yves Klein inspired gown from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection
Daniela Kocianova modeling an Yves Klein inspired gown from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection
Anthropométrie (ANT 49) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Image courtesy of Christie’s
Portrait of Yves Klein during the shooting of Peter Morley’s documentary The Heartbeat of France • Studio of Charles Wilp • Dusseldorf • February 1961 • Charles Wilp
Yves Klein realizing an Anthropometry with model Elena Palumbo in his studio • 1960 • Paris • Image courtesy of Harry Shunk and Janos Kender via the J.Paul Getty Trust
A model wearing an Yves Klein inspired gown from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • Mixte Magazine • Yaniv Edry
Runway Model for the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer Show • Paris • Image courtesy of Jason Lloyd-Evans for 1O Magazine
Yves Klein’s Performance Anthropométries de l'Époque Bleue (Anthropometries of the Blue Period) • March 9, 1960 • Galerie International d’Art Contemporain • Paris • Image courtesy of Harry Shunk and Janos Kender via the J.Paul Getty Trust
Model wearing an Yves Klein inspired gown from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • Elle Japan • Jiro Komani
Cover story featuring a model wearing an Yves Klein inspired dress from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • May 2017 • Hearts Magazine • Greta Ilieva
Yves Klein realizing an Anthropometry with model Elena Palumbo in his studio • 1960 • Paris • Image courtesy of Jacques Fleurant via The Estate of Yves Klein
Runway Model for the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer Show • Paris • Image courtesy of Dazed Digital
Yves Klein realizing an Anthropometry with model Elena Palumbo in his studio • 1960 • Paris • Image courtesy of Harry Shunk and Janos Kender via the J.Paul Getty Trust
Untitled Anthropometry (ANT 136) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Image courtesy of The Estate of Yves Klein
Pak Ketut’s mother modeling an Yves Klein inspired dress from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • Bali • Image courtesy of Deborah Wangsaputri and Marshella Jastine via Whiteboard Journal
Untitled Anthropometry (ANT 123) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Image courtesy of The Estate of Yves Klein
Yves Klein’s Performance Anthropométries de l'Époque Bleue (Anthropometries of the Blue Period) • March 9, 1960 • Galerie International d’Art Contemporain • Paris • Image courtesy of Charles Wilp via The Estate of Yves Klein
Runway Model for the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer Show • Paris • Image courtesy of Jason Lloyd-Evans for W Magazine
Untitled Anthropometry (ANT 110) • 1960 • Yves Klein • Image courtesy of The Estate of Yves Klein
Runway Model for the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer Show • Paris • Image courtesy of Jason Lloyd-Evans for W Magazine
Lily Donaldson modeling an Yves Klein inspired dress from the Céline 2017 Spring / Summer collection • May 2017 • Elle China • Mark Pillai
Yves Klein surrounded by his Sponge Sculptures during the opening of the exhibition Monochrome und Feuer • Haus Lange Museum • Krefeld • January 1961 • Image courtesy of Pierre Boulat via the Yves Klein Estate
