Yves Klein
Subtitle: incandescence
By: text by Frédéric Prot ; afterword by Patti Smith
Contributors: Smith, Patti; Humair, Daniel; Klein, Yves, 1928-1962
Publisher: 5 Continents
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Milan, Italy
Language: eng
Number of pages: 239
ISBN-13: 9788874396252
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation; Body art; Conceptual art
Other titles: Incandescence
Description: French painter Yves Klein (1928-1962) stands as one of the most exciting artists of the 20th century.  A founding member of the New Realism movement, he was also a pioneer in performance art and installations, and a forerunner of body art, land art, and conceptual art.  During his meteoric eight-year career, Klein expressed his vision through a wide range of media, including pure colour (notably a deep, bright blue now known as Yves Klein Blue), architecture, sculpture, literature, and music.  This book looks afresh at Klein's works, and especially those that involve fire.  Klein used fire to represent the mysterious and intangible elements of the world: He believed that an artist's transfiguration of reality could change a viewer's personal values, and his aim was to usher in an age of happy and fulfilled humankind.  Here, images of his spectacular mur de feu or "wall of fire," along with his monochromes, monogolds, drawings, letters, and articles, as well as pictures of Klein producing his works, are testament to the artist's belief in the spiritual power of art.
Notes: "This book is accompanied by a DVD (duration: 12 min.), including a sequence dedicated to the Mur de feu (Wall of Fire) and the Fontaine de feu (Fountain of Fire) in the exhibition Yves Klein Monochrome and Feuer, Krefeld, Germany, 1961 (filmed by: Yvan Butler) as well as a sequence by Yves Klein of Peintures de feu (Fire Paintings) at the Centre d'essai de Gaz de France, France, 1962 (filmed by: Albert Weill)."--Colophon.

Title on DVD label: Yves Klein, Le feu, 1961-1962 / music by Daniel Humair.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 216-222) and index.
Table of contents: title: The invisible city --; title: The flesh of the world --; title: In broad daylight --; title: The fifth element -- by Patti Smith.