Christo
Christo
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were born on the same day, June 13, 1935; Christo in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, and Jeanne-Claude in Morocco. They first met in Paris in October 1958. They then fell in love through creating art work together...
NationalityBulgarian
ProfessionPainter
Date of Birth13 June 1935
CountryBulgaria
arkansas block chose habitable high human river screen trees view
We chose the Arkansas River because it is so habitable there is so much human activity. Also, there is no screen of trees to block the view of the river and there are high banks,
japan permission project work wrap
We never work on only one project because we never know if we will get permission for a project. So, for 'Over the River,' we started in 1992. I was just finishing 'The Umbrellas' in Japan and California, and I was also working on getting permission to wrap the Reichstag.
home
I escaped from my home country, Bulgaria, to Czechoslovakia and then to the West.
act cities city design enhance simple structures tried walking york
New York City is one of the most walking cities in the world. We tried to design some structures that will enhance that simple act of walking.
art describe entire process projects wrapped written
Now, to describe the process of the Wrapped Reichstag, which went from 1971 to '95, there is an entire book about that, because each one of our projects has its own book. The book is not an art book, meaning it's not written by an art historian.
Now, there is no way to say how long some projects take, that's our principle.
cannot freedom obliged
To keep that absolute freedom we cannot be obliged to anyone.
happened life next november project river truly
But now, today, we don't know if Over the River is truly the next project to be realized, because something very nice happened to our life in November in New York.
arkansas both permit realized state trying work
The other work we started in 1992, it is called Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River in the state of Colorado, we haven't got the permit yet. And, we are working at both of those, trying to get the permit. Therefore, we do not know which one will be realized next.
people
The only place where people in Manhattan walk for leisure is in the park.
art artists identity projects reveal slightest work
We are probably the only artists in the world who have a 2,000-page book on a work of art that doesn't exist. But in this way, these projects reveal their identity through this whole process. When I'm starting, I only have the slightest idea of how the work of art will exist.
arrive believe drawings hard people projection
Therefore, when we arrive in a place and talk to new people about a new image, it is very hard for them to visualize it. That's where the drawings are very important, because at least we can show a projection of what we believe it will look like.
art beings bigger build giant highways human monumental people thousands work
People think our work is monumental because it's art, but human beings do much bigger things: they build giant airports, highways for thousands of miles, much, much bigger than what we create.
But the drawings are not created only to be sold.