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
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.
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.
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.
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.
people work
Every artist in the world likes his or her work to make people think.
afraid allow art beings convince create days fact human therefore work
Therefore we have to go over the fact that all human beings are afraid by what is new. It is our work to convince them that they will enjoy it, and even if they don't, to allow us just for 14 days to create that work of art.
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.
music works wrapped
If some of our works are symphonies, then wrapped walkways was chamber music.
beaches brought condition exception original remove surrounded tons workers
The other exception where we did not at all restore the place to its original condition is the Surrounded Islands. Before we installed our fabric, we had our workers remove 42 tons of garbage off the beaches of those islands. We never brought the garbage back.
beautiful beauty believe create hope joy majority sad visualize work
We tell them that we believe it will be beautiful because that is our specialty, we only create joy and beauty. We have never done a sad work. Through the drawings, we hope a majority will be able to visualize it.
work
I do a lot of work that's permanent. The drawings, the sculptures, they're permanent.
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,
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.