Audio By Carbonatix
In William Gibson’s novel Zero History, the protagonist Hubertus Bigend has a suit made of International Klein Blue, a deep indigo pigment, which is based on the blue in Madonna’s robes and impossible to replicate on computer screens. You can thank the French icon Yves Klein for such a mystical hue. He invented the color when he wasn’t jumping off buildings (for a photo op), putting blowtorches to canvases, and dragging naked female models covered in blue paint around gallery floors.
This Wednesday, Dr. Klaus Ottmann, an eminent scholar, curator and lecturer and is the current Robert Lehman Curator for the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York, will dish on one of the art world’s most famous bad boys. His appearance at Whale & Star, the home and studio of Miami-based artist Enrique Martínez Celaya, marks the third in a series of events geared towards the braniac breed of art enthusiasts and critics here in the 305.
Ottmann said of his subject, “Klein was one of the most radical
artists of his time. And in a relatively short period of time, since he
died at the early age of 34, he managed to revolutionize painting to the
point of its demise.”
But while it’s a sure bet you’ll hear about the color blue, the lecture
will illuminate Klein’s philosophy as an artist, as he belonged to what
Ottmann calls “a rare group of artist-philosophers.” Martínez Celaya
notes that “Klein intended to promote his vision of a future of absolute
artistic and social freedom and his belief in ‘le grand Art absolu et
total,’ the great, absolute, and total Art.”
This very special event (well, special for Miami art lovers, anyway)
will start at 7 p.m. and run to 9 p.m. this Wednesday at the Whale &
Star studio (2215 NW First Pl., Miami) in the heart of Wynwood. Admission
is $5 and seating is limited.
–Shana Mason
