Artist Christo, known for wrapping exteriors of landmarks, dies at 84

 

FILE PHOTO: Artist Christo stands in front of his work The London Mastaba, on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London, Britain, June 18, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Christo, the Bulgarian-born artist best known for his temporary installations based on wrapping the exteriors of landmark buildings, bridges and outdoor spaces, died on Sunday at age 84 of natural causes at his home in New York City.

 

"Christo lived his life to the fullest, not only dreaming up what seemed impossible but realizing it," the office of the artist, born Christo Yavacheff, said in a statement.

 

Christo escaped from then-Communist Bulgaria in 1957, first to Prague and then to Vienna and Geneva. A year later, he moved to Paris, where he met his wife and art partner, Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon. He lived in New York for 56 years.

 

In 2018, he presented "The London Mastaba" - a 20-metre-high (66-foot) sculpture of an ancient Egyptian tomb, made from 7,506 red, white and mauve barrels put on a platform in a lake in London's Hyde Park.

 

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009, are also known for such works as "The Gates," a 2005 installation in New York's Central Park, and the wrapping of the Reichstag in Berlin in 1995 in a vast silvery curtain.

 

His latest project envisioned wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in 25,000 square metres (269,100 square feet) of recyclable polypropylene fabric in silvery blue and 7,000 metres (23,000 feet) of red rope.

 

"Christo and Jeanne-Claude have always made clear that their artworks in progress be continued after their deaths. Per Christo's wishes, 'L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped' in Paris, France, is still on track for September 18 – October 3, 2021," the statement said.

 

(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-01

 

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The stuff he did was super weird. But a conversation starter, nevertheless. RIP

Will he be wrapped and buried . RIP

regards Worgeordie

 

Edited June 1, 20206 yr by Opl

 

 

I traveled from Munich to Berlin to see the ‘wrapped Reichstag’, it was wonderful.

  

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Edited June 1, 20206 yr by Opl

7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I traveled from Munich to Berlin to see the ‘wrapped Reichstag’, it was wonderful.

Surprised that his wasteful extravagance was still tolerated. Tossing in the word "recyclable" did not make his next project environmentally responsible. Polypropylene is a plastic with limited secondary market use and is derived from hydrocarbons. In plain language, it is a contributor to both global warming and plastic waste.

 

27 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

Surprised that his wasteful extravagance was still tolerated. Tossing in the word "recyclable" did not make his next project environmentally responsible. Polypropylene is a plastic with limited secondary market use and is derived from hydrocarbons. In plain language, it is a contributor to both global warming and plastic waste.

 

 

These shreds landed in the sand of a riding ring

""Christo always wants his projects to be destroyed beyond recognition," says Karsten Stienemann, director of the company Altex in the German town of Gronau. That's why his machines were running all week to shred the yellow fabric to pieces and then combine it with other synthetic fibers. In other words, it is all recycled."

The art is turned back into raw material. "That's 100,000 square meters of fabric and altogether 45 tons of textiles," he says. However, that's just a small part of his company's work, as Altex processes and recycles 3,000 tons of textiles a month.

Edited June 1, 20206 yr by Opl

2 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

The stuff he did was super weird. But a conversation starter, nevertheless. RIP

"  They have liked to create 'gentle disturbances' in spaces owned by human beings - to make people   become more aware of themselves and their surroundings. "

(NASA asked them to create a work in space - Jeanne-   Claude answered that NASA should call them back when there are lots of people up there.)

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Will he be wrapped and buried . RIP

regards Worgeordie

For all the "wrapping" he did around the world he deserves to be mummified on a grand scale.

A showman to the end and a hard act to follow.

Pity he didn't do something useful like

wrapping the government up.

His last words: "That's a wrap"

ending up being squashed into the ground of a riding ring is not really recycled. If you melt glass or steel down to be reused in its original use then that is a real circular recycling economy. Same with this conscious clearing tyres which are shredded into playgrounds and then what becomes of the playgrounds after they are removed. The rubber is still there for eternity just out of sight.  IMHO, his installations just illustrate the ridiculous society we live in. Thought provoking about how wasteful we are perhaps but anyway, that probably is not his intention.

He was part and parcel of the wrap craze.????