Game changers: Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Wrapped Coast, Sydney, 1969. Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Do you know that I don't have any artworks that exist? They all go away when they're finished.
Challenging the notion of categorisation, the work of Christo and Jeanne Claude can only be described as a fusion of architecture, art and sculpture.
Born on the same day in Bulgaria and Morocco respectively, Christo and Jeanne-Claude met in Paris in 1958 when Christo was commissioned to paint a portrait of Jeanne-Claude’s mother. In 1960, the pair had a son, Cyril, together and by 1961 collaborated on their first artwork together, Stacked Oil Barrels and Dockside Packages, Cologne Harbor, Germany. The romantic and artistic union lasted until Jeanne-Claude’s death in 2009.
The art duo have become synonymous with large scale artworks that usually involve wrapping buildings or landmarks with huge amounts of fabric. The works are usually produced for their aesthetic impact, offering art enthusiasts and the public alike the opportunity to create new ways of appreciating familiar landscapes or structures.
They have produced many large scale artworks over the years, from wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin to producing a 39km long artwork known as Running Fence in California, and of course, Wrapped Coast, where nearly 2.5kms of Sydney’s coastline was wrapped in fabric and lashed to the cliffs using 55kms of rope. This was at the invitation of known art collector, John Kaldor. While this project was initially resisted by Australian authorities and the public, it had a great impact on art in Australia.
To critics, Christo has stated "I am an artist, and I have to have courage ... Do you know that I don't have any artworks that exist? They all go away when they're finished. Only the preparatory drawings, and collages are left, giving my works an almost legendary character. I think it takes much greater courage to create things to be gone than to create things that will remain."
Sources:
ChristoJeanneClaude
De Zeen
Brittanica
Wikipedia
Image copyright Shunk-Kender and Christo via Kaldor Public Art Projects
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