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
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.
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.
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.
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.
projects
All our projects are like fabulous expeditions. The story of each project is unique. Our projects have no precedent.
advance project projects understand unique work
It's very important to understand that we never do the same thing twice; each of our projects is unique. We'll never do another 'Gates.' Each project is a unique image. We do not know in advance how the work will look. I do preparatory drawings, but they are only projections of our vision.
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.
artists became illegal moved three time
In 1964, Jeanne-Claude and I became illegal aliens. That's when we moved here from Paris. And for three years, we were illegal aliens living in an illegal building. At that time, some artists started to move to SoHo, and they put A.I.R. - artists-in-residence - up on their windows.
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,
cannot freedom obliged
To keep that absolute freedom we cannot be obliged to anyone.
art related york
Often the art in New York is related to the buildings, to grandiose things.
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.
Now, there is no way to say how long some projects take, that's our principle.
chances name
The decision to use only the name Christo was made deliberately when we were young because it is difficult for one artist to get established and we wanted to put all the chances on our side.