Born in 1928 and died in 1962. "Can Klein's creative methods be considered neorealism?" people ask. Restani placed him at the center of the artistic galaxy. His technique of expression is to paint on rollers and display pure paint works; in addition, he places himself in the exhibition hall as a work of art and asserts that his presence can "infect" the space. What the audience saw was a void exhibition without anything, and the only thing that appeared was his elusive figure. Looking back at the art history of the 20th century, in terms of the fundamental characteristics of an artist, no one is more "artist" than the French painter Yves Klein (1928-1962). His importance as an artist lies not in the "beautiful" value of art, but in his completely rebellious, independent and outstanding character. In other words, the artist's main creation is none other than the artist himself. Twenty years after the painter's death, for a full year from 1982 to 1983, the "Yves Klein Retrospective" finally toured Houston, Chicago, New York and Paris. In the preface to the retrospective exhibition, an American art critic wrote: "Yves Klein belongs to that kind of self-conscious god-making artist. He once declared that his way of life will become the mainstay of modern society. event. In his strategy of achieving his goal, there is obviously a preparation aimed at realizing this distinct personal myth. The core of this myth is to leave a trace in life, even if this trace is only ashes." Born in 1928. Nice (Nice) in the south of France, both parents are painters. My childhood was hurriedly passed away in the constant traveling between three families: parents, grandparents and aunt. Klein, who was never a good student, often missed classes for no reason. Coupled with the war, his studies were really worrying. He finally failed in the national university entrance qualification examination in 1946 and never received any form of school education again. After a brief stay in England with his parents, Klein returned to Nice, borrowed a house from his aunt, and opened a small bookstore. However, this life made the young Klein feel bored and suffocated. In 1947, he started studying judo at the police academy in Nice, which gave him an escape from real life, a new career and friends. Among his close friends was a young man named Armand Fernandez, who later became not only a famous artist, but also a warrior who fought for the French avant-garde art together with Klein. Later, Klein encountered the teachings of Rosicrucianism, and over the next 10 years, he continued to be obsessed with it, providing a mystical foundation for many future artistic practices. After completing his military service in Germany, he went to England again and stayed for a long time to study English. In 1950, in England, Klein felt for the first time a strong call to his serious mission as an artist. To be an artist is a strong desire to bid farewell to the world of my parents and become something else. It is also an idea that I have to constantly restrain out of consideration for my future life. In 1951, he went to Spain to learn Spanish and at the same time began teaching judo. From then on, this almost became Klein’s capital for making a living. In 1952, with financial support from his aunt, he traveled to the East and entered the Tokyo Kodokan, the most authoritative judo education institution in the world. In Japan, in order to pursue the supreme technique of judo, Klein began to take stimulants, including amphetamine (scientific name: amphetamine), which can be obtained legally and has been used endlessly. Taking stimulants may have contributed to his perseverance, but it also brought painful insomnia and was not unrelated to his early death. Through arduous study and training, Klein finally obtained the fourth-degree qualification equivalent to a Japanese judo black belt and became a European judo expert. In early 1954, a smug Klein returned to Paris, determined to conquer the French judo world. However, the French Judo Federation made the decision to exclude Klein because Japan's judo qualifications were not recognized by the federation. Klein missed the European Championships and even his request to join the Judo Federation was rejected. In October of that year, he published the book "Les Fondements du Judo" (Les Fondements du Judo), but the situation remained unchanged.
Klein left Spain again in order to soothe the pain caused by failure. At the same time, he thought more seriously about the mission of an artist than ever before. Taking his first step towards becoming an artist, no doubt a well-thought-out one, he began by making small reproductions of black and white monochrome paintings. Klein carefully traced the history of European art back in order to give himself something like a competitive record. However, his initial attempts to enter the art world ended in failure. Klein submitted the orange-painted monochrome painting to the Salon Nouvelle Veritas in Paris in 1955, but it was rejected. This was followed by solo exhibitions aimed at emphasizing monochromatic paintings. Although this was a marginal exhibition, it was quite successful and attracted the attention of the ambitious young critic Pierre Restany, who was famous for his eloquence and ambition. In 1956, he The artist who opened the next exhibition wrote the preface. Klein's fortunes began to change, and fate led him to meet the outstanding female art dealer Iris Clert, who was looking for opportunities to enter the field of avant-garde art. She soon became Klein's "Accomplice", it is her gallery that provides an unprecedented stage for directing personal myths. Especially the second art exhibition they jointly planned can be said to have achieved a scandalous victory and won a weird glory. At the opening ceremony of this art exhibition called "Le Vide" (The Void), both sides of the gallery entrance were tightly guarded by members wearing uniforms of the National Guard and National Guard to prevent water from entering; while inside the exhibition hall, The walls are empty and empty. Thousands of unconventional Parisian young people and literary and artistic people witnessed this novel creation, and the opening ceremony almost caused a riot. But this dramatic effect is exactly what artists and art dealers expect. After visiting the exhibition, the existentialist writer Camus famously said, "With the void, total empowerment." Klein's fortunes skyrocketed and success followed. Not only did he receive important orders such as the decoration project for the new opera house in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, but he was also able to have another solo exhibition at the Elise Clairt Gallery, and then became Pierre Ray A core member of the Nouveau Realisme art group organized by Stani; Klein's collected works were published in Belgium with much fanfare and were filled with references to the move towards an age of space travel, telepathy and the immaterial. prophecy. During this time, the artist unleashed a terrifying energy. According to statistics from published catalogs of works alone, no less than 1,077 works were created from 1956 to 1962, and his reputation was at its peak throughout the European continent. In 1961, a major retrospective exhibition was held in Krefeld, Germany, and some important galleries in New York also opened their doors to him. In the face of various opportunities and challenges, Klein actively responded not only with an astonishing number of works, but also with an endless stream of new techniques and new media, unremittingly opening up the boundaries between painting and sculpture, fine art and other arts. In 1960, an unprecedented work called Anthropométrie was created. Klein's creation is similar to today's performance art (Performance Art): a huge white canvas is spread on the floor, covered with a color named "International Klein Blue" (IKB for short) The nude female model of paint, accompanied by Klein's own "Symphonie Monotone" (Symphonie Monotone), is directed by the artist, rolling and shifting on the canvas, leaving a single blue mark on the canvas. Later, he invented a technique called "flame painting": the artist uses a spray gun as a brush to spray hot flames on pre-colored fireproof materials, leaving a unique color effect. However, Klein's success was not rock solid, and the New York exhibition was an ominous omen. The authoritative "ARTnews" magazine insultingly evaluated his art as "Dali in his teenage years." Klein, who is very popular in France and Europe, can hardly be seen in the New York art world. More cruel misfortunes are yet to come.
In July 1961, part of the artist's "Anthropometry" series of works was allowed to be filmed into a documentary film with the accompaniment of "Single Symphony" - in fact, it was a documentary film of what happened a year ago. Art events are reproduced. Unexpectedly, without the painter's complete knowledge, the main part of the film was taken out and dismembered, and even the theme music was dropped. In the end, this unrecognizable "documentary" was grafted into an American movie "Mondo cane" that exposed all kinds of horror and madness in a cynical manner. Klein didn't know what had happened until May 1962, when he attended the premiere in Cannes. Three days later, the artist suffered a heart attack. Then came a second fatal relapse. On June 6, 1962, Yves Klein passed away at the age of 34.