slide school | christo & jeanne-claude

shoot...i meant to do this last night when i was on my own computer. that way i could look at my notes from my university art history classes and choose someone to feature. so off the top of my head i am going to choose something which made the greatest impact on me in school. a team of artists who, when i learned about them, i rushed home and began gushing about to my roommates and my boyfriend.

christo, and jeanne-claude.*

slide school is a bi-weekly education session (with myself ;) in which i attempt to remember bits and pieces i learned about specific artworks in my university art history classes. i get to peek at my notes, but not online. for more details about slide school - visit this post.

as a precursor to the "facts" i need to express how badly i wish that i was alive in 1980. and not just alive but an adult, with a deep love for the works of christo and jeanne-claude. oh, and also i would like a friend who is a pilot. because only then could my dream of viewing these surrounded islands be realized.

you know, just the other day i was thinking that one of the reasons i like pink so much is because it is so rarely found in nature. and when it is, (whether natural or man made) it is such a surprise and a delight. 

some say that the photos are not part of the work when speaking of installations, earth work or performances. but the photos documenting a christo and jeanne-claude work often are a part of it (and indeed are sold for funding profits) - and so they should be becauase how else could these amazing works live on? please scroll to the very bottom of this page, and tell me that is not the most amazing thing you have ever seen?

images via

*if you are doing some sort of school project and ended up here, please note i cannot guarantee that any of this information below is even remotely accurate!

title | i mistakenly called them the floating islands

artist | christo and jeanne-claude

date | 1980

medium | no idea - a canvas variation of some sort?

art historical period | earthwork?

three facts | for these works it is very much about the process. the end result is of course important but the planning takes years, even decades and therefore must be honoured as well. christo and jeanne-claude must jump through endless legal and environmental hoops for each piece. the surrounds around the islands mimic the shape of the land itself. 

corrections

title | surrounded islands, biscayne bay, greater miami, florida, 1980-83 

artist | christo and jeanne-claude

date | 1980-83

medium | woven polypropylene fabric

art historical period | environmental

*jeanne-claude passed away in november 2009.