Klein to Skarbakka; The Art of the Fall

“A man in space! The painter of space throws himself into the void!”
Le Saut dans le Vide (Leap into the Void) by Yves Klein [1960]

So a few years ago in an Art History class, we were shown this work Yves Klein work where he created the illusion of leaping of a building and 'into the void'. Although the picture may appear rather bland by today's standards; the effect created by Klein is astonishing (in both terms of originality and technique) when considering this picture is almost half a century old. Apparently, to create this work Klein actually leaped from the building and was caught by a group of friends below. Klein then took a second picture of the lower half [without the presence of his friends] and then spliced to the two photos to create a cohesive image. Following in a similar [albeit more complex] tradition... photographer Kerry Skarbakka's recent series entitled 'The Struggle to Right Oneself: A Survey" has managed to create a catalogue of equally awe-inspiring images. The sense of wonder and amusement that this series evoked in me is truly a testament to the artist's skill and vision. Due to my familiarity with 'Photoshop' and my love for mixed media and art history; I often find myself desensitized to even the best effects and alterations. However, after viewing this series, I felt as if I was in the 1960s inspecting Klein's canonical work for the first time. So whether your an art aficionado, a photographer, or you just love watching people bail... you should be able to appreciate some of my favourite images from this series..... for more of Skarbakka's works be sure to follow the link to his site.

On a quick side-note, Skarbakka received some heat about the images of people falling off buildings. Apparently some felt they were an off hand reference to the World Trade Tower jumpers... but I'm pretty sure these people just need to lighten up or (as DJ Ready Set would suggest) Suck it!