Klaus Ottmann

Yves Klein (1928-1962) was an agitator of ideas, a total artist who used his considerable charisma to propagate social change through art. In his writings and talks, Klein drew on a vast repertoire of philosophical, scientific, political and occult materials, synthesizing them into a declamatory propaganda for his own art. Yves Klein by Himself is a composite biography of one of the most influential artists of the second half of the twentieth century. Neither an intellectual biography nor an art-historical analysis, Yves Klein by Himself is rather a kind of "Klein reader" that lets the artist speak through his ideas and philosophical conceptions, and in doing so attempts to reconstruct his "organized network of obsessions." To this end, it intermixes biographical facts, a selection of texts by the writers and artists who influenced Klein, a glossary of keywords with Klein's own definitions derived from published texts as well as previously unpublished manuscripts and a selection of critical writings with analyses of Klein's philosophical ideas by the author and editor of this volume, Klein scholar Klaus Ottman… (mais)

Yves Klein (1928-1962) was an agitator of ideas, a total artist who used his considerable charisma to propagate social change through art. In his writings and talks, Klein drew on a vast repertoire of philosophical, scientific, political and occult materials, synthesizing them into a declamatory propaganda for his own art. Yves Klein by Himself is a composite biography of one of the most influential artists of the second half of the twentieth century.

Neither an intellectual biography nor an art-historical analysis, Yves Klein by Himself is rather a kind of "Klein reader" that lets the artist speak through his ideas and philosophical conceptions, and in doing so attempts to reconstruct his "organized network of obsessions." To this end, it intermixes biographical facts, a selection of texts by the writers and artists who influenced Klein, a glossary of keywords with Klein's own definitions derived from published texts as well as previously unpublished manuscripts and a selection of critical writings with analyses of Klein's philosophical ideas by the author and editor of this volume, Klein scholar Klaus Ottmann.… (mais)

Published in conjunction with the exhibition Rackstraw Downes: Onsite Paintings, 1972-2008 (June-August 2010, Parrish Art Museum, NY). Klaus Ottomann writes about Downes' work and what has influenced his work; and Sarah Rothenberg considers the role of time in visual perception. There is also an interview with the artist.

The book is illustrated in colour throughout, over 40 pictures accompany the text, and there are 25 colour plates. There is a bibliography, but no index.

The contributions from Ottomann and Rothenberg make interesting reading, but the interview with Downes is perhaps the most revealing. However there are several shortcomings here. The omission of any sort of index is frustrating at best, and at worst seriously hampers its use as a research tool. Most of the illustrations are small, even the majority of the plates are smaller than the page otherwise allows; of course in some cases the format of the painting presents difficulties, but allowing the image to cross the gutter would allow for a much larger picture; this is rarely done. The quality of colour reproduction is far from good, the colours are flat and lack-lustre, without vibrancy, and pictures are often lacking in detail. The omission of any close up detail is strange, with works that are predominantly very large surely it is essential to include a few details in order to convey the true qualities of the work.

The book compares unfavourably with Stanford Schwartz Rackstraw Downes (Princeton University Press (18 April 2005) ISBN: 0691120471), especially as regards the quality of the images. I bought this later study for the more recent pictures, and for the half dozen or so post 2005 paintings it is useful, but otherwise I see no reason to buy this over the excellent 2005 Schwartz which suffers none of the shortcomings of this publication.… (mais)