Yves

Yves Klein, Leap Into The Void, 1960

This is one of my favorite photographs. When I saw it for the first time, I must have stared at it for two full minutes, which is a long time to stare at a photograph. He was a follower of an obscure Christian sect that believed that spirits would be liberated from their bodies and people would exist without form, and objects would levitate. He thought he could exist as a pure color which for him represented infinity. Klein thought that he could fly, and wanted to prove it to the non-believers by documenting his flight.


I later found out that the photograph is in fact, faked. He had some friends hold out a sheet to catch his fall. He then edited the friends out of the photograph in the darkroom. Nevertheless, the photograph represents Klein's acceptance of the void, and his desire to become immaterial. Unfortunately another artist in Japan tried to imitate Klein and leaped to his death.

For me, I had a total Barthes 'punctum' moment. Something about the insanity of jumping from a building to prove your point, to show that you aren't afraid of the void has really stuck with me.

His monochromatic Pure Color ultramarine blue paintings are ironically being appropriated as a new color in fashion, sans spirituality. Maybe he would have liked it. Maybe it would have been for him as if you're becoming the color. But somehow I doubt it. I think people sometimes forget that all the arts are connected to each other.

Jil Sander & Givenchy