The Careful Crafting of a Utopia: Yves Klein and the Anthropometric Event of March 9, 1960 (thesis)

Abstract

. . . I have attempted to examine the Anthropometric event using a larger analytical framework -- I have looked back to the artist's earlier works, placed the performance within its socio-historical context, and prioritized Klein's vision for the event. After reading and analyzing much of the artist's immense written work, I became increasingly interested in the link between biography and Klein's Rosicrucian beliefs, the intellectual and philosophical atmosphere of post-war France, and the apparent dissimilarity between the anthropometric performance in March of 1960 and Klein's other performative events. [From Introduction]