While he has been based in NYC for decades, Christo is a native of Bulgaria, Eastern Europe.
Jeanne Claude, native of France, was both his wife and partner in the art projects.
In Australia, 1969, they wrapped synthetic fabric over 1.6 miles of the coast near Sydney, Australia. It was the largest single artwork ever.
Valley Curtain was produced in 1971. Fabric was stretched across Rifle Gap, a valley in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
The cloth was hung on four steel cables, fastened with iron bars fixed in concrete on each slope held by 200 tons of concrete. There were 2 installations of fabric; high winds soon destroyed each fabric span.
Running Fence (1972 - 1976) was an 18' high fabric fence of 250 miles length supported by steel posts and steel cables running through the landscape and leading into the sea. It was constructed in Sonoma and Marin Counties, California.
With "Wrapped Walk Ways" (1977) Christo and Jeanne-Claude covered 4.5 km of footpaths in Loose Park, a park in Kansas City, Missouri. Pedestrians enjoyed the artwork for two weeks in October.
Surrounded Islands (1983): eleven islands in Miami's Biscayne Bay were encircled in pink polypropylene floating fabric for 2 weeks.
In 1984 they wrapped the Pont-Neuf, a historic bridge in Paris, after nine years of negotiations with the mayor of Paris. In the two week display over three million people visited the work.
The Umbrellas (1984 - 1991), a temporary work of art realized in two countries at the same time, reflected the similarities and differences in the ways of life and the use of the land in two inland valleys in Japan and the USA. There were 1,340 blue umbrellas in Ibaraki and 1,760 yellow umbrellas at the Tejon Ranch in southern California.
One of the umbrellas in California was toppled by high winds, killing one woman and injuring several others. The exhibit was ordered closed immediately.[11] A second death occurred during the removal of the umbrellas.
Permission from 662 delegates, a 70- minute debate in Parliament and a Roll Call vote was involved in getting the Bundestag project OK in 1995 for Wrapping the Reichstag.
After 32 years of negotiation Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped 178 trees in Berower Park, north-east of Basel, Switzerland. The form-fitted silver fabric fabric remained almost a month in 1998 before being removed and recycled.
"The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979-2005" referred to the time that passed from their initial proposal until they were able to get permission of the mayor of New York for a 2-week installation of steel gates and fabric in Central Park.
Over The River, is to be constructed on the Arkansas River between Salida, Colorado and Cañon City, Colorado on the eastern slope of the Rocky mountains. This scenic area is known as Bighorn Sheep Canyon, and is west of the well-known Royal Gorge.
Plans for the project call for horizontally suspending 6.7 miles of reflective, translucent fabric panels high above the water, on steel cables anchored into the river's banks. The project is planned for two weeks in the summer of 2015.
The projects have been financed by selling studies, drawings, collages and works. They have avoided sponsorships. Additional money has been raised from the sale of souvenirs such as postcards, t-shirts and posters.
Projects:
- Map and briefly describe their major works.
- List the pros and cons of their work.
- Compare to the work of Pablo Picasso. Brief essay summarizing their place in history.
No comments:
Post a Comment