Christo & Jeanne Claude
Born in the same hour of the same day of the same year, Christo and Jeanne Claude were two puzzle pieces that fit together to create something amazing. They made large scale environmental art installations using fabrics to wrap structures and landscapes. A few of their most known works include The Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin, The Umbrellas in both Japan and California, and The Gates in New York City.
Their projects were completely open to the public for free, and were only up for a short period of time. They allowed for the everyday person to experience an incredible immersive art piece if they just so happened to be walking though on their way to work.
Growing up I was exposed to Christo’s art quite frequently. I visited the gates with my family when I was still in a stroller, yet the bright orange fabric lining central park still feels so fresh in my memory. I also visited a more recent project in 2016 which was the Floating Piers in Italy, and since I was older, I was able to fully appreciate how it affected the way I think about art. My mom was also a volunteer at the Pont Neuf project when she was in college, and was able to share many stories and photos she had.
My Nonna’s good friend Ann Chernow, who is an amazingly talented painter, was the wife of the late Burt Chernow. Burt was the official biographer of Christo and Jeanne Claude, and traveled with them to follow their projects along with Ann. She has lots of memories from their travels, and was kind enough to share one of them with me about how Jeanne Claude pushed to have her name put on all of their projects. Christo made the sketches and blueprints while Jeanne Claude handled the business side. She was strong and determined, and refused to let her efforts be disregarded.
Through these connections my family had to Christo and Jeanne Claude, I was lucky enough to have met them several times. I was very young at the time so it’s a bit difficult to recall everything, but it was such an impactful experience that I have some very vivid memories. I really enjoyed sharing these memories in the documentary that in a way allows Christo and Jeanne Claude to live on.
Christo sadly passed away from natural causes during the pandemic, and due to this there was a lack of services and events. And so, his passing did not receive as much attention from the news and media as it should have, and this was one of the motivations behind making this documentary. His passing definitely hit my family and so many others very hard, and so I felt it was necessary to share their legacy. Since their projects were physically temporary, it is so important to keep images, videos, and art of theirs afloat and relevant, and I attempted to do this with my tribute. I also really enjoyed collecting the archival footage because it felt like opening a time capsule that allowed me to see how their incredible journey began and evolved.
Before he passed, Christo had plans to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in Paris that had been in the works since 1968. To honor him, his nephew is going through with the project in September of this year, and I hope to attend,
