Background

In the 1960s, Yves Klein started producing his Anthropometries—elaborate performances where nude models, covered in Klein’s Blue, moved around the canvas while Klein’s Monotone Symphony played.

The music, which consists of 20 minutes of a persistent D major followed by 20 minutes of silence, served as a guide to the models. While the major chord played, the models were able to move and paint themselves in the canvas. During the silence, they stopped moving.

Concept

Several women participated in the production of the Anthropometries, but little focus has been given to them throughout art history—they are seen as tools for the creation of the paintings, with little to no agency.

Yves Klein himself called them his “human brushes.”

“Reclaiming Klein” was thus born through a wish of reclaiming, or exposing, the point of view of the women who made the Anthropometries come to life.

Process

I leveraged two motion capture programs (Moves by Maxon and Rokoko Studio) and recorded myself moving to the sound of Monotone Symphony. These captures were then used to create the final composition.

3D Composition

The 3D rendering was created with Cinema4D and Redshift. I mixed several of the motion captures to create the final composition and built a multi-camera set up meant to mimic a first-person perspective.

Final Output

After rendering, I composed the result in After Effects and added Monotone Symphony.

The video is meant as a tool for contemplation. I haven’t added much content or exposition, only the word “reclaiming” in the beginning.