Yves Klein: Arrowhead Union High School- Special Ekphrastic Showcase

IKB 79, by Yves Klein (France) 1959

Editor's Note: 
The Ekphrastic Review is always pleased to publish the ekphrastic work of creative writing students at Arrowhead Union High School, thanks to an ongoing partnership with teachers Liz Jorgensen & Terri Carnell. It is wonderful and exciting to see the amazing talent and work of students invited into ekphrasis.

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​So Much to Do
 
I’m bored with nothing to do.
I have a car, but there might be traffic.
I have a bike, but a tire might need air.
I have a kayak, but I don’t want to carry it.
 
I have more than 40 unplayed games.
I want to play a certain game, but I don’t have the console for it.
I’ll play those 40 games after I play that certain game.
I have the money to buy the console, but I don’t feel like it
 
I could learn calculus.
I could learn physics.
I could learn anything right now.
I have the time, I’m just too bored to do anything.
 
I have 252 shots of film I could shoot.
I have terabytes of storage for digital photographs
I need to dump my chemicals, but that’s a long drive, so I won’t shoot.
There’s so much to do, but I don’t feel like doing it.

Timothy Anderson

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A Blanket of Blue

Blue.
Solid blue.
Wraps the canvas in a blue blanket.
 
The sky wraps the Earth in a blue blanket.
As if it is a light, airy blanket.
A protective layer,
Blocking angels from being seen.
Providing air to love.
Giving clarity, and coherence.
 
The ocean wraps land in a blue blanket.
As if it is a weighted blanket.
A peculiar safe,
Keeping the land bound to the Earth.
Hiding the deep secrets, covering the unknown.
Giving confidentially, and comfortability.
 
Blue.
A blanket of possibilities and opportunities.
There are endless possibilities within blue.
It is a clarity,
Yet it is secrecy.
Expressing everything and anything all in a blanket.
 
Ashley Yi

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Alone Amongst Everything
  
Depth.
As if you were in the middle of the ocean
where no fish dares to dive and only current cares to carry.
You are alone with but one thing: imagination.
 
Though you are amongst nothing, you have everything:
childhood memories, arguments you could have won, 
imaginary technologies, and long lost relatives.
Though these things may not be physically present, they exist.
They exist within.
 
As you are so deep and far away from others,
there is no differentiating between real and fake.
Maybe that space ship you imagine isn’t a figment.
Maybe you are truly experiencing that roller coaster ride.
Maybe you are winning that argument you had with your sibling.
 
You come to realize that nothing is everything and everything is nothing.
When this deep down, there is nothing.
When there is nothing, you still have everything.
So whenever you feel as if you are in the depths and feeling blue,
know that you are not just alone.
You are always accompanied, even amongst nothing.
 
William Wagner

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Eternal Blue
 
In the deep of Yves Klein’s blue,
a world of dreams, and sea so true. 
A single hue, yet oceans wide,
where thoughts and wonders freely glide. 
 
A color so rich, so bold, so bright, 
like twilight’s fall, like midnight’s light. 
Silent whispers, endless skies,
a canvas where imagination flies. 
 
In IKB, a timeless space,
we find a calm, boundless grace.
In Klein’s blue, our spirits soar,
a silent realm forevermore. 
 
Avery Kowalewski

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The Painting
 
Author's note: I was inspired by this piece to create a short story centered around the idea that simple pieces of art can mean just as much as more complex ones. 
  
On Sunday, I took my cousin Sara to the art museum because of her crazy fascination for art. I imagined she would be excited to look at the variety of pieces from a great scale. She loved colouring, arts and crafts, and had a creative mind, so it seemed like a fun idea. 
 
We started our journey in the modern and contemporary gallery with a tour guide that would show us each museum study.   
 
“Anyone can do that,” said little Sara as she looked at one painting on the wall in the museum. “There's nothing special about it.”
 
“Yes, the canvas is painted in entirely one colour.” I said, “But, the meaning behind it can be much deeper to the individual. You'll understand when you're older.”
 
“It's just blue! Not even a pretty colour blue. There's not even a pattern on it or texture.” She laughed and moved on to another more interesting canvas to her; although, I became lost in the blue. As I walked closer to the extremely large canvas, I became engrossed in a world of blue. A world of my father’s eyes and the deepest parts of the ocean. A world of imagination–something that symbolizes stability, inspiration, and wisdom. 
 
As I took slow blinks close to the image, the fluorescent lights around me bounced the blue hue. Even when my eyes were closed, the blue pigment stuck behind my eyelids. The photo might have been unsettling, but that was the point. I believe the creator, Yves Klein, wanted to take you to this state of mind. 
 
“This isn't even art,” I heard a man whisper to a woman nearby as they barely glanced at the piece. I gave him a dirty look and looked back. I understood why people would say such things, but why couldn't they be more open minded? That was the point of the painting. Why couldn't people understand? 
 
This is what modern and contemporary art is supposed to be about–making the individual feel something. The piece is an attempt to dig away reality and take you somewhere into the unknown. Yves Klein used IKB 79 to make you wonder and ask questions, something a lot of people don't get. After standing in front of the image, I lost track of time lost in thought. I looked around; Sara and the rest of the group were long gone and I began to panic. 
 
“You’re still here!” Sara said as she came around the corner. I was embarrassed by how long I was lost in the image. I took out my phone and snapped a picture of it to possibly look at again later. I took Sara back to her house and drove myself back to mine. 
 
After I got ready for bed, I took out my phone and decided to take another look at the image. “It's just blue,” I said to myself unimpressed. I deleted the photo and quickly fell asleep–subconsciously dreaming about the hue. 
 
Addison Meissner