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.
arrived lower manhattan proposal skyline wrap york
In 1964, when we first arrived in New York City, I remember vividly seeing the skyline of Manhattan, and our first proposal of 1964 was to wrap two lower Manhattan buildings. We never got permission.
art created floor indoor inside monumental museum wrapped
We have created indoor installations inside museums, like the Wrapped Floor at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 1968, and not monumental at all by any standards.
music works wrapped
If some of our works are symphonies, then wrapped walkways was chamber music.
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.
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.