Christo and Jeanne-Claude

▪ 1996

       On June 25, 1995, when the last panel of silver fabric fell into place, the biggest artwork of the year was completed in Berlin by site artists Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude. But this was a veiling, not an unveiling; "Wrapped Reichstag" covered the 101-year-old German parliament building with 100,000 sq m (1,076,000 sq ft) of fabric held in place by nearly 16 km (10 mi) of blue rope. In a now-familiar pattern, skeptics wary of the concept delighted in the execution, seeing in the wrapped structure a monumentality and mystery that symbolized . . . something, perhaps the end of one historical era and the beginning of another or the transformation of control to freedom. All this monumentality carried an equally impressive price tag—some $10 million.

      Christo Javacheff was born in Gabrovo, Bulg., on June 13, 1935, the son of a textile mill owner and the general secretary of an art academy. After attending the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia, Bulg., he went to Prague. His family had already run afoul of the communist government; the 1956 Hungarian uprising led him to flee, with Paris as his ultimate destination. While working there as a portrait artist, Christo met Jeanne-Claude de Guillebon, whom he married in 1959. Jeanne-Claude, who was born in Casablanca, Morocco, on the same day in 1935 as her husband, was once described as her husband's publicist and business manager. She later received equal billing with him in all creative and administrative aspects of their work.

      Christo began his Dadaist wrapping on a small scale—bottles, motorcycles, a girl, a tree—and created shrouded and packaged forms. Then in 1968 he and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Kunsthalle (art museum) in Bern, Switz., and in 1969 the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. They created huge plastic packages of "wrapped air" in Eindhoven, Neth.; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Kassel, West Germany. They hung the "Valley Curtain" across Rifle Gap in the Colorado Rockies (1972), and they wrapped a beach in Australia (1969) and the Pont Neuf in Paris (1985). The couple surrounded 11 Florida islands with pink skirts (1983), ran a 39.5-km (24.5-mi)-long white fabric fence through Marin and Sonoma counties in California (1976), and, in a 1991 project, installed 1,340 giant blue umbrellas across the Sato River valley in Japan and 1,760 giant yellow ones in Tejon Pass, California.

      As the scope of their projects widened, increased time was needed for planning and construction phases, the securing of permits, and environmental impact research. For each project they formed a corporation, which secured financing and sold the primary models and sketches. Most installations were documented in print and on film, and the materials that created them were sold or given away after the projects were dismantled. (ANITA WOLFF)

* * *

▪ environmental sculptors

respectively, in full  Christo Javacheff  and  Jeanne-Claude de Guillebon 

Respectively,

 

born June 13, 1935, Gabrovo, Bulg.

 

born June 13, 1935, Casablanca, Mor.

 

 environmental sculptors, noted for their controversial outdoor sculptures and displays of fabrics and plastics.

      Christo attended the Fine Arts Academy in Sofia, Bulg., and had begun working with the Burian Theatre in Prague when the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 broke out. He fled to Vienna, where he studied for a semester, and then, after a brief stay in Switzerland, moved to Paris and began exhibiting his works with the nouveaux réalistes. While working there as a portrait artist, Christo met Jeanne-Claude de Guillebon, whom he married in 1959. Jeanne-Claude was once described as her husband's publicist and business manager, but she later received equal billing with him in all creative and administrative aspects of their work. In 1964 the pair relocated to New York City, where their art was seen as a form of Art Povera.

 Christo's earliest sculptures were composed of cans and bottles—some as found and some painted or wrapped in paper, plastic, or fabric. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's first collaborative works included Dockside Packages (1961; Cologne), Iron Curtain—Wall of Oil Drums (1962; Paris), and Corridor Store Front (1968; New York City). In 1968 they also completed a suspended 18,375-foot (5,600-metre) “air package” over Minneapolis, Minn., and “wrapped buildings” in Bern, Switz.; Chicago, Ill.; and Spoleto, Italy. Their monumental later projects included Valley Curtain (1972; Rifle Gap, Colo.), Running Fence (1976; Marin and Sonoma counties, Calif.), and Surrounded Islands (1983; Biscayne Bay, Fla.). In 1985 in Paris, they wrapped the Pont Neuf (bridge) in beige cloth. In a 1991 project, the couple installed 1,340 giant blue umbrellas across the Sato River valley in Japan and 1,760 giant yellow ones in Tejon Pass, California. Four years later they wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin in metallic silver fabric. The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979–2005 was unveiled in 2005. Stretching across 23 miles (37 km) of walkway in Central Park, the work featured 7,503 steel gates that were 16 feet (5 metres) high and decorated with saffron-coloured cloth panels. The Gates was on display for 16 days and attracted more than four million visitors.

 Christo and Jeanne-Claude's huge, usually outdoor sculptures are temporary and involve hundreds of assistants in their construction. Seen as they are by all manner of passersby, including those who would not necessarily visit museums, these works force observers to confront questions regarding the nature of art. As the scope of the projects widened, increased time was needed for planning and construction phases, the securing of permits, and environmental- impact research. For each project, they formed a corporation, which secured financing and sold the primary models and sketches. Most installations were documented in print and on film, and the materials that created them were sold or given away after the projects were dismantled.

 

* * *