The Arc de triomphe wrapped up by Jeanne-Claude and Christo, an ephemeral moment
French Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron attend the inauguration of the Wrapped Arc de Triomphe, designed by artist Christo, in Paris, on September 16, 2021. REUTERS - POOL
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The packaging of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris by the artist Christo is almost complete.
This posthumous work by the Bulgarian visual artist who died last year and his wife Jeanne-Claude was inaugurated this Thursday afternoon by the Head of State Emmanuel Macron.
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Christo had dreamed of packaging the Arc de Triomphe for several decades.
“
Christo said about this project, that the monument being located on a hill and therefore exposed to the wind, the fabric will move, its color will change according to the light and that it will take on a sensual dimension like a living being that people will have fun touching it.
The public will be invited to both a visual and sensory experience
”, assures Laure Martin, a close friend of Christo and his wife.
She was the one who presided over this Arc de Triomphe project.
The work of art required 25,000 m² of bluish silver recycled fabric held by 3,000 meters of red rope.
Its cost of 14 million euros was entirely self-financed thanks to the sale of original works by the artist.
"
Come live the moment, appreciate it, criticize it ...
"
This Thursday morning, the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot described this work as "
a great present to Parisians, French people and all art lovers
".
Bruno Cordeau, the administrator of the Arc de Triomphe, calls on the French to take advantage of this fleeting moment since the work of art will only be visible until October 3. "
The opportunity given to us is to come together all together around a work of art and without risk since it will eventually disappear anyway," he
underlines.
So you have to come and experience the moment, appreciate it, criticize it, whatever. And then we will find the Arc as it is, as we know it, as we love it, as it has existed for almost two centuries now.
"
The Arc de Triomphe packaged will be open to the public on Saturday.
To allow it to get to the scene more easily, Place de l'Étoile, one of the cardinal points of the capital, will be closed to traffic every weekend until early October, the date of the dismantling.
Before the Arc de triomphe Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude sublimated other monuments as well in Paris - the Pont Neuf in 1985 - as in Sidney, Chicago or Berlin in particular.
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