Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Artists of large-scale, fabric-wrapped environmental installations.
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Peabody Awards · CC BY 2.0
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009) were artists known for large-scale environmental installations that often wrapped landmarks in fabric.[1] Their work was typically controversial and required years of preparation involving technical solutions, political negotiation, and public persuasion.[2] The pair declined all donations, grants, and public funding, covering project costs by selling their own art.[2]
Life and work
Christo was born in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, on June 13, 1935, and studied at the Sofia Academy of Fine Arts from 1953.[3] He fled to Vienna as a railcar stowaway in 1956 and first began wrapping objects in January 1958.[4][5] Running Fence, a 24.5-mile nylon fence in California, was displayed for two weeks in September 1976 after 18 public hearings and three state court sessions.[6] The Gates in Central Park, open from February 12–27, 2005, consisted of 7,503 saffron-colored gates.[7][8]
October 1958 marked the first meeting of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which occurred because he had a commission to paint a portrait of Précilda de Guillebon, her mother.[9] A 1961 Cologne exhibition presented their initial show, which included wrapped objects, oil barrels, and temporary large-scale installations.[9] In 1964, Christo and Jeanne-Claude moved to New York City.[10] To simplify business dealings and overcome biases against women artists, they initially used only "Christo" as their working name; later, they formally credited both names for their large outdoor projects.[11]
During 1969, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art was wrapped by the duo while the museum continued its operations.[10]
What the cited sources add
The project website for Big Air Package states it was conceived in 2010 and on view from March 16 to December 30, 2013.[12] The same source notes Christo and Jeanne-Claude created their first sculpture involving air in 1966.[12] A Denver Post article from 2010 quotes Christo saying the project's official unfurling was delayed beyond August 2015.[13] That same article notes that Christo outlived his creative partner Jeanne-Claude, who passed away in 2009.[14]
The Record of Decision from the Bureau of Land Management gave approval for hanging 5.9 miles of fabric, divided into eight panel sections, along a 42-mile portion of the Arkansas River.[15]
References
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Artist Christo, known for wrapping exteriors of landmarks, dies at 84", Reuters, June 1, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Spalding, "Christo: 'Art is useless'", www.studiointernational.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Chernow 2002, p. 60–61 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Chernow 2002, p. 60–61 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Chernow 2002, p. 60–61 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hendry, "Christo's California Dreamin'", Smithsonian Magazine, June 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tompkins, "The Gates to the City. How the Christos plan to transform Central Park", p. 74–85 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "2005: Art World Year-in-Review", Artinfo, December 25, 2005; McIntire, "Enough About 'Gates' as Art; Let's Talk About That Price Tag", The New York Times, March 5, 2005 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chernow 2002, p. 60–61; Fineberg 2004, p. 18; Fineberg 2004, p. 18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baal-Teshuva 2001, p. 27; Baal-Teshuva 2001, p. 27; Grimes, "Jan van der Marck, Museum Administrator, Dies at 80 (Published 2010)", The New York Times, May 8, 2010; Baal-Teshuva 2001, p. 27; Blake, "Christo's Wrapped Coast: how the monumental Australian work was made – and changed art history", The Guardian, June 1, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewis, Richard, and Susan Lewis. "Cengage Advantage Books: The Power of Art." Google Books. Cengage Learning, January 23, 2008. Web. March 4, 2015. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- NoFavorite, "Projects – Big Air Package", www.christojeanneclaude.net. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
- Blevins, "Local viewpoints wide apart on Christo's plan to drape fabric over Arkansas River", The Denver Post, August 22, 2010. facts only, no text reused. denverpost.com
- Block, "Christo unveils floating Serpentine sculpture made from 7,506 barrels", De Zeen, June 18, 2018. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
- "BLM Over The River Record of Decision", Bureau of Land Management, November 7, 2011. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Christo and Jeanne-Claude (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Christo and Jeanne-Claude (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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