Is it IKB or Memorex? Only Yves Knows

Actually, a digital representation can only approximate the deep, other-worldly hue of the color known as IKB or International Klein Blue. Invented by French artist Yves Klein, IKB now has its own Wikipedia page:

International Klein Blue (or IKB as it is known in art circles) was developed by French artist Yves Klein as part of his search for colors which best represented the concepts he wished to convey as an artist. Although Klein had worked with blue extensively in his earlier career, it was not until 1958 that he used it as the central component of a piece (the color effectively becoming the art). Klein embarked on a series of monochromatic works using IKB as the central theme. These included performance art where Klein painted models’ naked bodies and had them walk, roll and sprawl upon blank canvases as well as more conventional single-color canvases.

The secret of IKB’s remarkable visual impact comes from its heavy reliance on Ultramarine, as well as Klein’s often thick and textured application of paint to canvas.

IKB was developed by Klein and chemists to have the same color brightness and intensity as dry pigments, which it achieves by suspending dry pigment in a clear synthetic resin. This new medium was patented by Klein.

Yves Klein was searching for another kind of blue with his famous Leap Into The Void (Le Saut dans le Vide).

This entry was posted in 1950s, 1960s, Art, dada, Imaging Paris, sense. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Is it IKB or Memorex? Only Yves Knows

  1. Pingback: International Klein Blue « Scope for Imagination

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