| Synopsis: |
When Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Reichstag, in 1995, this was thecompletion of an 24 year long artistic process. Five million people came to see theunique work of art.The book follows these 24 years in the life of the two artists documenting this process.Endless negotiations with deputies, officials and bureaucrats were needed to finally getthe permit from the German Bundestag. It was the first work of art which was debatedand voted on by an elected parliament even though it did not even exist yet. Years oftechnical preparation were needed to allow Christo and Jeanne-Claude to wrap thelarge Victorian building using 1,076,390 square feet (100,000 square meters) of thickwoven polypropylene fabric with an aluminum surface and 9.7 miles (15.6 kilometers)of blue polypropylene rope.Christo and Jeanne-Claude : "For a period of two weeks in summer 1995, the richnessof the silvery fabric, shaped by the blue ropes, creates a sumptuous flow of vertical foldshighlighting the features and proportions of the imposing structure, revealing theessence of the Reichstag".The exhibition and book tell this story in numerous original documents, photographs,drawings, collages, large photo-murals and real objects from the actual wrapping. |