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Christo
and Jeanne-Claude October
27- November 24, 2004
Christo and Jeanne-Claude hold a unique place in the history of contemporary art. From their first temporary outdoor environmental piece in 1961, "Dockside Packages" in Cologne, West Germany, to the "Gates, Project for Central Park", which will be completed this coming February, their work has become a permanent part of our cultural memory - literally so, for their work is transitory by design. During the past four decades Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been consistent practitioners of a uniquely independent approach to public art. Unlike many of their peers, whose temporary installations were so often presented as auditions for more sought-after permanent commissions, they remained true to their original inspiration - to make a gift of the work to the public, a gift that by the nature of its brief but extraordinary life is consumed into memory. For this reason Christo and Jeanne-Claude continue to choose truly public spaces, for inherent in their approach is a deep respect for the ultimate meaning of public space as something freely shared. The essence of their work is apparent in each undertaking. Fabric, the consistent material in all their projects, is used for its metaphorical link to the transient and impermanent - its shapeless reality controlled by the space the artists select and the properties of the required structural support. Though they have at times wrapped things, they make many other uses of cloth and color. Notable examples would be "Valley Curtain", 1972, which stretched orange nylon across the space between two hillsides in Colorado, and "The Umbrellas", 1991, in which blue umbrellas were erected in Japan and yellow umbrellas in California. These projects take years of planning. Christo and Jeanne-Claude work with public representatives, local community organizations, environmental and structural engineers, and in the assembly stage, ordinary people who find the experience of working on these projects both memorable and exhilarating. This exhibition, covering major works from the last four decades, is presented in chronological order, culminating with "The Gates, Project for Central Park", to be completed this winter. Along with the necessary multitude of workers (who are never volunteers, they are paid by the artists for their labor) will be students from Kingsborough who will brave the February morning cold to join Christo and Jeanne-Claude in fulfilling the promise of a project that first began on the drawing board in 1979. Special
thanks to Nurture New York's Nature, Inc., and to the Institute
for Virtual Enterprise, a special CUNY initiative at Kingsborough
Community College, for their invaluable assistance in arranging
this exhibition. Peter
Malone
Exhibition
checklist The
Gates, Project for Central Park ... image The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park The
Gates, Project for Central Park Wrapped
Trees, Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park Wrapped
Reichstag, Berlin, Germany, 1971-1995 #8794 The
Umbrellas, Japan, USA 1984 - 1991 The
Umbrellas, Japan, USA 1984 - 1991 Wrapped
Coast, Little Bay, One Million Square Feet, Valley
Curtain, Grand Hogback, Rifle, Colorado, 1970 - 1972 #6387 Valley
Curtain, Grand Hogback, Rifle, Colorado, 1970 - 1972 #11367 Running
Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972 - 1976 #6389 Surrounded
Islands, Biscayne Bay, The
Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, France, 1975 - 1985 #6390 The
Wall, 13,000 Oil Barrels, Oberhausen, Germany, 1999 #13940 Wrapped
Vestibule, Sydney, Australia, 1990 Wrapped
Walkways, Kansas City, Missouri, 1978 #6392 Wrapped
Roman Wall, Via Veneto & Vila Borghese, Rome, Italy 1974 #6388 Over
the River , Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado Over
the River , Project for Arkansas River, State of Colorado
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