Klein's Selected Writings
[quote]As one of the initiators of performance art, French Yves Klein developed a specific interest in staging himself as (male) artist. An ambiguous mix of tribute and ironic critique, he presented masculinity as a construed role. The obvious 'male chauvinism' in his Anthropometries series - images made with nude women as a set of 'living brushes' - is a good example for discussion. As Jones demonstrates, it is possible to consider these in light of the performative aspect of Pollock's production. In Anthropometries of the Blue Period, executed in Galerie Internationale d’Arte Contemporaine in Paris in 1960, Klein instructed three nude women to cover their upper bodies with paint and to then lie down on the large sheets of paper unfurled on the floor. The performance was accompanied by a string quartet performing his "Monotone Symphony," and resulted in a series of paintings with physical impressions made in Klein's own color, International Klein Blue.
[ http://www.forart.no/ustvedt/ustvedt.html ]
Yves Klein's fascination with fire could be considered extraordinary. His 1961 exhibition, at the Museum Haus Lange in Krefeld, Germany, sparked his interest in tracing the presence of fire which lead him to produce his series of fire paintings and prints [...]
Klein continues his fire painting at the Testing Centre of Gaz de France after the Krefeld exhibition. In keeping with his flamboyant and exuberant character and the element of chance, Klein got permission to use the facilities; "Not only was it prestigious to work with the experts at the national gas company, but it was also marked the realization of Klein's dream to achieve a collaboration between art and science." (Stich: 224) The importance of this collaboration was that it allowed him to solidify what he was striving for: to record "the presence of absence, the mark of lifeÖ." (Restany: 109) Working at the Testing Centre allowed him the liberty to experiment with the fire medium and different canvas materials. With the use of a flame-thrower, water and Swedish compressed board, engineered to burn at a slower rate than normal compressed board, Klein had the ability to regulate the burning process. Through his experimenting, he developed three approaches to the burning process that enabled him to control the effect the fire had on the compressed board.[...]
Klein not only used water but also incorporated paint into his experimenting with fire. The fire-colour paintings that he created were done by, either painting the compressed board first and then exposing it to fire or he would paint the board after the burning process emphasising certain fire markings. He also used nude models, like with his anthropometries, to imprint the human figure but used water instead of paint. He would spray the model with water, who would than press her body onto the compressed board after which he would immediately burn the imprint of water left behind. This process created similar images to those of his anthropometries, yet the burning is more directly connected to the Hiroshima image of the nuclear blast's victim's body imprint on stone that affected Klein early in his career. Klein's experimenting abruptly ended when it was found out that nude models were on the premises of the Testing Centre of Gaz de France. This not only affected Klein and his work but also the director of the centre who was fired. However, during his time at the centre, Klein produced a great body of work, one hundred and twenty fire paintings in total, which served only to compliment his other bodies of work.
[ http://www.uwo.ca/visarts/projects/klei ... jenean.htm ][/quote]
Again, more of the rare art videos I got thanks to my american friend
Klein was referenced in Janine Antoni's work, which I released earlier here.
THE LINK:
Yves Klein - Anthropometries of the Blue Period and Fire Paintings.avi 
