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D.A.P./VERLAG KETTLER
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Urban Projects
Edited with text by Matthias Koddenberg. Text by Laure Martin-Poulet.
Iconic images from 50 years of transforming cities
Christo (born 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (1935–2009) have always compared their work to that of urban planners. And it is true that the projects they have carried out around the world since the 1960s not only have huge dimensions but are also at the center of public debates and disputes. The very fact that their projects are subject to approval by local authorities makes them sometimes resemble public construction projects more than works of art.
For the first time, this book gives a comprehensive account of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s urban projects. It presents preparatory drawings, collages and models for many little-known works from the artists’ early career, some of which were never carried out, such as the planned wrapping of several New York City skyscrapers, as well as the spectacular large-scale projects of later years, such as the wrapping of the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris in 1985, the wrapping of the Reichstag building in Berlin in 1995 and the 2005 installation The Gates in New York’s Central Park. In two detailed essays, the authors of the book explore Christo’s extraordinary talent for drawing and investigate the artists’ ambivalent perspective on urban space, which oscillates between a powerful critique of the city’s impersonal modernism and a tribute to the liberal, democratic use of urban areas.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Urban Projects.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
New York Times
Liza Foreman
includes more than a dozen ideas that were never completed -- a tantalizing opportunity to imagine great works of art that never existed....complex and fascinating.
Introspective
Hilarie M. Sheets
The public art projects masterminded by this ingeniously creative duo have commanded crowds from New York to Berlin, Chicago to Paris.
Dazed
Miss Rosen
Stunning...the first volume to give a comprehensive account of their work inside cities around the globe.
Public Art Review
In addition to the artists’ well-known later works, this book shows drawings, models, and plans for many earlier and little-known projects—some of which were never carried out.
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.25 x 11.25 in. / 216 pgs / 135 color / 65 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $65.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $87 ISBN: 9781942884255 PUBLISHER: D.A.P./Verlag Kettler AVAILABLE: 3/27/2018 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AU/NZ AFR ME
Published by D.A.P./Verlag Kettler. Edited with text by Matthias Koddenberg. Text by Laure Martin-Poulet.
Iconic images from 50 years of transforming cities
Christo (born 1935) and Jeanne-Claude (1935–2009) have always compared their work to that of urban planners. And it is true that the projects they have carried out around the world since the 1960s not only have huge dimensions but are also at the center of public debates and disputes. The very fact that their projects are subject to approval by local authorities makes them sometimes resemble public construction projects more than works of art.
For the first time, this book gives a comprehensive account of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s urban projects. It presents preparatory drawings, collages and models for many little-known works from the artists’ early career, some of which were never carried out, such as the planned wrapping of several New York City skyscrapers, as well as the spectacular large-scale projects of later years, such as the wrapping of the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris in 1985, the wrapping of the Reichstag building in Berlin in 1995 and the 2005 installation The Gates in New York’s Central Park. In two detailed essays, the authors of the book explore Christo’s extraordinary talent for drawing and investigate the artists’ ambivalent perspective on urban space, which oscillates between a powerful critique of the city’s impersonal modernism and a tribute to the liberal, democratic use of urban areas.
