I came to the site at 5:30 am. The gates due to open at 7:00. Not too many people were waiting at that time as parking spaces were set at about two miles from the entrance. When the gates opened I was one of the first five people to walk into the piers and it was a great feeling. Under the bare feet the orange fabric. It feels like if you were walking over an over inflated water bed that moves with the lake's waves.Amazing. Wonderful art by Christo. A genius that is not understood by art critics who are snobbing him probably jealous of his success with the people who seem to love it and enjoy it and are more than willing to spend hours under the heat waiting for their turn on christo's new "ride" . I have got hundred of photos of that very first day.contact me at [email protected] if you need writing and photos of the event. I live in Venice
6
Its great for the Times to fully detail an interesting piece of Art like this. However, I find it a shame that Pres Obama was in Yosemite for a whole weekend, (on Father's day nonetheless) and no mention or any article/captions was done of the truly picturesque Yosemite Valley, which could have helped inspire the upcoming young explorers of the next generation. I was checking any Yosemite article for the whole weekend and nothing of note came about.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the NYT coverage recently has been centered mostly on "Urban/Physical art" i.e. paintings/auctions, Art Basel, Christo etc and less focused on our nation's great Natural resources.
What a great opportunity missed!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the NYT coverage recently has been centered mostly on "Urban/Physical art" i.e. paintings/auctions, Art Basel, Christo etc and less focused on our nation's great Natural resources.
What a great opportunity missed!
5
Yosemite is already considering entry quotas due to overcrowding, let's not exacerbate the situation OK?
3
Here's why I feel qualified to comment on this NYT article. JGAIA
http://www.docomomo-wewa.org/architects_detail.php?id=79
https://sites.google.com/site/jgropp2/alterationsanadditions
http://www.docomomo-wewa.org/architects_detail.php?id=79
https://sites.google.com/site/jgropp2/alterationsanadditions
Starchitects strike again. I really hate this kind of thing demeaning architecture.
Google me to see why. JGAIA
Google me to see why. JGAIA
Christo is not an architect, certainly not a Starchitect. He is an artist. I'm sorry if you don't get it, but I think it's beautiful, as all of his pieces have been.
8
A lot of good materials wasted for a big ego trip. Architecture should be a creative effort that creates useful attractive things. Lots of these are needed. JGAIA
your take. not absolute. also not architecture.
4
good morning
we expect you all to visit our country and this great work
we expect you all to visit our country and this great work
3
As someone mentioned, Christo's work is about changing (altering?) our perceptions of nature, place and the environment. I had the opportunity to experience the Gates project in Central Park on a beautiful crisp, clear winter's day. Walking through the multitude of those colorful arches, framed by the still undisturbed bright white snow, was for me, a very powerful sensory experience. I can only imagine the sensation of being able to walk on water! Thank you Christo for your vision and persistence!
7
I was also very fortunate to also be in Central Park on that wonderful day, true simple beauty,
4
I was lucky to have experienced Christo's Gates in Central Park here in my hometown of New York City.
My first visit was on a cold snowy week day: not a soul around, just my beloved park and those drop dead gorgeous gates. The scene was indescribably lovely, thrilling, inspiring, breathtaking.
oh no no no: this emperor definitely has clothes.
My first visit was on a cold snowy week day: not a soul around, just my beloved park and those drop dead gorgeous gates. The scene was indescribably lovely, thrilling, inspiring, breathtaking.
oh no no no: this emperor definitely has clothes.
11
Never thought much of Christo.....until "Running Fence." Then I got it. The guy's a genius. And a First Class artist.
11
Fantastic!! Bravo Christo, Jean -Claude and Italy!!
9
Genius! The Gates was wonderful for New York, this will be wonderful for Italy...
This is just great...
This is just great...
6
I LOVE CHRISTO!! and Jean-Claude too, of course. I was introduced to his work back in the 70's, with The Fence in Northern California. Part of the fence was recycled and used as a covering for the wikiups (look it up on google...) I and others lived in, for several years, as members of a community in Northern Nevada called Meta Tantay, under the guidance of a traditional medicine man named Rolling Thunder.
Then, a few years ago, I was a fortunate New Yorker, with easy access to The Gates in Central Park. Transformative. Breathtaking. Joyous.
Sure, some people were sour about it... some people always are. People spend their time and money on all kinds of things... amusement parks, sports, fashion... and some people create and enjoy Living Breathing Dancing Art.
Who's to judge what gives someone else meaning and pleasure?
To Christo, I tip my hat in gratitude, and say YES!
Then, a few years ago, I was a fortunate New Yorker, with easy access to The Gates in Central Park. Transformative. Breathtaking. Joyous.
Sure, some people were sour about it... some people always are. People spend their time and money on all kinds of things... amusement parks, sports, fashion... and some people create and enjoy Living Breathing Dancing Art.
Who's to judge what gives someone else meaning and pleasure?
To Christo, I tip my hat in gratitude, and say YES!
7
Ego is intrinsic to beauty.
2
I met Christo in the seventies, 76 or 77, when he gave a talk and slide show about the running fence and rifle gap projects at the Carpenter Center at Harvard. I was a teenage undergrad art student but he took time to have a conversation with me afterwards. A generous spirited man and you walked away filled with complex and compelling new ideas. In this present time with global warming an evolving real threat to the biosphere, his interest in the processes of governments, communities and individuals in managing and interpreting the earth and environment around them, he is worth considering.
11
Many of his planned and completed projects have a significant negative environmental impact... for example the river project he keeps trying to do in Colorado despite the opposition of local environmental group and residents, where teams would have to drill 9000+ holes up to 30' deep in a fragile canyon ecosystem.
great job excelend idea for all planet i think bravo
5
God.Bless.You. Christo.
So glad for the work you do and the countless joys you and your team bring!
Keep on.
So glad for the work you do and the countless joys you and your team bring!
Keep on.
13
What is up with all those who commenters that say they 'don't get it'. Well, they probably never appreciated art of any form to begin with.
The one project by Christo I saw with my own eyes was the wrapped up Reichstag in Berlin just a few years after the German unification. It was not just a 'happening', but a political statement as well, and a wonderful piece of art to look at.
I would love to fly to Italy and walk barefoot over that bridge and feel the water below me.
Thank you, Christo' for having given us a new form of art, and many more projects to adore.
The one project by Christo I saw with my own eyes was the wrapped up Reichstag in Berlin just a few years after the German unification. It was not just a 'happening', but a political statement as well, and a wonderful piece of art to look at.
I would love to fly to Italy and walk barefoot over that bridge and feel the water below me.
Thank you, Christo' for having given us a new form of art, and many more projects to adore.
12
"What is up with all those who commenters that say they 'don't get it'. Well, they probably never appreciated art of any form to begin with."
A nonsensical statement.
A nonsensical statement.
To the skeptics here, right, you don't get it. One of the works of Christo, Running Fence, caught my curiosity, but also my skepticism, like the skepticism voiced here, years ago.
Years later, I viewed the windmills on the Altamont, a completely functional construction to deliver power. But I also thought of Christo when I saw the design that they made along the ridge.
An artist opens the viewer's mind, but of course the viewer has to have an openable mind. There is much to line, shape, form and texture, regardless of scale.
Years later, I viewed the windmills on the Altamont, a completely functional construction to deliver power. But I also thought of Christo when I saw the design that they made along the ridge.
An artist opens the viewer's mind, but of course the viewer has to have an openable mind. There is much to line, shape, form and texture, regardless of scale.
10
i know how much he misses his partner.
she was an awesome magical lady...
WE LOVE U
she was an awesome magical lady...
WE LOVE U
13
What an absolutely useless thing to make & do, and how completely wonderful that Christo & Jean-Claude did it anyway. In these trying times it's truly inspirational to see something done simply out of curiosity and a love of beauty. Thank you, Christo, for giving me something so senseless and senseable simultaneously.
18
This story filled me with such joy and wonderment. Then I read all these hateful, ignorant comments - and the Trump phenomenon makes sense.
8
You're saying you believe if someone doesn't like Christo's work, they must be voting for Trump?
Am I understanding you correctly?
Am I understanding you correctly?
Do you mean to imply that it is illogical for philistines to vote for a philistine?
I was in Paris when Christo wrapped Pont Neuf about thirty years ago. I was staying off the blvd St-Germain and crossed the bridge daily. It was absolutely fantastic. A department store just on the other side of the bridge was similarly wrapped in sympathy with Christo, with the addition of a ribbon and bow, making it look like an enormous present. Christo's work beguiles us and makes us smile, all the more for its being temporary and therefore making us treasure the experience of seeing it, taking part in his vision. Thank you, Christo for still dreaming and realizing those dreams.
12
my friend and i flew to nyc from california to see the gates unfurl in central park! it was fabulous, and so exquisite... decades ago i saw the running fence in sonoma. brilliant! i love christo.
6
With so much ugliness and hate in the world right now, we need this counterpoint, even if just reading about it in the NYT. Bravo!
19
As a child of little faith ,I never believed in the history of "man walking on the water". And this is certainly not the historical moment to change my mind about it.
2
So what! Thats not what this is about.
6
We are so excited to go to Lago Iseo next week to see this installation. One comment about at quote at the end of the article. Monte Isola Mayor Fiorello Turla was mostly likely speaking Italian and said that his town with "cambiare pelle" as a result of this. That translates literally to "change skin" in English but that is not something that we really say in English. In this context, it is better translated at "turn over a new leaf" or "reinvent itself" or even possible 'begin anew."
13
The comments here are a testament to the need for arts education in our schools and communities.
14
Arts were a big part of my high school's curriculum in the 80's. I was taught to appreciate many different kinds of art, without that education I might think this installation is pointless.
Give kids a taste of art and how to create with their mind and their hands and watch them build strong character, become less self-centered, more open-minded and empathetic. Clutching a cell phone won't do any of that.
Give kids a taste of art and how to create with their mind and their hands and watch them build strong character, become less self-centered, more open-minded and empathetic. Clutching a cell phone won't do any of that.
4
I find Christo's work stimulating. I really enjoyed the Gates in Central Park 11 years ago. For 16 days, many individuals will experience a complement to nature in Lake Iseo Italy ! Looking forward to his next project.
9
Wonder how much this extravagance cost and who is paying for it?
Seems pointless to disturb nature for something so frivolous...and the materials used to create it will end up where?...in a landfill?
Seems pointless to disturb nature for something so frivolous...and the materials used to create it will end up where?...in a landfill?
6
Did you even read the article? It answers both your questions.
1. Christo is paying for it through the sale of his own artworks
2. The materials will be recycled.
Basic reading comprehension.
1. Christo is paying for it through the sale of his own artworks
2. The materials will be recycled.
Basic reading comprehension.
8
No doubt they will be cut up and sold as art pieces -- pieces of the art project.
"Like his other environmental artworks, which try to reframe familiar landscapes, the 15 million euro project (or $16.8 million), will be funded through the sale of his original drawings and collages."
"At the close of its 16-day run, the walkway will be dismantled and its parts recycled and resold. “The important part of this project is the temporary part, the nomadic quality,” Christo said. “The work needs to be gone, because I do not own the work, no one does. This is why it is free.”
"At the close of its 16-day run, the walkway will be dismantled and its parts recycled and resold. “The important part of this project is the temporary part, the nomadic quality,” Christo said. “The work needs to be gone, because I do not own the work, no one does. This is why it is free.”
4
This piece should be in the Travel Section of the NYT. And, it is exactly a piece for the readers of the NYT who can afford Summer vacations with a "kick." Yet, it's very sad, Italy has a marvelous culture of more than 5 thousand years and what it's advertise is nothing else but another Disney adults spectacle: go, walk, immerse yourself in this unique experience, that offers you for "free" to become "aware" of your walking, your surroundings and the air surrounding this experience, the air! By the way, the article has just a short sentence on the dangers of such "project" to its natural environment.A suggestion: I think it would be environmental safer to go the Guggenheim Art-Museum-Fair and have a "kick" and also become "aware" ("awareness" it's the essential key word for all this spectacles) of the meaning and place of toilets in our lives through the exhibit of a Golden-Art-Toilet piece or, the Met Art-Fair, to have the thrill of a Haunting House. Yep, the Emperor is naked though as an Emperor should be, it's loaded with millions for the enlightened few.
5
Clearly, and quite sadly, you don't get it. This project is about recreating the wonderment one felt as a child experiencing something for the very first time. In this world, seemingly, so full of hate right now, isn't it OK for people to just be happily thrilled for 16 days?
11
I can't afford a summer vacation with a kick. I enjoyed reading about this project. Many people will be thrilled to walk on the cloth as I was thrilled to see "The Gates" in Central Park a few years back. With 8 million living in New York, there was no concern about environmental issues. We took the subway.
Your complaints are bitter. People need art and this is exceptional art. It has nothing to do with people being duped. Beauty is beauty and "The Gates" was truly beautiful
Your complaints are bitter. People need art and this is exceptional art. It has nothing to do with people being duped. Beauty is beauty and "The Gates" was truly beautiful
5
I had an experience sometime in the late '70s that was so surreal, only the friend with me could vouch for me and I lost touch with him long ago. But, I swear, even if it seems like a scene from a Woody Allen movie, it really happened.
I was in the Museum of Modern Art with my friend Rich (Rich, if you out there, vouch for me). We were in our late teens and very skeptical about modern art, but at least we were trying. We came across an exhibit that looked to our cynical eyes as a wooden pallet with junk on it. I can't remember specifically what, but it was junk to us. A professor or at least older person was explaining to a student, or at least a person our age, about what it meant. It was kind of heady and we were snickering because it seemed like he was an older man trying to impress a young woman. Well, sure enough, a janitor came by right in the middle of it and took it away. It was junk. If it sounds improbable, imagine how we felt. We couldn't contain ourselves and laughed so hard we literally ran out of the building and collapsed in hysterics on the sidewalk. One of the most memorable moments in my life. I'm smiling now as I write it.
Anyway, the reason for this long story - I think of it whenever I see something by Christo. I just don't get it.
I was in the Museum of Modern Art with my friend Rich (Rich, if you out there, vouch for me). We were in our late teens and very skeptical about modern art, but at least we were trying. We came across an exhibit that looked to our cynical eyes as a wooden pallet with junk on it. I can't remember specifically what, but it was junk to us. A professor or at least older person was explaining to a student, or at least a person our age, about what it meant. It was kind of heady and we were snickering because it seemed like he was an older man trying to impress a young woman. Well, sure enough, a janitor came by right in the middle of it and took it away. It was junk. If it sounds improbable, imagine how we felt. We couldn't contain ourselves and laughed so hard we literally ran out of the building and collapsed in hysterics on the sidewalk. One of the most memorable moments in my life. I'm smiling now as I write it.
Anyway, the reason for this long story - I think of it whenever I see something by Christo. I just don't get it.
3
sorry. his work is stunning.
3
I think maybe at one time I may have thought that and then I saw the Gates and how they transformed Central Park. It hurt no one and added color to an otherwise drab winter day in Central Park. It was fantastic and I'm so happy to have seen it. It didn't have to mean anything at all it just was.
5
Too bad you didn't take the LIRR to Central Park to see "The Gates". It was awesome!
3
To all the people complaining about the environmental impact - really? This is but a rain drop of plastic in a torrent of what we use - and throw out - daily. The plastic is recyclable so it is no more offensive than your plastic coke "bottle" and a lot more eco-friendly than all the plastic wrap in your fridge. The town will probably reap financial benefits from the project and go back to being a sleepy town the following week. Squawk squawk squawk. There's a million things more disruptive to the environment than this art project.
4
Christo is a blessing to Bulgarian artists like myself.
7
I'm surprised at the number of critical comments. For crying out loud, let's relax a little in this mad world & enjoy the imaginative creations this man & his partner have given us.
11
Dang! The world is being overrun by cynics. I think its jealousy. Not everyone is able to create artwork or even write a simple poem or carry a tune. Instead of marveling at what others create, we pridefully disavow it as worthless.
Right now some of us are looking at our world and thinking that things are only going to get worse and try to be hard by scoffing at joy.
It's gonna be ok. We will get through trying times. It's ok to smile even if you're afraid for the future. Beauty and love still exist.
Right now some of us are looking at our world and thinking that things are only going to get worse and try to be hard by scoffing at joy.
It's gonna be ok. We will get through trying times. It's ok to smile even if you're afraid for the future. Beauty and love still exist.
6
I can imagine fluorescent life jackets.
Magnificent!
Bravo Christo!
RIP Jean Claude
Bravo Christo!
RIP Jean Claude
14
The making of nylon is very environmentally unfriendly. I don't understand why the fact that it will be recycled is not talked about in the article. That takes a way a bit of the magic...
I like older artists working passionately. Most young artists are overrated just because they are young.
Why not make bags out of it or hammocks? Or a bag that folds into a hammock? Would be great to sleep on air after walking on water!
I like older artists working passionately. Most young artists are overrated just because they are young.
Why not make bags out of it or hammocks? Or a bag that folds into a hammock? Would be great to sleep on air after walking on water!
3
Saffron? Saffron. I knew I should have gone to a better school. It looked yellow to me.
I like Caterpillar tractors. They used to be coloured "Caterpillar Yellow". I see now that they were Caterpillar Ochre all along.
I like Caterpillar tractors. They used to be coloured "Caterpillar Yellow". I see now that they were Caterpillar Ochre all along.
3
I hate "art" that I'm forced to look at.
2
From his "Running Fence, to this side-show for rubes, Christo is, and always has been a consummate charlatan.
1
It's like the boot of Italy was handed a floating pair of saffron slippers. Wow! What a vision.
7
Absolutely fantastic!!! I flew to New York in 2005 to walk through the Gates installation in Central Park and came away utterly impressed by the beauty, scale and engineering of the project. I'm sure those who visit this installation will do the same.
Christo is a magnificent artist. Bravo! Bravo!
Christo is a magnificent artist. Bravo! Bravo!
8
Christo's "work" is proof positive of the observation that "art is anything you can get away with". What a con.
2
Once, in a museum, I overheard comments by three viewers of a classical 18th century painting of the fruits of a hunt: three ducks hanging on a dark wood panel amidst other symbols of a fall day in the field. Oh, the lamentations for the cruel loss of life!
Art provokes vastly different reactions in people because they experience it through the prisms of their own lives, however open or closed that may be. In this sense art is a kind of diagnostic tool to be exploited -- as many artists know. Provocation is an important responsibility of the artist. May it always be so.
Art provokes vastly different reactions in people because they experience it through the prisms of their own lives, however open or closed that may be. In this sense art is a kind of diagnostic tool to be exploited -- as many artists know. Provocation is an important responsibility of the artist. May it always be so.
4
Christos has a tradition of covering real, natural scenes with his "art". I consider much of modern public "art" to be hideous. Why doesn't Christos cover some of these objects? We have a cable stayed bridge in Boston which is considered to be modern "art." I find it to be very ugly, especially when compared to suspension bridges. I would suggest to Christos that his next project be to cover this bridge and remove an eyesore. I look forward to the prolonged court fight in which the bridge "artist" fights the "artist" Christos, sparing the public from either "artists" work for years.
7
Christo. The artist is Christo. And he wrapped the Pont Neuf (a bridge in Paris) in 1985.
You are right about the cable stayed bridge in Boston. It is one ugly sicker!
2
Good grief-the art exhibit is in place for a few weeks. The environmental impact is surely minimal compared to all the stuff running off the hills of the rather densely populated area around the lake. Not to mention all the two stroke motor boat engines.
More people watch professional wrestling than will ever see this exhibit-surely pro wrestling has as equal a negative impact on the environment if not more, and is just as useless a benefit to society as this is...yet no one complains about that!
This is cool and God Bless Christo for being an inspiration to people that crazy artistic ideas can come to fruition in a man's lifetime. If you can dream it, if you can see it, if you can hear it, it can be!
More people watch professional wrestling than will ever see this exhibit-surely pro wrestling has as equal a negative impact on the environment if not more, and is just as useless a benefit to society as this is...yet no one complains about that!
This is cool and God Bless Christo for being an inspiration to people that crazy artistic ideas can come to fruition in a man's lifetime. If you can dream it, if you can see it, if you can hear it, it can be!
23
Being a resident of Switzerland I will definitely hop over to experience the floating piers. Idea for a follow up project : rebuild a glacier -at least part of it - with those white cubes to make people aware of the dramatic effect climate change has on our glaciers.
7
Total waste of elements, how dare one savage our earth with such empty headed mess
9
Christo's work is a travesty to the environment. Why not just enjoy nature as it is? The idea that man (or woman) could improve on nature is absurd.
I do love art for art's sake, but why must it be of massive scale with comparable environmental impact? Christo's work is emblematic of the worst of our wasteful culture. Use once and throw it out. But what if there is nowhere to throw it? Put it in a landfill in someone else's backyard; burn it and add to air pollution?
I do love art for art's sake, but why must it be of massive scale with comparable environmental impact? Christo's work is emblematic of the worst of our wasteful culture. Use once and throw it out. But what if there is nowhere to throw it? Put it in a landfill in someone else's backyard; burn it and add to air pollution?
9
I don't really know why I find Christo so offensive, but it probably has something to do with his thinking he can improve on nature or maybe it is that some people are impressed. To call what he does art, is like calling these comments literature. He would not make round two of America's Got Talent.
11
Now try interviewing some of the citizens of Iseo who have had to live with this for the past year, and who have to cope for the next two weeks. It is a lovely little town that was never equipped for the numbers and demands on it now.
7
OH BOOHOO they'll survive!
1
Wow! Another provocative but elegant victory for Christo. It takes a beautiful mind to reimagine space in a way that challenges us. The color contrast alone is magnificent but when I read about the tactile sensation of walking on it, I wanted to get on an airplane today.
7
Many here defend this project on environmental grounds by asserting that the materials are "recyclable and made from recycled materials"
I beg to differ. Just because something is recyclable, you are not in the clear.
I spent 6 long years being at the forefront of the effort to keep fracking out of NY State, and learned a lot about carbon footprints. This project has a huge one, simply from the fabrication and transportation of all those petroleum based materials. Recycling doesn't cut it when the materials did not have to be made in the first place: there are organic alternatives.
Read about the Uru Indians who for ages have been fashioning floating islands on Lake Titicaca that they live on. Exact same concept: 3 to 6 ft thick floating platform, but done with naturally growing organic reeds. The reeds on the bottom of the platform decay back back into the environment as they are replenished on the top of the platform. The island is anchored to poles on the lake's floor.
Christo could have done the same thing: built a walkway made of reeds, let people walk on them for a month, and then make photographic and video imagery of the natural decay, the sale of which would finance the project.
But then would it be art? Christo's kind of art requires "avant-garde" formalistic vision. Could it be that the only thing that Christo has that the Uru Indians don't is this vision, wedded to marketing hutzpah and wealthy friends in high places?
I beg to differ. Just because something is recyclable, you are not in the clear.
I spent 6 long years being at the forefront of the effort to keep fracking out of NY State, and learned a lot about carbon footprints. This project has a huge one, simply from the fabrication and transportation of all those petroleum based materials. Recycling doesn't cut it when the materials did not have to be made in the first place: there are organic alternatives.
Read about the Uru Indians who for ages have been fashioning floating islands on Lake Titicaca that they live on. Exact same concept: 3 to 6 ft thick floating platform, but done with naturally growing organic reeds. The reeds on the bottom of the platform decay back back into the environment as they are replenished on the top of the platform. The island is anchored to poles on the lake's floor.
Christo could have done the same thing: built a walkway made of reeds, let people walk on them for a month, and then make photographic and video imagery of the natural decay, the sale of which would finance the project.
But then would it be art? Christo's kind of art requires "avant-garde" formalistic vision. Could it be that the only thing that Christo has that the Uru Indians don't is this vision, wedded to marketing hutzpah and wealthy friends in high places?
10
The Italian lake region is no Lake Titicaca. I am sure that if the Uru had access to other, more permanent, bridge-building materials, they would use them. Seeing people as noble savages is also avant garde.
6
So, maybe his utilization of recyclable materials won't totally offset the environmental cost, but at least he and his team are making a conscientious effort. Moreover, as stated in the article, the fabric used was specifically chosen in order to achieve the desired effect of chromatic shift, ergo, perhaps organic alternatives would render this unfeasible. Here's another way of looking at it: would you rather another strip mall be built or a temporary art exhibit? Both are unnecessary, but at least one aspires to something more than a fulfillment of avarice.
5
The environmental cost of 7 day NYTimes home delivery for 35 straight years is way too great as well, but that does not stop me from reading it. Or does not give me the right to ask "What indeed journalism is?".
When I was younger we had this neighbor who was talking politics all day long, but could it be that the only thing that NYTimes has that our old neighbor don't is this vision, wedded to marketing hutzpah and wealthy friends in high places?
When I was younger we had this neighbor who was talking politics all day long, but could it be that the only thing that NYTimes has that our old neighbor don't is this vision, wedded to marketing hutzpah and wealthy friends in high places?
1
At first I thought it was at least an interesting project, until I saw how it was done. Pretty underwhelming.
6
I don't care what kind of stuff this man does except that it always seems to involve nature and disturbing animals. Stick to putting your creations in cities and leave nature alone.
11
So beautiful. Why shouldn't our perception of the earth be questioned? His works are only temporary, but they leave a shadow somehow so we can never see the spaces again without a glimpse of what he did there.
13
Christo's "Running Fence" here in Northern California was a gorgeous and inspiring installation. And to those who feel compelled to criticize him for using politically incorrect materials, for ostensibly polluting the environment, or for financial extravagance, I defy any one of you to find any trace of the Running Fence.
Christo's awe-inspiring installations haven't cost the public anything, unlike the stadiums of rich, professional athletic teams that are paid for at least in part by taxpayers at the front end, then are paid for by them again when teams move to "greener" pastures and the facilities decay and are left to rot at municipal expense. Sure, it's easy to question expenditures for art. But do you also question expenditures for, for example, the military-industrial complex, or the purchase of congressmen and women? I think not.
Christo's awe-inspiring installations haven't cost the public anything, unlike the stadiums of rich, professional athletic teams that are paid for at least in part by taxpayers at the front end, then are paid for by them again when teams move to "greener" pastures and the facilities decay and are left to rot at municipal expense. Sure, it's easy to question expenditures for art. But do you also question expenditures for, for example, the military-industrial complex, or the purchase of congressmen and women? I think not.
20
Andy Warhol said: ART is anything you can get away with (!).
3
If all the Christo fans who have gushed here over his latest project had never heard of him, were not familiar with his past work and had never read any news accounts about him, had happened upon this lake and noticed the floating nylon, would they regard it as art?
13
Can you say ugly and arrogant. Please stop putting a human stamp on nature.
22
Waste of time and money. Nature needs no embellishment.
21
The abstract and orthogonal nature of the floats are stunning. Walking on water, straight from the heavens above. https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/e8b8e415-1a03-43e3-b6f8-391764e6af6e
5
Bravo, Christo. Like your other works others before it, your new creation on Lago Iseo delights the open minded and exposes those whose minds are closed to the infinite possibilities and provocations of art. That is exactly what a great artist should do. Yes . . . Bravo!
18
This is what makes being alive so wonderful.
29
Sorry, but this is foolish and so unnecessary. No doubt there's some money in this for the art-couple. Too bad the $16.5 million couldn't be put to better use.
14
Yes, and lets do away with all professional sports and spend those BILLIONS on a "better use".
3
"Sorry, but this is foolish and so unnecessary." But aren't we all, dear, and yet we all celebrate our existence nonetheless.
J
J
7
The philosophy is above the art. The biz and tourism investment is part of
this art's "invention". As is the art of convincing people to make it happen.
this art's "invention". As is the art of convincing people to make it happen.
5
I am always first appalled by the extravagance of his ideas and the expense—and then I am always absolutely blown away by literally anything he has conceived and created. I always seem to respond with "Ahhhh! Exquisite, so poetic!"
20
how is the extravagance of his idea any more extravagant than Larry Ellison spending his billions on a sailboat with a purpose of winning one singular race. those boats serve no other purpose than sailing and winning one regatta. This is to me at least inspiring...to think and dream it and then to make it come true. Amazing.
5
I am speaking as a fellow artist who normally spends about $5,000 yearly on paint and canvas, pencils and paper. Comparatively, it is an extravagance for an artist, but he is exceptional. You also didn't understand my comment that the end justifies the means.
And what does sailboat racing have to do with creating art, precisely?
And what does sailboat racing have to do with creating art, precisely?
do no harm, be pleasing, think out, not in. art does not waste one's emotions.
it calls them to the surface.
it calls them to the surface.
14
Lou Good - The residents of Rifle, Colorado would beg to differ with your assessment of Christo's post-display remediation.
14
An exhibit? Perhaps. Art? Not really. I had a floating dock behind my lake house as a kid. But no one called it art. This guy has no talent. Anyone with half a brain could have conceived something far more interesting and artistic.
14
and yet, none of those half-brained people have done something quite like this yet.
part of the artistic nature of this is the actual completion of the project. just what creative thing are you doing this weekend?
part of the artistic nature of this is the actual completion of the project. just what creative thing are you doing this weekend?
3
But you didn't.
3
What's Christo's deal with saffron, anyway? Does he have a website with some arty-smarty explanation how saffron reflects a didactic will in the collective effluvium of our media culture? The preceding question was mockery, not arty-smarty, just in case one of you great intellects began to formulate
an addendum... or riposte.
Stunt, I says. Fun, yes. Photo op, yes. Useful for flushing self indulgent posturing twits like so many quail before the beaters, yes. But nonetheless... stunt!
an addendum... or riposte.
Stunt, I says. Fun, yes. Photo op, yes. Useful for flushing self indulgent posturing twits like so many quail before the beaters, yes. But nonetheless... stunt!
4
Simply put; the color is gorgeous. And, as I mentioned in another post, it contrasts beautifully with the deep blue of the lake. There is no pretentious theory about it; it's simply beautiful.
7
Yeah... but he also used saffron in NYC's Central Park for his Gates...stunt! I said it again. Stunt! And I went over and walked through the Gates with a theatrically beatified look on my face. I figured that was apropos, contributing my part of the collective awe at the emperor's new saffron raiment. But I guess the saffron also contrasted beautifully the wintry palette of colors (including snow at one point) of Central Park in February. It is a nice color.
Stunt! Damien Hirst's shark. Stunt! Tracey Emin's tent. Stunt!
Stunt! Damien Hirst's shark. Stunt! Tracey Emin's tent. Stunt!
Seems so stupid to me (or do I have the right to tell my opinion) ?
Very bad message about environment for our kids : do what you like, even the craziest, most polluting, useless things ever, the environment is never a problem.
Very bad message about environment for our kids : do what you like, even the craziest, most polluting, useless things ever, the environment is never a problem.
18
All of Christo's projects are vetted by enviormental scientists and engineers to insure that they do not harm the enviroment. He pays through the nose for scientific studies to demonstrate that his projects do not harm wildlife or the enviroment. "barober"...you of course have a right to your opinion, but it holds more water if you base your opinion on fact.
7
Cool!
A couple of sailboats with saffron-colored sails is the only detail missing.
A couple of sailboats with saffron-colored sails is the only detail missing.
10
Yes, I believe in climate change, yes we should protect the environment...but don't you people ever get tired of not letting others have fun? The world will survive the related "offgassing" from this one installation, for cryin' out loud.
Stop taking everything so darned seriously. Stop cooking up criticisms to try to seem discerning. There's a Latin word for people who endulge in these antics: party poopers.
Go Christo! We're not on this world for long -- keep making it fun and surprising.
Stop taking everything so darned seriously. Stop cooking up criticisms to try to seem discerning. There's a Latin word for people who endulge in these antics: party poopers.
Go Christo! We're not on this world for long -- keep making it fun and surprising.
76
Really? This guy is so over rated. My friend and I were discussing this earlier and he summed it up best. "Christo is the Thomas Kincade of land art."
17
A ridiculous and inept comparison. Kincade was a schlock artist who sold cheap 4-color offset posters as fine-art "prints", and the fools who bought them will discover how cheap they are when they start to fade due to the lack of archival materials used to make them. But Kincade made a tidy bundle on them. Christo gets NO revenue from his projects! They are offered freely to the world to enjoy (or not). 'Nuff said.
8
I'm sorry you feel that way but walking through The Gates after a snowstorm in Central Park was such a beautiful experience. Perhaps if you actually visited somewhere Christo had and installation you might feel differently.
2
I used to feel the same way. While not gifted in some of the harsher/powerful language of Smithson, Heizer, or DeMaria, if you ever get a chance to go to
a Christo installation, as I have a couple of times, you realize it is the gathering
of so many people to see their surroundings anew that drives his art. He is
not the Thomas Kinkade of land art. He is one of it s pioneers.
a Christo installation, as I have a couple of times, you realize it is the gathering
of so many people to see their surroundings anew that drives his art. He is
not the Thomas Kinkade of land art. He is one of it s pioneers.
4
I was blown away when I saw a Christo installation in a park in Kansas City at age 16 in 1978 and have seen and enjoyed 2 others in the years since. For those who have not been moved by his work, I'm sorry for your loss. But I'm shocked by the number of negative comments. He doesn't take sponsorship money, leaves them up for only a short and recycles materials used. With all the people in the world interested only in maximizing profit and/or garnering publicity, this is an artist who should be lauded.
28
Thank you. I was lucky enough to experience their project in Central Park and it just took my breath away.
3
My first impression on taking a hurried look at the caption of this report was to feel a sense of wonderment at what was till now only in the realm of imagination of all [ at least for us in this part of the world], but touted as practicable by strict yogic practices like anima, mahima , garima, lakhima etc., which last term signifies the power to make the body lighter than air and water to make it possible to walk on lighter surfaces as referred to in Oriental mythologies ; but seeing this Christo’s Newest Project as just a synthetic Floating Piers project makes me feel as the author himself rightly opined "these projects are just that totally irrational, totally useless,” even as this is apt to be seen as a sop for the nonce to those that nurture such an urge to tread on the light water for fun .Yet last but not the least, as an accomplishment assisted by technology on such vast scale it should merit our appreciation and sense of awe !
6
What a colossal waste of resources. And what a terrible thing to do to the living things in the water under that mass, doing without light or surface air.
Christo brings environmental damage to all his massive endeavors.
Christo brings environmental damage to all his massive endeavors.
14
Ok-time to elaborate on all the environmental damage this brings. your comment on blocking surface light and surface air (whatever that is) makes me think of the conspiracy theories on vapor trails. Surface air-really?
He sold his art to pay for it-how is that a waste of resources? Should revenue from art sales somehow be designated for a 'better purpose'?
So please make sure that you never take any Bay Area ferry and OMG what those BART tunnels and those dang bridges are doing to the water. Those things are forever-this is for a few weeks. Be sure to avoid the new SF Moma 'cause goodness knows what damage that has done to the area since it was rebuilt. And just think of all the damage the DeYoung has done to the park!
He sold his art to pay for it-how is that a waste of resources? Should revenue from art sales somehow be designated for a 'better purpose'?
So please make sure that you never take any Bay Area ferry and OMG what those BART tunnels and those dang bridges are doing to the water. Those things are forever-this is for a few weeks. Be sure to avoid the new SF Moma 'cause goodness knows what damage that has done to the area since it was rebuilt. And just think of all the damage the DeYoung has done to the park!
2
Did any of the naysayers and critics actually watch the video? The beautiful installation is just put together as other floating temporary docks are around the world. Recyclable and made from recycled materials. It is amazimg. I wish i could go and be with others to experience it together as art brings togetherness annd discourse. No staring at electronic devices here! Fear of falling in water! The pollution it will prevent--yes prevent--will be from the lack of all the boats spewing their noxious diesel tooling around to shuttle tourists looking for George Clooney. Bravo Christo!
25
Does they money get recyled too? And the oil burnt doing the "recycling"? How does it get recycled?
1
This reminds me of a Calvin & Hobbs cartoon. One in which he drapes decorative lights on the backyard saying, "Aliens land here".
It's also similar to one of those Japanese TV based games where people go through an obstacle course with things popping out and massive rollers which chuck people into muddy waters.
Instead of plastic I would have used pumice stone, the volcanic rock used to scrub ones feet. Those things float too.
It's also similar to one of those Japanese TV based games where people go through an obstacle course with things popping out and massive rollers which chuck people into muddy waters.
Instead of plastic I would have used pumice stone, the volcanic rock used to scrub ones feet. Those things float too.
4
Pumice isn't saffron colored. The saffron color against the blue sea is spectacular!
1
Certainly to properly critique this work one has to be there. That said, most of us will only be able to experience it through photographs and perhaps video. I do like some of Christo's wok, but this does not impress me in any way. It looks like a common yellow traffic arrow painted on a city street, it's harsh geometric form, less than inspiring. I feel this installation required something more organic given it’s location of round islands, curving shores and water. The "island" or framed box offers the most visual interest, but again it looks like any plaza or buffer space surrounding countless buildings. Long undulating walkways are sometimes used when cruise ships must dock farther out at sea and they are straight lines as well, so I see nothing very original about the concept of “walking on water” either.
3
The lake Iseo and its surroundings are very beautiful. Excellent wine. Normally not many tourists. From stone age carvings to classical art everything available. Tadini palace houses a nice collection We had a huge 7 room apartment in Lovere - good idea to look up private accommodation.
3
It's amazingly unique and beautiful, but in another aspect of view, I thought it would be much better to be considered environment, river flow or materials that could effect to the nature.
1
I'm torn, really between my allegiance to art and my profound love for watery places. I hear the argument about the plastics; they are poisoning our world in so many ways. Yet we all depend on them now.
Large scale public art like Christo & Jean-Claude's projects bring us a new way to experience a place. With the Gates, how many thousands of people explored and enjoyed Central Park in a way that they never would have before?
I would love a stroll on the surface of such a beautiful lake, the golden pathway setting off all the blues and greens around me. To feel the undulation of the floating path, to smell the water and hear it's soft slap - it's about the experience, and seeing a world that you've never seen before, even if it was right before you all the time.
Large scale public art like Christo & Jean-Claude's projects bring us a new way to experience a place. With the Gates, how many thousands of people explored and enjoyed Central Park in a way that they never would have before?
I would love a stroll on the surface of such a beautiful lake, the golden pathway setting off all the blues and greens around me. To feel the undulation of the floating path, to smell the water and hear it's soft slap - it's about the experience, and seeing a world that you've never seen before, even if it was right before you all the time.
10
The Gates absolutely took my breath away. It was magical.
1
His work makes me happy. I feel sorry for those whose only reaction is anger and sourness.
And read the article, people. The fabric is nylon, not plastic, and it's there for 16 days. It won't harm the lake.
And read the article, people. The fabric is nylon, not plastic, and it's there for 16 days. It won't harm the lake.
18
As anyone who has been around for awhile knows, when those that represent the arts in the form of making lots of money from them say something is art then you just agree and pay your entry fee. I'm sure it's been done already and maybe not in a grand scale but I'm waiting for various and sundry types of bowel movements to be declared a form of art. After all, it's not too different from the toilet seats that have been laid out before the gullible public in exhibitions and extolled as art. Mr. Christie of course is a "genius" meaning he has successfully parted a lot of people and institutions from their hard earned cash. Are we certain his name isn't Donald?
6
This is a free exhibition.
2
When I look at this creation I see beauty. On the other hand the real beauty exists in it's story telling. Christo has a talent to meld storytelling and art together and that's from this 1 piece. Each decision has a purpose. From the color choices to the purpose, it reaches levels farther than just a bridge. The orange with the blue. The ripples in the pathway. The choice to surround the island. They all have purpose. It's not just a connection between 2 islands. It's a chance to connect. In terms of the scale, he blew it out of the water and landed on it perfectly.
16
As an artist with a keen interest in public installations I found 'The Gates' to be a disappointment, more site dissonant than specific. So excited to see a return to form of one of our great living geniuses. At 81 this could be his last monumental piece. If true, what an exquisite way to close out a magnificent career and life.
"The idea or the faculty of imagination serves as both rudder and bridle to the senses, inasmuch as the thing imagined moves the sense."
Leonardo da Vinci
"The idea or the faculty of imagination serves as both rudder and bridle to the senses, inasmuch as the thing imagined moves the sense."
Leonardo da Vinci
10
Before I moved to Philadelphia, I lived for many years by a wide river in rural Maryland. In the twenty years I lived there, the river never froze more than a few hundred feet out from the bank; the channel always remained open.
An elderly neighbor used to talk about the time, more than fifty years before, of a winter when the river froze solid. Kids skated and played hockey, of course, and families walked to the opposite shore. Most amazingly, she said, a fellow with chains on his tires drove his car all the way across and back.
It gave my neighbor the greatest pleasure to tell that story. I think the memory of Christo’s fantastic installation will afford the same pleasure in the retelling many years from now by those who witnessed and walked on the actual structure this summer of 2016.
An elderly neighbor used to talk about the time, more than fifty years before, of a winter when the river froze solid. Kids skated and played hockey, of course, and families walked to the opposite shore. Most amazingly, she said, a fellow with chains on his tires drove his car all the way across and back.
It gave my neighbor the greatest pleasure to tell that story. I think the memory of Christo’s fantastic installation will afford the same pleasure in the retelling many years from now by those who witnessed and walked on the actual structure this summer of 2016.
15
You may love it, or may hate it, you may say it's beautiful, or ridiculously ugly, you may say it transcends nature, or it is just an ecological disaster, another one in this word of cupidity ... but we are speaking about it, so in a way the artist already reached a purpose, debating his piece of art. Personally, I find this very beautiful. Not more beautiful than the lake and the mountains without it, but still, I like it, it made an impression on me. I find this completely useless too, perfectly meaningless, quite arrogant and pretentious, and it makes me almost angry that people waste their time creating it, watching it and also debating it ... when so many more useful things could be done instead. I like the Floating Piers, and I hate it at the same time.
16
I love the moving, wave-like forms, reflecting their surroundings in an undulating skin of light and shadow. Behind them, the dark, dappled greenery climbs the hills as it provides rows of vertical backdrop to the light-bathed plane below. Above, the softness of the clouds encompasses and cloaks the scene, wrapping the entirety in a gauzy haze of cool grey.
Indeed, aside from the garish, meaningless, talent-less, strip of industrial neon plastic someone left there- that is one beautiful lake.
Nature is unending feast of varied organic harmonious beauty. Thanks for the reminder by contrast. Maybe that was the point.
Also, if you look closely on the bottom left there is a king with no clothes.
Indeed, aside from the garish, meaningless, talent-less, strip of industrial neon plastic someone left there- that is one beautiful lake.
Nature is unending feast of varied organic harmonious beauty. Thanks for the reminder by contrast. Maybe that was the point.
Also, if you look closely on the bottom left there is a king with no clothes.
17
Bravo!
3
Sorry, but this is a wonderful and beautifully realized. I suppose that Mr M also finds the High Line project in Manhattan "garish. meaningless, talentless" or any other structure that is manmade such. The natural world is spectacular, but the spectacle of nature shown in the photographs is enhanced by this installation, not diminished.
9
when Christo and Jeanne-Claude did the Running Fence project, they had to get permission from farmers and other country people, a daunting task. they not only got the permissions, but made many close friends and brought the western Sonoma County community together in an amazing way. I went to a number of events and was thrilled by the whole experience of the Fence itself and the feeling that we all owned it too. A truly once in a lifetime experience.
37
My aunt worked on it! She was pregnant and in college, but was determined to participate. She lasted a day. The temperature was 106 - not good for pregnant ladies to spend 8 hours in full sun. Still, she always talked about the experience as changing her perception of the countryside she knew so well. I've seen the signs acknowledging it's starting point - still marked. There is a documentary called Running Fence. Remarkable.
6
I also found interesting how the process unfolded over the social terrain. It brought forth many conversations that revealed the underlying attitudes, beliefs, values, social norms and rules of the area. All of which seemed to crystalize around the fence. As sugar crystals do around a string in a glass of sweeten water? Sheer genius.
3
"...but made many close friends..."
I would think that would have been a marketing mandatory.
"...the feeling that we all owned it..."
But you did not. The Christos owned it. A marketing miracle.
I would think that would have been a marketing mandatory.
"...the feeling that we all owned it..."
But you did not. The Christos owned it. A marketing miracle.
1
With all the need in the world, what a useless waste of money and resources. I saw the "Gates" in Central Park - another useless much-ado-about nothing.
21
Art bring people together. If you want waste you can look at the billions of dollars that are being spent on the presidential campaign, prescription drug advertising or Facebook development. Seriously. this is something the world needs. It's beautiful, and amazing, and drives us forward as a civilization. Presidential campaign waste, rail on that for a while. Christo is a genius.
117
Daisy, it is money that did not go into weapons, human traffickers, or a fat cat billionaire's pocket - and it will be available for 40,000 of the rest of us to "experience" - or laugh at - per day for free. I hope Christo is successful in selling a lot of his works for a lot of money to those with too much of it - doing no good - in order to finance this interesting and unusual sight for the rest of us.
Humanity has the resources, but never the will, to a minimum balanced well-being of our fellow humans, wildlife, and planet. Unfortunately the common good (which includes art) gets a bad wrap with cruelly deceptive words like wealth distribution, communism, socialism, etc.
Humanity has the resources, but never the will, to a minimum balanced well-being of our fellow humans, wildlife, and planet. Unfortunately the common good (which includes art) gets a bad wrap with cruelly deceptive words like wealth distribution, communism, socialism, etc.
2
Christo would agree-- irrational and totally useless, as he said, but we also need poetry and dreams.
7
Can New York City Government use some of the material ideas for connectors across the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan while the "L" train is out of service?
46
I am sorry that Jean-Claude isn't alive to see the realization of their shared vision, and I wish I could experience this strange and wonderful artwork myself. I was cynical about Christo and Jean-Claude's work until I experienced the Gates. They were magical and made me very happy. This is a completely new vision. I send love to Christo.
39
I loved The Gates, too. I will never forget that experience.
1
I am an artist, professionally over 50 years already. I dislike this flagrant expenditure on a project that makes a cheapening of a waterway, so much in need of help and few bourgeois invasions as possible. Now, consider the use those monies would have served feeding the poor, rejuvenating the waterway?
This is performance art, at best, carried to absurd, ego driven, extremes and arts and crafts at the best.
Mannerism describes art made for today only; classic art does nothing for today alone but forever, internationally and interplanetarily, thus archival materials.
I advise everyone to look into the progresses art made in the 20th century, such as the work of Piet Mondrian, who continued the discipline of the 2 dimensional surface, used since the time of Rembrandt and forward, to show how new everything could be. His work looks new today.
Christo will be long forgotten. Photos of his nostalgic past projects will draw dust on the shelves while Mondrian continues nearly 75 years since his death. Museums fight for his work. Why? That is for everyone to discover for themselves.
You deserve better art, do not be afraid to demand it. It is all for your positive edification.
This is performance art, at best, carried to absurd, ego driven, extremes and arts and crafts at the best.
Mannerism describes art made for today only; classic art does nothing for today alone but forever, internationally and interplanetarily, thus archival materials.
I advise everyone to look into the progresses art made in the 20th century, such as the work of Piet Mondrian, who continued the discipline of the 2 dimensional surface, used since the time of Rembrandt and forward, to show how new everything could be. His work looks new today.
Christo will be long forgotten. Photos of his nostalgic past projects will draw dust on the shelves while Mondrian continues nearly 75 years since his death. Museums fight for his work. Why? That is for everyone to discover for themselves.
You deserve better art, do not be afraid to demand it. It is all for your positive edification.
32
This art brings people together, and takes Mondrian and makes builds upon it. It makes Broadway boogie woogie 3D and 4D. If you can't see that, it's too bad. But Christo will never be forgotten. His work expands into the 21st century and are so much larger than any of us. Take that last pic in the image video above, and imagine it overlapped on one of Mondrian's works. They are both linear, abstract, flat, and about space. You should study more art in those 50 years and Grow.
2
Right. It fails the "economy of means" test. At one time that was considered important.
It's far more likely that the work of Richard E. Schiff will be long forgotten as in, "Who the hell is Richard E. Schiff?"
2
I genuinely puzzled by any enthusiasm for Christo's "art" form. The natural world does not need a man's draperies to make it an "abstract painting .... that "will change all the time." To those who find this corruption of nature thrilling, I say get outside and encounter nature, before humans destroy the beauty and majesty of what remains untouched on this planet. If we, as a product of nature, cannot connect with it with out extraneous draperies, we are sunk.
Frankly, what really troubles me is the ecological impact Chriso's drapery has on it's victims. I have no idea what harm many come to Lake Iseo because of this particular "project." I do recall his wrapped islands in Biscayne Bay. To imagine that his trespass on Biscayne Bay did not disrupt its ecology and kill marine life is foolhardy. He really should stick to hanging drapery in Central park or maybe to make temporary changes to the pinnacle of his vision, Versailles; a piece of land turned into a hall of mirrors.
To "vevgneyp", who comments here, the "artist's themes of physicality, temporality, and ephemerality", may be a "huge influence" on your own work, and your trip from Verona sounds like fun, but do you really think Christo and yourself have anything to say about the human condition of physicality, temporality, and ephemerality that one short walk in the Grand Canyon or Mount Desert can?
Please stay the hell away from any more National Parks and my garden.
Frankly, what really troubles me is the ecological impact Chriso's drapery has on it's victims. I have no idea what harm many come to Lake Iseo because of this particular "project." I do recall his wrapped islands in Biscayne Bay. To imagine that his trespass on Biscayne Bay did not disrupt its ecology and kill marine life is foolhardy. He really should stick to hanging drapery in Central park or maybe to make temporary changes to the pinnacle of his vision, Versailles; a piece of land turned into a hall of mirrors.
To "vevgneyp", who comments here, the "artist's themes of physicality, temporality, and ephemerality", may be a "huge influence" on your own work, and your trip from Verona sounds like fun, but do you really think Christo and yourself have anything to say about the human condition of physicality, temporality, and ephemerality that one short walk in the Grand Canyon or Mount Desert can?
Please stay the hell away from any more National Parks and my garden.
24
Amazing! Mr. Christo has a strange mind, in positive way that is.
I hope it doesn’t get too windy.
I hope it doesn’t get too windy.
7
The connection between Christo, Christ, and the biblical story of walking over water to confirm a resurrection is totally interesting.
8
The bird's eye view of the installation, in the shape of a yellow arrow, reminds me of El Camino de Santiago, where such arrows are ubiquitous and help pilgrims find their way.
5
I love it! He is brilliant as always. But, to quote George Carlin, "where is that guy Christo when I need something wrapped at Christmas?"
24
I've had the great opportunity to see The Gates in Central Park, and the Big Air Package in Germany. I'll be there next week at Lake Iseo walking with loved ones.
19
Despite the proximity, I didn’t bother checking out Christo’s 2005 NYC installation in 2005. Every visitor I spoke with raved about walking through the 7,500 gates in Central Park.
Lesson learned.
To cynics, I suggest looking in a mirror and trying to get a handle on the source of the skepticism.
Lesson learned.
To cynics, I suggest looking in a mirror and trying to get a handle on the source of the skepticism.
25
Oh how apt.
Bite of asp.
Bite of asp.
I am amazed at all the small-minded bitter commentary here (well, amazed might be putting it a little strongly. Not at all surprised might be more like it.) O.K., the environmental impact is worth checking into, but as for the rest of the sour-grapes whining: no one's forcing you to even read the article, let alone go there or pay for the project. The dude is an artist with a flamboyant vision. Are you telling me if you could get someone to pay you to spout the contents of your wildest dreams all over the world, you wouldn't make a living that way? I remember when he first started out and draped the sidewalks in a little park in Kansas City with gold fabric. It was fantastic. I would go over there at dawn and traipse around among the trees going wild in the wind and live for an hour in his fantasy before trudging off to my day job. People like him in those days inspired me to pursue art too. Look at the guy's picture! He's on fire, living his dream and has been with unswerving enthusiasm for the past several decades. A guy could do a lot worse than spread beautiful color all over the place. Go Christo! My hat is off!
258
Yes, the lack of vision with regard to the environmental impact in this day and age is really an inexcusable lack of imagination, ironically.
There certainly must have been a way, with today's technology, to avoid using petroleum products. Wouldn't it have been more amazing to fashion a floating walkway out of natural materials that would return to the natural environment simply by disintegrating, requiring no recycling whatsoever?
In fact, there already exists a way to do this with technology that is hundreds of years old. The Uru people of Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia fashion floating islands out of totora reeds, which grow in the lake. The dense roots that the plants develop and interweave form a natural layer called Khili (about one to two meters thick) that support the islands. They are anchored with ropes attached to sticks driven into the bottom of the lake. The reeds at the bottoms of the islands rot away fairly quickly, so new reeds are added to the top constantly, about every three months.
Mr Christo could easily have fashioned his pathway out of similar reeds. As they last three months, the first month could have been dedicated to walking upon the path, the second two months dedicated to imagery capturing the natural decay, that also could have been sold to finance the project.
There certainly must have been a way, with today's technology, to avoid using petroleum products. Wouldn't it have been more amazing to fashion a floating walkway out of natural materials that would return to the natural environment simply by disintegrating, requiring no recycling whatsoever?
In fact, there already exists a way to do this with technology that is hundreds of years old. The Uru people of Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia fashion floating islands out of totora reeds, which grow in the lake. The dense roots that the plants develop and interweave form a natural layer called Khili (about one to two meters thick) that support the islands. They are anchored with ropes attached to sticks driven into the bottom of the lake. The reeds at the bottoms of the islands rot away fairly quickly, so new reeds are added to the top constantly, about every three months.
Mr Christo could easily have fashioned his pathway out of similar reeds. As they last three months, the first month could have been dedicated to walking upon the path, the second two months dedicated to imagery capturing the natural decay, that also could have been sold to finance the project.
5
Save us from self-righteous puritans and embittered artists. I remember how his wrapping of the Pont Neuf created a new magnetic centre in Paris. And he basically pays for it himself.
2
You are just disappointed that there are people who are more forward-thinking than yourself.
Being at the cutting edge of the avant-garde involves an awareness of context and function, not just form.
This artist (me) has had his 15 minutes of fame a few times and thinks about these things constantly when fabricating his work.
Being at the cutting edge of the avant-garde involves an awareness of context and function, not just form.
This artist (me) has had his 15 minutes of fame a few times and thinks about these things constantly when fabricating his work.
How much fun will this be for the life forms in the water?
14
Sorry, but with all the great things accomplished by artist over the millennium, it's sad to see this is what our era has to contribute. Look at something like Goya's disasters of war and then ask "Is this really the best we can do?"
2
How do we take a poll?
They'll probably enjoy it. Perhaps you ought to try as well.
Beats trying to find fault anywhere you can even when it doesn't exist.....
Beats trying to find fault anywhere you can even when it doesn't exist.....
1
I couldn't bear to read through any of the other headline stories today. Thank you to Christo for this powerful demonstration of the power of public art. I will think of all of us - you, me, Orlando victims, all others who suffered violence this week - walking together on this saffron path. Thank you to the NYTimes for promoting this story.
18
It's beautiful. Like most of their work it has an air of upper-class, wealthy privilege.
5
Air of upper-class? If you had the chance to walk through the Gates in NYC, you would understand that Christo makes the art accessible to any and all. I suspect the experience of walking on part or all of this route would be a beautiful experience.
20
I walked through those gates. Nothing special for me, just lots of decoration, like NYC at Christmas time.
1
?? How so, upper class?
It's unfortunate so much waste is created in the name of art. I am an artist and have seen many natural artistic endeavors in my 61 years that have complemented or at the very least not been a slap in the face to nature. This is neither. The plastic alone will likely end up tumbled up on the beach somewhere for Survivorman Les Stroud to use for his programs.
27
Read the article. Christo always recycles materials.
13
No, not always. He recycles a small percentage of the materials from some of his projects. Blind admiration (and the lies propagating by you here) has ruined rivers, lakes, and canyons all over the world.
3
Poor Lago d'Iseo, so lovely & pristine, now criss-crossed in non-biodegradable plastic.
23
When you choose the lakes of northern Italy as your canvas, it is hard to create something less than gorgeous.
7
I know of no living artist who can get so many people to view their
surroundings, often taken for granted or just ignored, as new again.
Christo makes it happen and makes it a "happying". I just love him
and his deceased wife.
surroundings, often taken for granted or just ignored, as new again.
Christo makes it happen and makes it a "happying". I just love him
and his deceased wife.
28
The whole thing is redundant. If everything is art, then nothing is.
13
The art is in: saying that everything is art.
Very cool!
10
Is anyone familiar with the area in and around Lake Iseo and can suggest any good vantage points for photos that are accessible on foot? It looks like the central island is hilly enough to afford a good view, but is there a footpath? I'm looking forward to seeing this tomorrow!
6
I haven't been to Lake Iseo, just Lugano, and Como. From the official Iseo website, it sounds like there are plenty of walkways and trails.
Non-paved roads and mountain routes around Lake Iseo will satisfy any walker’s demand. Maps with trails, shelters and technical information are available.
http://www.iseolake.info/en/experience-the-lake/sport-and-nature/trekkin...
Wish I could go !
Non-paved roads and mountain routes around Lake Iseo will satisfy any walker’s demand. Maps with trails, shelters and technical information are available.
http://www.iseolake.info/en/experience-the-lake/sport-and-nature/trekkin...
Wish I could go !
4
An obscene assault on the environment:
Plasticizers leaking into the lake, not to mention the offgassing during production and of course the foreverness of 200k giant pieces of plastic.
What tiny percent of this behemoth will actually get recycled?
Plasticizers leaking into the lake, not to mention the offgassing during production and of course the foreverness of 200k giant pieces of plastic.
What tiny percent of this behemoth will actually get recycled?
39
"At the close of its 16-day run, the walkway will be dismantled and its parts recycled and resold."
Where do you get the "foreverness of 200k giant pieces of plastic". Likely these will be sold to people that build docks. That is how they do it these days-used to be out of styrofoam that would rot away in little bits into the water.
For years Marin residents were the main obstacle to the new train between Santa Rosa and Larkspur.....now THAT bit of NIMBYism was an obscene assault on the environment.
Where do you get the "foreverness of 200k giant pieces of plastic". Likely these will be sold to people that build docks. That is how they do it these days-used to be out of styrofoam that would rot away in little bits into the water.
For years Marin residents were the main obstacle to the new train between Santa Rosa and Larkspur.....now THAT bit of NIMBYism was an obscene assault on the environment.
What's with the dour haters here?
Like dance, Christo's projects are art that exist in time, and the tension between its temporality and its beauty is the point. And if you don't find it beautiful, no worries, there's lots of other art in the world for you to look at.
For those that say the money could have been better spent, this isn't tax money you're talking about. It's money earned by the artist to realize his artistic vision. He gets to spend the proceeds from his art sales how he likes. And he likes to give us access to his vision for free.
The materials are recycled at the end. I'll bet reused in some cool ways. Relax and enjoy this gift.
Like dance, Christo's projects are art that exist in time, and the tension between its temporality and its beauty is the point. And if you don't find it beautiful, no worries, there's lots of other art in the world for you to look at.
For those that say the money could have been better spent, this isn't tax money you're talking about. It's money earned by the artist to realize his artistic vision. He gets to spend the proceeds from his art sales how he likes. And he likes to give us access to his vision for free.
The materials are recycled at the end. I'll bet reused in some cool ways. Relax and enjoy this gift.
131
A group of friends and I are traveling from Verona to be there at sunrise on Sunday morning. The artists' themes of physicality, temporality, and ephemerality have been a huge influence on my own work, so I am especially excited to be able to participate in the experience. Although conceived 46 years go, it really speaks to this particular moment in time. So cool! Thank you, Christo —and Jeanne-Claude— che bravi!
101
I envy you and all those who saw The Gates in New York. I happened to be in Berlin in time to see Christo's Wrapped Reichstag. I applaud Christo and Jeanne-Claude's vision and perseverance.
1
Gorgeous. And beyond the aesthetics, just to pull it off - amazing. I wish this guy ran the world.
30
After the event ends, will they clean up/remove all the tools, widgets, wires, etc., that was used to install the art? Just thinking of all the junk that will collect at the bottom of the lake if they don't do that part well...
10
Yes! After every project he's ever done the site is restored to an immaculate condition, cleaner than before. He is very serious about this.
20
Christo is known for being attentive to this aspect of his work
8
"Cleaner than before?" "Immaculate condition?" Impossible.
And for what? Nylon or polyester stretched across the landscape. Wow.
And for what? Nylon or polyester stretched across the landscape. Wow.
9
It pains me to see that no sustainable materials were used for this. With the technological advances we have in this day and age, I presume a paper-based or even wood based hollow structure could have been used just fine for this project. To think that the art here (supposedly) pays homage to nature (outdoor installation) is quite disappointing. To me, while the concept is quite nice, the implementation is atrocious. It stands as an aberration, a parasite installation, on the pristine lake of Iseo. Can man not lower his pride and bequeath to the next generation that we are not above nature?
36
Read the article. This is temporary.
9
The project is temporary, the petroleum-based materials are not. They will have to go somewhere. This project has a large carbon-footprint.
2
Eduardo, you'll get over it.....
Seems like a waste of plastic.... psshhh "dimstantled and recycled"..... plastic only gets down cycled once or twice. Then it goes to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.... well eventually we can probably walk on water there.
30
What are your skis made of?
7
There's always a kill joy out there. I accidentally came across one of Cristo's early projects and was instantly charmed. Relax. If you want to worry, worry about the environmental impact of the ski industry.
17
These are high quality modular pontoons which will be sold as second hand and can serve many more years as piers or islands in lakes or shores.
8
Amazing!
I hope someone thinks to install web cams around it so people can watch.
PLEASE!
I hope someone thinks to install web cams around it so people can watch.
PLEASE!
15
I'm sure there will be hundreds of videos on youtube of people posing and posturing on this thing, not to worry. Though it's hard for me to imagine what the value would be in watching them.
I saw Christo and Jean Claude present their Central Park "Gates" project at a conference in 1987. It became a reality in 2005 thanks to Mayor Bloomberg. Experiencing The Gates on a cold, snowy day was wonderful. Because it was wintertime, you could see your route through bare branches--saturated orange against the blacks, browns, grays and whites of the season. As you walked through the Gates, you could hear the fabric overhead snapping in the wind, like sails. The smiles exchanged among strangers were part of the pleasure.
I won't get to experience "The Floating Piers," but am glad others will. As for the criticism that the installation is temporary--aren't all memorable experiences transient and unrepeatable? Like life itself.
I won't get to experience "The Floating Piers," but am glad others will. As for the criticism that the installation is temporary--aren't all memorable experiences transient and unrepeatable? Like life itself.
235
My gosh, that last sentence is the essence of living. Bravo, Tamara. And thank you.
13
What a beautiful installation! And what fun!
29
Would you like to send a contribution to pay for this. I have better ways to spend money. This project looks very expensive
He sells his art work to pay for it.
11
The people are actually walking on, you know, the yellow piers. Not the water.
11
I'd guess you have a hard time thinking abstractly. Yet you probably would say, "I am walking on the sidewalk," when in fact you were walking on your shoe bottoms that are on top of the sidewalk if you're walking on the sidewalk.
1
As Climate Change continues to raise the levels of our Oceans, Christo's vision may present an addendum to the challenges we will confront. I know I shouldn't be giving the Deniers out there anything to further their cause, but at least Christo's works of art will provide some beauty to the devastation those living in the endangered regions of the globe can appreciate during their troubled times. The Deniers can even label Christo's works, "Cyclical Art". After all, the Deniers one again are claiming this latest evidence of Global Warming is merely cyclical, no matter what the 'drill cores' from below tell us.
2
Beautiful.
19
Another Christo monument to himself. 16 days. A walk on plastic to a mansion in Italy. Let me check my schedule...
Yeah, I can't make it.
Yeah, I can't make it.
28
Who pays for this ego trip? Looks very expensive.
4
If you had read closely and wasn't in such a hurry to criticize, you'd know that is self-funded- by selling off the art work like preliminary sketches, and pieces of the art after it's dismantled.
6
As the article says: "Like his other works, the 15-million-euro, or $16.8 million, project will be funded through the sale of his original works of art."
6
I was living in Miami when Christo and Jeanne-Claude installed the surrounded islands project in 1983. Similar to this project, floating "skirts" of bright pink fabric encircled several small islands in the Intercoastal Waterway. The islands were completely cleaned of litter first by their crew. I went to the staging area and saw C and JC in action, directing the crew and racing off in a little boat. It was exciting to witness and this new project is magnificent.
47
So that's what became of all of those Central Park saffron-colored banners. Glad to see them recycled. Where to next? Everest, perhaps? Or Antacrtica?
3
Fabulous. I will be west of Milan (in northeastern piemonte) for three days starting this coming Sunday, June 19. Unfortunately, given the time available and some commitments, unlikely that my wife and I can fit in a visit to this art installation, although I would love to walk on water anywhere. I have not asked my wife whether she would also like to walk on water, but I suspect that she would.
Regarding cjt's criticism below, pathetic. Aesthetically, conceptually, engineering-wise and so on, a remarkable realization of an artistic concept.
Regarding cjt's criticism below, pathetic. Aesthetically, conceptually, engineering-wise and so on, a remarkable realization of an artistic concept.
24
This project demonstrates how bridges can be built if people are really willing to make it happen. Shame they didn't build this in a community which would really benefit from the draw in attention. Northern Italy is hardly missing tourists.
A project that highlights the impact of pollution whilst using colour such as this would be superior in nature and fascinating as well. Perhaps Christo might consider something alluring as this in an area more needy in the future.
A project that highlights the impact of pollution whilst using colour such as this would be superior in nature and fascinating as well. Perhaps Christo might consider something alluring as this in an area more needy in the future.
1
A gorgeous work of art, undoubtedly. I had the pleasure of attending his press conference at my college, as a reporter for our newspaper, when Christo was working on his umbrella project in japan and the Tejon Pass in California. It was great to hear his passion for his kind of art - he answered my questions kindly and graciously. I think I still have my Christo article somewhere ...
12
Post it, please.
3
definitely not as ugly as the denver bronco flags in central park. requires a helicopter. only rich people need apply. maybe we should give Christo one of Bill Gates's chickens instead of money. he could dress it up and take pictures.
2
This could be his masterpiece- What a beautiful project from a forward thinking genius.
13
I like this much more than what Christo and his wife did in Central Park a few years ago. Beautiful!
1
Christo is still at it? The first thing that pops into your head when a Christo work is completed is, "What in the world for?" Then, "Oh."
Though his pieces overwhelm, still the question never leaves.
Though his pieces overwhelm, still the question never leaves.
11
Did you read the entire article? THEN you can comment.
1
o, dede., I have read it, and my comment stands as written. As I wrote in reply to comment made by another contributor on another topic asking if she was the only one who felt no one should have the right to comment without reading the entire article:
"You may be. I read all of most of the articles I comment on and most of all of the articles, some of some of them, almost none of the ones that aren't worth reading. But I will not hesitate to opine on any of them.
The last two categories are quite often most fun. That is what comments are about, after all. No one takes us seriously. Certainly not the gray lady. The Pulitzer is not on the line here.
Life is too short. There is no heaven. There is no hell. Enjoy this moment, --------, while it lasts."
"You may be. I read all of most of the articles I comment on and most of all of the articles, some of some of them, almost none of the ones that aren't worth reading. But I will not hesitate to opine on any of them.
The last two categories are quite often most fun. That is what comments are about, after all. No one takes us seriously. Certainly not the gray lady. The Pulitzer is not on the line here.
Life is too short. There is no heaven. There is no hell. Enjoy this moment, --------, while it lasts."
I'm spellbound. The choice of color, contrast and geometry is creatively ingenious. A project of a visionary, indeed.
44
I'm sorry, am I missing something here? 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubs and waterproof and stain-resistant fabric? That sounds like ecological disaster right there. Shame on the writer not to talk about the enviroment. This was ok in the 60s when we didnt know any better. Today it is unacceptable. Time to update your thinking about nature and the world we live in. Have some courage writer! I don't want petroleum products produced in this world thank you very much.
63
Oh, get over it. And yourself. Read up on the work of Christo & what happens to all the materials used in his installations.
10
It is temporary. I am sure Christo has thought more about man and the environment than yourself in this tossed off comment.
7
Christo and Jeanne Claude talked at my art school in the 80s. We visited their studio on Howard St. I had been an admirer until I watched a video on the Colorado river project. The enviromental activists changed my mind.
1
Mamma Mia! That's a pretty pathway!
I remember Christo's Running Fence installation here in Marin and Sonoma, back in the mid-70's. Enthralling! This is creativity. Jeff Koons? Not so much...
I remember Christo's Running Fence installation here in Marin and Sonoma, back in the mid-70's. Enthralling! This is creativity. Jeff Koons? Not so much...
25
At the time of "Running Fence," I saw a video of the work done all along the way, getting permissions for the project. Very illuminating! Small town select boards, a woman over her ironing board ("I don't know art, but I love it," said she), others . . .
5
I just shared the story and video with my 5th grade class. They were amazed with such an imaginative piece of work. Thank you NYTimes and Christo!
55
Good for you-I can easily imagine just one kid seeing this and never forgetting how he/she felt when they saw it-probably unlike anything they ever saw before.
I remember the first time I saw someone playing guitar. I was in elementary school and the person was having so much fun. I have played guitar ever since (I just turned 59) and am still trying and will continue to try to capture the fun I saw that day.
I remember the first time I saw someone playing guitar. I was in elementary school and the person was having so much fun. I have played guitar ever since (I just turned 59) and am still trying and will continue to try to capture the fun I saw that day.
I loved the gates in Central Park and the shared sense of communal wonder as we all wandered around the park in our temporary orange world. Would have loved this story a few weeks ago just so I could have planned a trip to walk these piers. Bravo Christo.
29
Absolutely amazing! Thank you!
23
I can't help but wonder what the environmental impact is from not just the installation but all of the materials used, and what becomes of them when it's over?
59
usually they are auctioned off.
8
The article article addresses both of your questions.
Environmentalists have expressed concerns, which don't appear to have been resolved and: "At the close of its 16-day period, the walkway will be dismantled and its parts recycled and resold. "
Environmentalists have expressed concerns, which don't appear to have been resolved and: "At the close of its 16-day period, the walkway will be dismantled and its parts recycled and resold. "
5
It will probably be recycled, as the artist has done before with his other works.
2
This colour should be christened, "Christo Yellow". Beautiful!
25
Nothing man-made compares to nature's beauty and inspiration, however, Christo's creations are a very close second place.
46
When criticized that he did not work from "nature", the painter Jackson Pollock said "I am nature."
32
I agree. I think that because Christo uses the physical world as his main canvasses - from this bucolic Italian town to the bustle of Central Park and beyond, his unique work (regardless of opinion) shakes us out of our complacency and makes us more aware of our surroundings - and, hopefully, more grateful. Just one of the many purposes of art.
50
Oh how marvelous! I hope that the many people who are able to walk on water know they are also carrying the dreams of those of us who cannot.
54
That is the first thing that came to mind when I read that the fabric is water repellent and stain resistant. These performance finishes require PFOA chemicals which are persistent and carcinogens. Why could we use fabrics without these harmful finishes for humans and the environment.
2
I needed this story after this week of man's inhumanity to man. Bless you, Christo.
152
Another effort by a narcissistic person who, before he dies, wanted to walk on water. I think the money could have been better spent but the major of Isola would not think so. I met Cristo in Vermont a number of years ago. I did not see a brilliant or talented person but a great promoter who understood his audience.
28
Big ego tripper. It can't be all his money. These things are too expensive
Really, you just don't understand art.
4
Oh, dear. Grin & bear it. Lucky you, to have met such an interesting person, however YOU viewed it & him at the time.
4
So much more interesting than "Gates" ever was.
Totally cool. Too bad Christo can't get a project going at Pompeii. They could use the publicity and the dollar input.
1
Like most of his projects, this one does very little for me esthetically. I might appreciate it as an engineering accomplishment, but it's intended to be temporary, so what's the point?
9
The temporary nature of all Christo's projects is exactly the point; if the projects were permanent then they would quickly become routine and hum-drum. Christo limits the time a project is up so that the public will appreciate it more, and seize the opportunity to visit it before it is gone forever. Aesthetically, the project is really quite beautiful, I think, with the warm saffron-colored fabric of the piers contrasting with the deep blue of the lake around them. Christo offers his projects to us, all of us, to freely enjoy. What's not to like about that?
158
Agreed. He's trying to get a project approved here in Colorado, so we've had occasion to see a lot of exhibits of his work. The summaries accompanying the shows always talk about how much concrete, how much fabric, steel, etc. go into the construction. They're more feats of engineering than they are works of art. But he pretty much funds his projects himself and they're almost always free and open to the public, so it's hard to get too upset, but yeah, I find them to be more curiosities than anything else.
1
Temporay is the point. Most, if not all of his installations are temporary. They are not meant to be forever.
10
Just beautiful and imaginative. What a lovely concept.
115
This is the best Christo yet
55
I say that with almost every one. Happily.
12
Landscape Installations such as these [along with Smithson(perm), Holt(perm), Wright(temp), Denevan(temp),etc.] are intriguing to me primarily as counterpoint to the ugly nature of most development aesthetics.