International Klein Blue

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International Klein Blue
 
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Hex triplet #002FA7
sRGB B (r, g, b)(0, 47, 167)
HSV (h, s, v)(223°, 100%, 65%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(26, 83, 263°)
Source ColorHexa
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
IKB 191 (1962), one of a number of works Klein painted with International Klein Blue IKB 191.jpg
IKB 191 (1962), one of a number of works Klein painted with International Klein Blue

International Klein Blue (IKB) is a deep blue hue first mixed by the French artist Yves Klein. IKB's visual impact comes from its heavy reliance on ultramarine, as well as Klein's often thick and textured application of paint to canvas.

Contents

History

Synthetic ultramarine, similar to that used in IKB pigment Ultramarinepigment.jpg
Synthetic ultramarine, similar to that used in IKB pigment

International Klein Blue (IKB) was developed by Yves Klein in collaboration with Edouard Adam, a Parisian art paint supplier whose shop is still in business on the Boulevard Edgar-Quinet in Montparnasse. [1] 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. [2] The synthetic resin used in the binder is a polyvinyl acetate developed and marketed at the time under the name Rhodopas M or M60A by the French pharmaceutical company Rhône-Poulenc. [3] Adam still sells the binder under the name "Médium Adam 25". [1]

In May 1960, Klein deposited a Soleau envelope, registering the paint formula under the name International Klein Blue (IKB) at the Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI), [2] but he never patented IKB. Only valid under French law, a Soleau envelope registers the date of invention, according to the depositor, prior to any legal patent application. The copy held by the INPI was destroyed in 1965. Klein's own copy, which the INPI returned to him duly stamped, still exists. [4]

In March 1960, Klein patented a method by which he was able to distance himself from the physical creation of his paintings by remotely directing models covered in the color. [5]

Use in Yves Klein's art

Although Klein had worked with blue extensively in his earlier career, it was not until 1958 that he used it as the central component of a piece (the color effectively becoming the art). Klein embarked on a series of monochromatic works using IKB as the central theme. These included performance art where Klein painted models' naked bodies and had them walk, roll and sprawl upon blank canvases as well as more conventional single-color canvases. [6] Six sculptures by Klein in the Musiktheater im Revier, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, are executed in IKB. One artwork he made is the Anthropometrie.

In the original performance of Klein's Monotone-Silence Symphony in 1960, three naked models on stage were painted with International Klein Blue body paint during the performance, and left imprints of their bodies on canvas. [7] [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 Le medium Adam25, Adam Montmartre
  2. 1 2 Christa Haiml (2007). "Restoring the Immaterial: Study and Treatment of Yves Klein's Blue Monochrome (IKB42)". In Learner, Tom (ed.). Modern Paints Uncovered: Proceedings from the Modern Paints Uncovered Symposium. Getty Conservation Institute. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. ISBN   9780892369065.
  3. Yves Klein: Les Monochromes de l'Époque Bleue (1955–1962). International Klein Blue
  4. Denys Riout, Yves Klein: L'aventure monochrome (Paris: Gallimard, 2006), pp. 36–37.
  5. Espacenet Patent search. FR1258418 (A) – Procédé de décoration ou d'intégration architecturale et produits obtenus par application dudit procédé (in French)
  6. "The woman who painted her body for artist Yves Klein". BBC News Online . 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  7. Cowan, Sarah (2013-09-27). "Without Beginning or End: Yves Klein's Monotone-Silence Symphony". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  8. Prot, Frédéric (2011). "La Symphonie Monoton-Silence". www.yvesklein.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  9. "Eddie Redmayne from Les Misérables". W . Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
  10. In Masterpieces, certain works which question themselves and art in general are the support for Kaele's new proposals which extend their message while respecting their spirit at the very place where they are exposed.
  11. "Blue, Derek Jarman, 1993". Tate .
  12. Kastan, David Scott; Farthing, Stephen (2018). On Color. New Haven: Yale University Books. p. 112. ISBN   9780300171877. OCLC   1005127035.
  13. "International Klein Blue" by Kliché on YouTube
  14. "Blue is the warmest color". philstar.com. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  15. "Roger Eno – Voices (1985, Vinyl)". Discogs . 26 July 1985.
  16. "Melancholy Optimism: Manic Street Preachers Interviewed" by Patrick Clarke, The Quietus , 19 February 2018
  17. "Joost Klein draagt zelfontworpen pak op songfestival: 'Tekening op iPad'". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  18. Mark FroHungry (9 May 2016). "Review: Mike Tyson Mysteries "Yves Klein Blues"". bubbleblabber.com. Retrieved 17 July 2021.