Anthropometry performance, 9 March 1960
Klein, Yves

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Alternative Title
Anthropometry, Action-spectacle of March 9, 1960
Date
1960Description
"The affluent patrons arrived and were seated on gilded chairs. A large portion of the floor was covered with sheets of paper, and along the front wall hung a twety-foot-long sheet in front of which were pedestals of varying height. With a formal seriousness, an ensemble consisting of three violinists, three cellists, and three choristers entered and took their place on the stage area on the far side of the gallery. Klein, dressed in a tuxedo and white tie like the musicians, entered as the conductor and bowed to his orchestra, which began playing his Symphonie monotone, which consists of a cycle of twenty minutes of one musical note followed by twenty minutes of silence ... The symphony contrasted starkly with the entrance of three completely nude women carrying pails of I.K.B. paint. Under the artist's quiet direction, these models sponged the paint onto themselves and imprinted their bodies onto the paper. This part of the performance had been carefully choreographed the day befpre in an exacting rehearsal. The practice painting that was produced was subsequently cut into a series of individual anthropométries almost indistinguishable from the large-scale composition made during the performance. This extraordinary degree of control over a seemingly playful, even frivolous, event was a characteristic of Klein's work."This performance was presented at the Galerie Internationale d'Art Contemporain in Paris. full view, Discussion among Yves Klein, Georges Mathieu, and Pierre Restany
Type of Work
Performance artSubject
Blue, Performance art, Conceptual art, Audiences, Human body, Female nude in art, Sex, Avant-garde (Music)
Rights Statement
All rights reserved
Item is Part of
110165