Blowin in the Wind: Christo and Jeanne-Claude s Art in the Public Realm
08/07/2016
Art in the public realm challenges our understanding of engagement, interaction and memory, testing our belief that the world around us is a wonderland of curiosity, discovery, and indefinite knowledge. Public artwork often endures acclaim and controversy in the communal and ecological fields of a mired social landscape. After first meeting in 1958, Christo and Jeanne-Claude have pioneered a legacy of environmental art which has both encountered debate and expanded the role of art in public/private interactions to redefine our awareness and recognition of work in the social sphere.
Their most recent artwork, The Floating Piers, was on view June 18 through July 3, transforming Italy's Lake Iseo with a modular floating dock system covered in a shimmering yellow fabric that turned shades of red and gold throughout the 16-day exhibition. Although free and open to the public, visitors were encouraged to check the weather forecast as rain and strong winds limited admission to the project, and tested the limits of public access due to natural elements -- a situation familiar to Christo and Jeanne-Claude and their history of environment projects.
The Umbrellas
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-91. | Photo: Wolfgang Volz. 1991 Christo.
Near the top of the northwestern corner of Los Angeles County where the Sierra Pelona, Tehachapi, and San Emigdio Mountains meet, is a high pass that links Southern California to the Central Valley. Today it is popularly known as the Grapevine, a notorious road of traffic jams, overheated engines, and weather closures. The highly traversed route is one of the oldest continuously used trail and roadside rest stops in California, writes Bonnie Ketterl Kane in A History of Gorman, as the Native Americans would have stopped there when it was the Tataviam village of Kulshrajek. 1 The mountain meadows, streams, and panoramic valley views make it a popular stop for contemporary travelers, with California poppies, lupines, and other springtime wildflowers surfacing from the chaparral to cover the hills in hues of blue and yellow when there is sufficient rain.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-91. | Photo: Wolfgang Volz. 1991 Christo.
At this site on October 9 1991, environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude began the opening of 3,100 umbrellas in a sprawling temporary work of public art intended to reflect similarities and differences in the ways of life and the use of the land of two inland valley locations across the Pacific Ocean. Eighteen miles along Interstate 5 between Gorman and the Grapevine blossomed with the daffodil yellow color of the umbrellas positioned on the properties of Tejon Ranch and private landowners. In synchronicity with the California site, 12 miles of cobalt blue umbrellas were hoisted north of Tokyo, Japan around Route 349 and the Sato River, in the prefecture of Ibaraki. The blue and yellow colors of the umbrellas were selected to emulate the landscape of Japans watery rice field geography, in contrast with the arid grassland of the California high desert.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-91. | Photo: Wolfgang Volz. 1991 Christo.
--
--
Each umbrella stood more than 19 feet high, opened to a 28-foot diameter, and weighed 448 pounds generating an environmental exhibition that allowed the public to interact, touch, photograph and experience the installations. The Umbrellas were designed to be enjoyed as free standing modules, which Christo and Jeanne-Claude described as a symbol for shelter, against both rain and sun. It is an image that is easily understood, by any age, any country, any civilization, and this, for the past 4,800 years, since the umbrella shape was invented in Mesopotamia. 2 The thousands of giant umbrellas placed alongside rivers, roads, and throughout the surrounding landscape created a temporary settlement for picnics, tourism, weddings and unexpectedly, the deaths of a tourist in California, and a worker in Japan.
Looking at topographic maps, and through the inspiration of walking, climbing, and surveying the land, the 3,100 umbrellas used in the project were chosen as the artists laid out their design in response to the two landscapes. Jeanne-Claude had wanted to limit the number and maximum cost of the project to 3,000 umbrellas, however the final count of 3,100 umbrellas reflected the aesthetics of the environment rather than any financial concerns over the budget. The reported $26 million cost of the project was financed by The Umbrellas, Joint Project for Japan and U.S.A. Corporation with the artists as presidents. Following a funding model that the artists employ to finance their works, The Umbrellas used no public or corporate sponsorship, relying instead on the sale of Christos affiliate ephemera including studies, preparatory drawings, collages, scale models and original lithographs, which were sold to art collectors, museums and galleries.
Christo, The Umbrellas (Joint Project for Japan and USA), 1990. Pencil, fabric, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, enamel paint and topographic map. 26 1/4 x 12 in. and 26 1/4 x 30 1/2 in. | Photo: Wolfgang Volz. 1990 Christo Ref. # 165.
Most artwork created in the public realm is subject to extensive budget accountability and transparency of public funding. Christo and Jeanne-Claude chose to retain control of their work by acting as their own art dealers, operating a business model that doesnt accept grants or licensing deals to assure they retained artistic freedom and ultimately financial management over their work. Without publicly reported financials, the artists are often accused of conceptually inflating the costs of their projects including the $26 million price t
LINK: | https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/christo-and-jeanne-claude-umbrella... |
See more stories from kcet |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
18/05/2024
If Bundling Is Back, What's the Ideal Bundle?
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Bundling is back in a big way, with all the major streaming companies and many pay TV operators exploring ways to simplify the consumer experie...
18/05/2024
FCC to Vote on LPTV Rules during June Open Meeting
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the June Open Commission Meeting schedule...
18/05/2024
Matthews Launches New Multipurpose Grip Rail Telescopic Grid Pipe Solution
Matthews Studio Equipment has introduced Grip Rail, which the company said offers a better way to mount equipment on location, in the studio, or on the fly....
18/05/2024
IAB Tech Labs, Google Partner on New First Party Data Solution
In a notable development in the industry-wide effort to address privacy concerns while improving efficacy of marketing efforts in a cookieless ad landscape, IAB...
18/05/2024
TV Tech Weekly Product Wrap-Up
Missed any of our product coverage during your busy week? The TV Tech weekly product and services news wrap-up provides links to all of our coverage from May 13...
18/05/2024
DHD Elevates the Art of Podcast Production
DHD Elevates the Art of Podcast Production Brie Clayton May 17, 2024 0 Comments Hero image: the DHD DX2 base and expansion modules Latest-generation ...
17/05/2024
Aerojet Rocketdyne's Camden Site Leverages Modernization Investments to Accelerate Solid Rocket Motor Production
Aerojet Rocketdyne has worked to modernize facilities at its Camden, Arkansas, l...
17/05/2024
FCC Plans to Revise LPTV Rules
The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise rules governing low power TV stations (LPTV) in a number of areas, including online ...
17/05/2024
Demystifying Post-Production: Introducing Cinema 4D Particles Week 4
Demystifying Post-Production: Introducing Cinema 4D Particles Week 4 Brie Clayton May 17, 2024 0 Comments With the spring release of Maxon One, we...
17/05/2024
Takashi Yamazaki Film Godzilla Minus One Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Takashi Yamazaki Film Godzilla Minus One Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton May 17, 2024 0 Comments Hero image credit: 2023 TOHO CO., LT...
17/05/2024
Sterling Event Group Streamlines Live Event Productions with AJA
Sterling Event Group Streamlines Live Event Productions with AJA Brie Clayton May 17, 2024 0 Comments Live event productions only happen once, which ...
17/05/2024
Meet the product manager
Muster Ngobi, product manager at LYNX Technik tells TVBEurope how the ever-evolving media industry provides a truly dynamic working environment By Matthew Corr...
17/05/2024
TV, Streaming Schedule for 2024 NFL Regular Season Is Released
NEW YORK As declines in linear TV viewing make the ongoing popularity of live sports, particularly football, central to financial success of the TV industry, th...
17/05/2024
Netflix Ad Tier Hits 40M Monthly Active Users
During Netflixs second Upfront presentation to advertisers, Amy Reinhard, Netflix's president of advertising, walked advertisers through the continued growt...
17/05/2024
Scripps Promotes Jeff Kiernan to VP, Local News
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has added to its leadership team for news by promoting Jeff Kiernan a veteran journalist and general manager of Scripps'...
17/05/2024
Survey: New Disney-Fox-WBD Sports Streamer May Hurt Pay TV Sub Counts
Top executives from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently insisted that their joint venture to launch the Venu Sports streaming bundle in the...
17/05/2024
Caitlin Clark's WNBA Debut Set Viewing Records
ESPN has announced that its coverage of Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut in the Indiana Fever versus the Connecticut Sun season opener was the most-watched WNBA g...
17/05/2024
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Brie Clayton May 16, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that Yoic...
17/05/2024
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vook, and Vancouver Film School
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vo...
17/05/2024
WBD Upfront Show Offers Peeks at House of the Dragon,' White Lotus,' Biden-Trump Debate
The Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation took place Wednesday, May 15 at ...
17/05/2024
The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson Set To Perform on The Voice' Finale
Season 25 of The Voice wraps on NBC Tuesday, May 21, with performances from The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson, Lainey Wilson, Muni Long, Thomas Rhett and ...
17/05/2024
CNN Boss Mark Thompson's Plan Includes More News in More Categories on More Devices (Upfronts)
New CNN CEO Mark Thompson spelled out his plan for the struggling news network d...
17/05/2024
Netflix To Launch In-House Advertising Tech Platform
Netflix, a newcomer to the advertising business, said it plans to launch an in-house advertising technology platform....
17/05/2024
Netflix Plots TV Takeover at Upfront Presentation
Netflix shared some programming projects at an upfront presentation in New York. Those include the basketball-themed comedy series Running Point, a Mindy Kaling...
17/05/2024
Plex Geek Week Sale Offers 20% Off Plex Lifetime Pass
Plex is offering movie and music collectors a 20% discount off its Lifetime Plex Pass as part of its Geek Week sale....
17/05/2024
GroupM Names Toby Jenner as President, GroupM Clients
Giant media buyer GroupM said it named Toby Jenner as global president, Group M Clients, a new position at the company....
17/05/2024
Clients of Independent Agencies Boost Programmatic Buying
Smaller advertisers are increasingly buying connected TV programmatically, according to a new report from FreeWheel, Comcast's ad-tech unit....
17/05/2024
TCLtvPlus Adds Streaming Music Channels From Vevo
TCLtvPlus, the streaming app on smart TVs made by TCL, has added live linear channel from music-video programmer Vevo....
17/05/2024
StackAdapt Adopts Data From Samba TV for Programmatic Campaigns
StackAdapt said it made a deal to integrate data from Samba TV into its programmatic advertising platform....
17/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Dorothy is blown away by Ona's sketches for her wedding dress
Tonight on House of Zwide: Dorothy is blown away by Ona's sketches for her w...
17/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle has a visit from her past that leaves her very unsettled
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle has a visit from her past that leaves her very unsett...
17/05/2024
Save Time and Money with WO Traffic v24.0
WO Traffic provides a solid foundation from which stations can manage, execute, and scale end-to-end ad trafficking and sales, both today and into the future. W...
17/05/2024
Broadcast Innovation in India: How AI and Automated Production Helps Smaller Sports Grow
Broadcast Innovation in India: How AI and Automated Production Helps Smaller Spo...
17/05/2024
SVG Sports Cloud Production Forum Gives Refresher Course on Cloud-Based Tools, Ecosystem
SVG Sports Cloud Production Forum Gives Refresher Course on Cloud-Based Tools, E...
17/05/2024
WNBA Tip-Off 2024: Scripps Sports Constructs New Studio for Second Season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION
WNBA Tip-Off 2024: Scripps Sports Constructs New Studio for Second Season of WNB...
17/05/2024
SVG College Summit 2024: Auburn's War Eagle Productions Breaks Down How They Produce Live Gymnastics Broadcasts
SVG College Summit 2024: Auburn's War Eagle Productions Breaks Down How They...
17/05/2024
Netflix & Shondaland Announce the Song List and Soundtrack for 'Bridgerton' Season 3: Part 1
Back to All News Netflix & Shondaland Announce the Song List and Soundtrack for...
17/05/2024
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 16 May 2024 [video]
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 16 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soa...
17/05/2024
Prison Journalism: Letter to my mothers
Prison Journalism: Letter to my mothersThabo Mthembu was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2014 to 2019. Read Thabo's story by Thabo Mthembu 17-05-20...
17/05/2024
Paul McCartney becomes UK's first billionaire musician
Paul McCartney becomes UK's first billionaire musicianMusic icon Paul McCartney has become the UK's first billionaire musician, according to the Sunday ...
17/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Sakhile advises Tiny against sabotaging Petunia
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Sakhile advises Tiny against sabotaging PetuniaDon't miss Friday, 17 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke ...
17/05/2024
RT'S Operation Transformation comes to a close after 17 seasons
RT has today announced that Operation Transformation (OT) is to end after 17 seasons. As series come to an end each year, RT undertakes an editorial review to...
17/05/2024
Studio One: Your Binaural Beats Lab
By Craig Anderton When I heard about binaural beats, I was interested-I like beats, and I'm into binaural audio. But this has nothing to do with either o...
17/05/2024
May 16, 2024
Scripps Research chemist Donna Blackmond elected to the Royal Society of the U.K. Blackmond's wide-ranging work has shaped origin of life theories, our unde...
16/05/2024
Power Provokes Vital Questions About the Role of Police
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: Director Yance Ford introduces the Power premiere at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Chad Salvador/Shutterstock for Sundance F...
16/05/2024
Mental Health Matters: Embrace Self-Care With These Audiobook and Podcast Listens
May is Mental Health Awareness month, a time to recognize those living with ment...
16/05/2024
ABC and SBS bring digital radio (DAB+) services to the Gold Coast
ABC and SBS bring digital radio (DAB ) services to the Gold Coast 15 May, 2024 Media releases ABC and SBS today announced that audiences on the Gold Coast ...
16/05/2024
Clear-Com Communication Solutions Enhance Oregon State University's PRAx Building
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...