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拍品专文
Throughout its long history, the Pont-Neuf Bridge in Paris has undergone continual development, renovation, and construction. The wrapping of the Pont-Neuf by Christo in 1986 represents a conceptual continuation of this tradition of metamorphoses for this iconic bridge in the heart of the City of Light. To carry out this work, over three hundred workers spent hours draping 450,000 square feet of woven, sandstone colored fabric over the entirety of the bridge. For the span of two weeks, the Pont-Neuf was transformed into a work of art. Christo’s practice of wrapping buildings elevated the existing structure by adding a new sculptural element, accentuating of shapes, forms, and proportions created by the draping fabric.
Beginning his artistic career in Paris in the 1960’s, Christo’s practice emerged from his participation in the Nouveau Realiste movement. His early wrapping projects created ambiguous sculptures through the wrapping of everyday objects, such as a chair. In the tradition of Man Ray’s The Enigma of Isidore Ducass, the idea of the wrapped object both reveals and hides, creating a sense of tension and mystery, and allows the mind to imagine what might be revealed if the object were unwrapped. Over the course of his career, Christo began to apply his wrapping practice to objects of monumental scale. Projects like the Wrapped Pont-Neuf and the Wrapped Reichstag garnered a great deal of media attention and fame for the artist, and works such as the present lot are all that remains of these temporal project.
Acquired directly from the artist in the year of its creation, The Pont Neuf, Wrapped (Project for Paris) is a significant work as it represents a critical point in the artists career. In two parts, the drawings show how Christo envisioned the project. The work is one from a long tradition of wrapping projects by Christo and plays with our understanding of objects and places we interact with on a daily basis. Christo has stated, “It’s when I arrived in Paris that I started wrapping everyday objects. The idea was to transform the object by wrapping it in plastic or in textile, as we do when we move houses. We start organizing objects, protecting them, wrapping them. We cover furniture, tables, chairs, sofas for them not to suffer during the move. We also cover them with sheets before leaving for holidays, before leaving our houses for a long time. The idea of wrapping with raw textiles came from this” (quoted in “Entretien avec Christo et Jeanne-Claude,” L’ en-Je Lacanien, No. 4, January 2005, via https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-en-je-lacanien-2005-1-page-159.htm [accessed Janaury 28, 2016]). By changing an object with the mere application of a sheet, Christo fosters a magnificent engagement between the public and art.
Beginning his artistic career in Paris in the 1960’s, Christo’s practice emerged from his participation in the Nouveau Realiste movement. His early wrapping projects created ambiguous sculptures through the wrapping of everyday objects, such as a chair. In the tradition of Man Ray’s The Enigma of Isidore Ducass, the idea of the wrapped object both reveals and hides, creating a sense of tension and mystery, and allows the mind to imagine what might be revealed if the object were unwrapped. Over the course of his career, Christo began to apply his wrapping practice to objects of monumental scale. Projects like the Wrapped Pont-Neuf and the Wrapped Reichstag garnered a great deal of media attention and fame for the artist, and works such as the present lot are all that remains of these temporal project.
Acquired directly from the artist in the year of its creation, The Pont Neuf, Wrapped (Project for Paris) is a significant work as it represents a critical point in the artists career. In two parts, the drawings show how Christo envisioned the project. The work is one from a long tradition of wrapping projects by Christo and plays with our understanding of objects and places we interact with on a daily basis. Christo has stated, “It’s when I arrived in Paris that I started wrapping everyday objects. The idea was to transform the object by wrapping it in plastic or in textile, as we do when we move houses. We start organizing objects, protecting them, wrapping them. We cover furniture, tables, chairs, sofas for them not to suffer during the move. We also cover them with sheets before leaving for holidays, before leaving our houses for a long time. The idea of wrapping with raw textiles came from this” (quoted in “Entretien avec Christo et Jeanne-Claude,” L’ en-Je Lacanien, No. 4, January 2005, via https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-en-je-lacanien-2005-1-page-159.htm [accessed Janaury 28, 2016]). By changing an object with the mere application of a sheet, Christo fosters a magnificent engagement between the public and art.