Well, friends, today’s post comes to you from the depths of Ye Olde Texarkana, located at — you guessed it — the funky junction of Texas, Arkansas and Louisisana. To put it mildly, my computer here is a little wonky (AOL???! why not just hook a bicycle up to the computer and pedal to power it like crazy Ed Begley Jr.?), but bear with me for a two-part series on the crazy adventures of Yves Klein and the electric blue zeitgeist that’s sweeping the decornation.
When I was in art school, Yves Klein was something of a mystery to me. A conceptualist in the 50’s and 60’s, a lot of what he did was just paint stuff –any stuff — blue, but not just any blue; he patented his own lapis lazuli shade which he titled IYKB (International Yves Klein Blue).
(photos courtesy of the Yves Klein Archives).
Yves loved him some naked ladies, which he employed as paint brushes that wielded his Klein Blue paint during performances where Anthropometries, or visual measurements of the human body, were created. And so the human paintbrush trend was born…
But he wasn’t above stealing readymade forms, like a copy of the torso of Venus or a common globe, and coating them with blue paint, much like Karly covers everything in gold paint. I suppose International Yves Klein Blue has a continental ring to it that International Erin Williamson Puce doesn’t really have, but I’m starting to think I should have gotten wise to the whole “just paint stuff” movement a lot sooner.
Yves died in 1962 of a heart attack — dude was only 34! — but a lot of his works have been in heavy rotation for the last couple of years. Check out that very same bust of Venus in a contemporary posh pad decorated by Brown and Davis:
Blue and yellow are back together again, for the very first time…
And here’s the now familiar globe at the Hotel Verhaegen in Belgium:
In this room, that globe looks like it landed from an alien planet and I LIKE it. I also like the idea of staying at a hotel where an incredibly expensive piece of art is just sitting on the coffee table, waiting for me to stash it in my slightly oversized purse.
The most attainable and decorative of Klein’s works are the infamous lucite coffee tables that have been popping up everywhere:
Design superduo Yabu and Pushelberg are practically cooing over their Klein table, which I must say, makes a major statement in their largely monochromatic apartment.
And according to Habitually Chic’s website, designer David Netto says “You’re not living until you have an Yves Klein cofffee table.” I guess I’ll keep that in mind, that is if I have a mind, because I must be dead. Oh, and just in case I’m not already sleeping with the fishes, the rest of David Netto’s art collection makes me want to choke it’s so amazing.
But not quite as amazing as Marianne Boesky’s collection, which features a pink Klein table. Surprised you with that one, didn’t I? Extra credit if you remembered from an earlier post that he made gold tables, too.
I love the bizarre pop of color these tables give to conservative spaces, and I would KILL someone for those hooded head prints. This may be one of my favorite apartments. Ever.
Back to blue. Focus! So, I can’t afford one of the only 300 tables in each color that were made. But I was thinking of buying one of these and working it over:
The OG table on top, lefty is from Eurway and righty is from Ikea. It would be so easy to paint the tops of either table and have a piece of plexi cut to cover the top, just to protect the finish and add some extra shine.
So move over gold, there’s a new color to just paint stuff: Klein Blue, aka, Pantone 72C Pantone 286 mixed with Reflex Blue. Thanks, Anna at Door Sixteen, for alerting me to my faulty color match!
People, I am busy. I am literally (seriously) going fishing tomorrow, and I have buckets of fried okra to eat after that, but I’ll be back for Thursday’s sure to be poorly written AWESOME post, where I shall overload you with pretty pictures of Klein Blue interiors. Because I heart you.
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Go for the Eurway table – it’s much more unique and will be easier to paint, plus it’s already polished. Love the post. I love seeing modern pieces in a more traditional setting. It really adds flavor and excitement to a room.
Fried okra – yum! Fishing – fun! I agree w/Lauren, I like it when people mix it up. Really bugs me when a room is just all modern pieces, or all whatever. Spice of life people, spice of life.
Do you remember a few years ago when Farrah Fawcett was doing that body painting stuff? She was all looped up on painkillers and appeared on Letterman rolling around in poster paint? Great TV!
Also, an un-PC related short story to Yabu and Pushelberg (are they are couple?). Back home, our city’s theater director, an older white man, has a much younger Vietnamese lover. My GBF calls him the Asian War Bride.
Follow-up: “are they are” rhymes with hardy har har.
I’m into the idea of building a klien blue table, part of what makes it so great is the negative space in the plexi box. I’m sure we can make matt do it for us.
Lauren, I would have picked the Euraw table, too, but Karly, I totally agree on the negative space. Crack the whip and get Matty to work, asap!
And Raina, thanks for reminding me about Farrah Fawcett… had totally forgotten. Yabu/Pushelberg are a couple, but he’s too old to be a “war bride” (hilarious).
And Sherri, tomorrow we’re frying up the gajillion fish we caught. My arteries are already screaming!
Everyone, please keep the comments coming — I need to stay sane here!
OMG Raina I want to meet your GBF. He sounds brilliant. I had a client who had the blue table… I honestly thought it just looked kind of gimmicky.
I’ve always been disappointed by what I’ve seen of YP’s residences… in contrast to their work, the homes seem very bland. But maybe when they come home at night they just want something fairly blank? Who knows.
NerF, you have clients who can afford a Klein table? I’m probably giving myself away here, but, holy shit.
Glad someone has seen it in situ. I really hated Klein in grad school because I though he was pretty much selling hot air (which, for all intents and purposes, he did) but tons of artists do that anyway, and I do love the color.
Plus I wish I could making a living selling air. I know I’d be good at it.