The main tenet of judo is "to make the most efficient use of mental and physical energy." (16 Kano) This is taught in judo using two basic methods: Kala and Randori. Kala, which means "form", is a system of prearranged movements which the student learns and preforms in front of teachers and other students; these movements are meant to teach the student the foundations of attack and defence. Randori, which means "free practice", is a time to practice the techniques which the student has learnt, where students are paired off and spar with each other, as would happen in a real judo match or confrontation. "The objective of this systematic physical training is to perfect control over the mind and body and to prepare a person to meet any emergency or attack, accidental or intentional." (22 Kano) These same two methods can be seen in Klein's artistic process, with kata being related to ritual and randori being related to performance.

The rituals associated with Klein's works - such as the ingesting of the blue cocktail before entering Le Vide or the bunting of the receipts after the purchase of that void - are meant to teach the 'reader" of his works the language he is using to express his vast ideas, preparing them for, or inaugurating them into, the experience wlnch Klein has arranged for them. As in the kata, these rituals strengthen the mind's ability to adapt and respond to unknown stimuli through the continual repetition of certain key elements; once these elements have been presented enough they become second nature, one no longer has to "think" about them to be aware of them. Klein's ritualistic use of the I.K.B. serves this fluiction, where after seeing enough blue monochromes one no longer "thinks" of the blue, this allows the mind to ftrrther investigate what is being presented. And what is left once one takes away the external blue of the monochromes, or for that matter the walls of Le Vide? What the viewer is left with is themselves. In the case of leVide the ritual performed before entering the void room makes one more open to experience the unexpected lack of external stimulation as a potential rather than a drawback. The potential I believe Klein presented was simply the possibility of experiencing ourselves in a new way. By giving nothing external to relate to, he is asking us to project ourselves upon the whiteness of the walls, much like a movie is projected upon a white screen. After the kata has been practiced, giving the student the tools with which to attack and defend, then the student begins randori.

Klein's performances are his "free practice", where he is able to try out his ideas on a
willing audience. It is of little importance whether or not the viewer likes or dislikes the work they experience, Klein's main concern is that they open themselves up to the potentials inherent in what he is presenting. All of Klein's work is "aimed at expanding and intensitying human awareness of the actualities of existence. Above all, he wanted to awaken an individual's sensibility - one's capacity to see, feel, and think - especially as this might enrich one's experience of the most fundainental, primal elements that are the nourishing agents of life and the universe." (7 Stich) Unlike in the paintings of Malevich, with whom Klein has often been compared, there is no symbolic meaning inherent in his use of blue which the viewer is suppose to interpret in order to uncover the "true" meaning of the work. As Klein himself states: "The object of art is not the painting (i.e., another object), but life (i.e., a universal principle)." (7 Restany) lii this way the work of art becomes merely a reference point from which to begin experiencing, and not the end in itself. What Klein continually shows in his work are traces of real experience, his pre-arranged kata's, and the viewer is then able, once the work has been made public, to interact or spar with it. One work which particularly addresses this is the Anthropometrv performance, where "traces" of reality are literally printed on the canvas using the real object - as opposed to the traditional method which produces a simulacra of the object using fabricated utensils, which have little or no relation to the object being depicted. Klein said:

"the time of the brush had ended and finally my knowledge ofjudo was gomg to be useful. My models were my brushes. I had them smear themselves with colour and imprint themselves on the canvas.. But this was only the first step. I thereafter devised a sort of ballet of girls smeared on a grand canvas which resembled the white mat ofjudo contests." (171-2 Stich) 

The simplicity of means used by Klein to express his ideas leads back to the niain tenet of judo, using both mental and physical energy enough, but not too much, to accomplish what is needed From judo Klein learned to look for the most direct course of action, to consider carefully, and then act decisively and without hesitation. And it is this philosophy that I believe formed the foundations of Klein's artistic productions.