Christo at the Flemming

Christo spoke, backed by images of his and Jeanne Claude’s work. Some wept for her. “Jeanne Claude used to say, ‘we were born on the same day of separate Mothers.'” He covets the artistic process, while recognizing the politics of his craft. Not only a visionary, but he is, as Ashley Montagu would say, “a cultured man, an artist, an artist in humanity.”

His works cost a fortune. Almost $7.5 million already on the latest project. All the money comes from sales of his art-no benefactors, no commissioned works. He comes up with an idea, peddles it, and then constructs it. The artistic creation that emerges is as much a product of his eye as it is of the process he goes through to obtain permits, a series of steps involving negotiations, compromises, and a submission to civil and environmental restraints. Remnants from the constructions go to recycling, museums, collections. They live only 14 days in their place. Many people see them, or pieces of them, usually from the ground; the camera records the rest. Only through time will we understand and fully appreciate their enduring contribution to our understanding of the life, light and how we perceive the universe.

When asked if he had a favorite work, a stupid question, one recently asked of me, a photographer of little note and notoriety, he replied, with a touch of indignation, “do you have a favorite child?” To the question of what he and Jeanne Claude did on the days when the pieces were in view, he answered, “we went to see our babies.” Christo loves his art as much as he loves showing it to us.

Author: duckshots

Lapsed lawyer. Reader. Photographer. Jewish. Strongly attached to loving, caring, wife-Sharon. Working at remaining relevant. Hoping that my body and mind outlive my dreams. Maybe something I blog will make some sense.

3 thoughts on “Christo at the Flemming”

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