Biography:
Christo: American, Bulgarian-born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, aged 72
Jeanne-Claude: American, French-born Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, aged 72
The artists are married to each other. They create environmental art in urban and rural locations across the world. They do not accept sponsorship from anyone and so finance their projects entirely independently.
Art work facts:
Title: Wrapped Reichstag, 1971-1995 (installation and display in June 1995)
Materials: 100,000 square meters (1,076,000 square feet) of thick woven polypropylene fabric with an aluminum surface and 15,600 meters (51,181 feet) of blue polypropylene rope, diameter 3.2 cm.
Theme: The Reichstag building was completely wrapped in woven fabric which was secured using rope
Where/how it is situated: Berlin. In an open area of the city with landscaped gardens
Personal response:
I really like the work, it is magical and strangely beautiful. In this way, the work and its peaceful environment marry well. My first reaction was surprise that they went to such lengths to seemingly disguise the building. However, upon reflection I realised that the work is a celebration of the building - the white fabric really does stand out in its wide open setting. It also helps highlight the impermanance of the building. It is a surreal piece - something you might conjure up in your head but never expect to see in real life.
Additional Information:
See photos at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26896999@N08/?saved=1
and
http://www.40yearsofpublicart.org/
or/and visit Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/wr.shtml
Quotes:
Jeanne-Claude:
The fact that the work does not remain creates an urgency to see it. For instance, if someone were to tell you, “Oh, look on the right, there is a rainbow.” You will never answer, “I will look at it tomorrow.”
Jeanne-Claude:
"…to be still today called controversial makes us feel so young. It’s marvelous! Imagine, they call us avant garde and controversial after 44 years of work. It’s fabulous!"
Christo:
I often say, “Our work is a scream of freedom.”
Other work I found interesting:
Wrapped Trees
Fondation Beyeler
and Berower Park
Riehen, Switzerland, 1997-98
Wrapped Coast
One Million Square Feet
Little Bay, Australia 1968-69
