Source: China Daily
If you go to Paris now, you'll see that the Arc de Triomphe has changed, wearing a gleaming silver-blue "coat" and a "red waist rope" attached. It's the design of the late artists Christo and Jenny Claude, whose crazy dreams from 60 years ago have finally come true.
Sixty years after Christo and Jeanne-Claude first conceptualized the project, the Arc de Triomphe has been wrapped. Credit: Benjamin Loyseau/Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation
After three months of construction work at Paris' famed Arc de Triomphe, the 160-foot-tall war monument has been completely concealed. The landmark, built during Napoleon's reign, has been outfitted in 270,000 square feet of silver-blue polypropylene fabric bound with red ropes.
After three months of construction, the Arc de Triomphe, a Paris monument, was completely wrapped up, using 270,000 square feet of silver-blue polypropylene cloth and secured with red rope. The Arc de Triomphe is 160 feet (49 meters) high and is a landmark built during napoleonic rule.
Encasing the Arc de Triomphe in cloth was a longstanding vision of the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude -- one that finally came into focus this summer. It began with 400 tons of steel beams erected like a metal jacket around the structure, followed by the wrapping, which was conducted by a team of climbers over the course of a few days. Following the project's completion on Thursday, the arch will remain transformed for just 16 days.
"Dressing" the Arc de Triomphe was a vision of the late artists Christo and Jenny Claude for many years, and this summer it was finally put into practice. The 400-ton steel beams stand around the building like a metal jacket and are wrapped up in a few days by a climbing team. After the completion of the project on Thursday (September 16), this new look can only be maintained for 16 days.
The unveiling of the installation, officially titled 'L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped,' comes 60 years after Christo first became enthralled with the idea of wrapping the monument, more than a decade after Jeanne-Claude's death and over a year since Christo passed away last May. Originally scheduled for spring 2020, the project was first delayed out of concern for nesting kestrel falcons in the arch, and then because of the ongoing pandemic.
Sixty years ago, Christo had the idea of the "Wrapped Arc de Triomphe" project. It wasn't until more than a decade after Jenny Claude's death and more than a year after Christo's death (who died last May) that this obsession finally came true. The project, which was scheduled to begin in the spring of 2020, was first delayed out of fear of the kestrels nesting on the Arc de Triomphe, and then delayed by the pandemic.
Vladimir Yavachev, Christo's nephew and the project's director of operations who worked with the artist for 30 years, explained that the shimmering color of the fabric and vivid ropes are Christo's 'poetic interpretation' of the blue, white and red of the French flag.
The project's director of operations, Kristol's nephew Vladimir Yavachev, explains that the sparkling fabric and brightly colored rope are Christo's "poetic interpretation" of the French flag of blue, white and red. Yavachev worked with his uncle Christo for 30 years.
'He liked colors that also change with the weather, or the time of day,' Yavachev said in a video interview, adding: 'The fabric is very reminiscent of Paris rooftops... which are very silvery gray.'
In a video interview, Yavachev said: "He likes colors that change with the weather and time. This fabric is reminiscent of the rooftops of Paris... That kind of silver gray. ”
Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped The Pont Neuf in Paris in 1985. Together, they used textiles to transform different environments and interrupt the everyday at a grand scale. Credit: Wolfgang Volz/Courtesy Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation
The married artists became internationally renowned for ambitious projects like 'The Pont Neuf Wrapped,' revealed in 1985, and 'Wrapped Reichstag' in Berlin 10 years later.
The artist couple is internationally renowned for daring projects such as the "Wrapped Pont Neuf" in 1985 and the "Wrapped Reichstag" in Berlin 10 years later.
Christo said the only project he would consider in Paris was wrapping the Arc. In an interview with CNN just before his death, however, he confided that he 'never believed' they would receive permission.
Christo had said that the only project he wanted to do in Paris was to wrap the Arc de Triomphe. But in an interview with CNN before his death, he revealed that he "never believed" that they would agree.
Christo in his studio in New York City with a preparatory drawing for 'L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped' in 2019. Credit: Wolfgang Volz/Courtesy Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation
'I am an artist who is totally irrational, totally irresponsible, completely free,' Christo said. 'Nobody needs my projects,' he added. 'The world can live without these projects. But I need them and my friends (do).'
"I am an artist who is completely irrational, completely irresponsible, completely free," Cristo said. No one needs my project. The world can function without these projects. But I need them, and so do my friends. ”
Anne Burghartz, an engineer on the project, said her team's first task was to interpret the final form that Christo wanted. 'In his drawings, you can see the shape is not 100% the Arc de Triomphe,' she said in a video interview. 'It's very boxy, it has vertical lines, whereas the Arc de Triomphe at the cornices, for example, is very pointy-shaped.'
Anne Bergharts, an engineer on the project, said her team's first priority was to decipher the final form That Christo wanted. She said in a video interview: "In his drawings, you can see that the shape of his design and the arc de Triomphe are not 100% fit. The shape he wanted was square, flat and vertical, and the cornices of the Arc de Triomphe were pointed. ”
They also had to determine how to keep the wind from dragging the fabric, while keeping it pliable to the elements. '(Christo) was also very fond of how he imagined the fabric would come alive with the wind,' she said.
They also figured out what to do so that the wind didn't pull on the fabric, but at the same time it was soft and flexible. "Christo loves to imagine the fabric fluttering in the wind," she says. ”
Though machinery and advanced technology were used in the planning and installation of the protective steel beams, a team of climbers carried out the wrapping. Credit: Wolfgang Volz/Courtesy Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation
But, most importantly, Burghartz's team had to protect the monument and all of its ornamentation, from the sculpted figures flanking each side of the entrance to the intricate cornices. Though the engineers had permission to drill some holes in the landmark they had to minimize damage. So, they installed wood panels between the steel and the arch's concrete to protect it from scratches and built frameworks around its sculptures to keep them safe.
But most importantly, Berghatz's team had to protect the Arc de Triomphe and all the reliefs, from the statues on either side of the arch to the elaborate cornices. Although engineers were allowed to drill some holes in the arc de triomphe, they had to minimize the damage. Therefore, they installed wooden protective panels between the steel beams and the main body of the arch to protect the arch surface from being scratched, and also protected the reliefs with wooden frames.
In total, the project cost around 14 million euros. But like all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, the 'L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped' will, according to a spokesperson for the project, be entirely funded through the sale of preparatory drawings and other original artworks. Sotheby's Paris is hosting an exhibition and private sale featuring 25 of the artworks, with proceed going towards the project and the artists' foundation.
The project cost a total of 14 million euros (about 100 million yuan). But a spokesperson for the project said that, as with all projects that Christo and Jenny Crowder had done, the funds used for the "wrapped arc de Triomphe" would come entirely from the sale of their drawings and other original artwork. Sotheby's Paris is hosting an exhibition and private auction featuring 25 works of art, the proceeds of which will go under the ownership of the project and the foundations of the two artists.
Source: CNN
Translator & Editor: Dani