Wrapped Reichstag

Last updated

Workers preparing to drape the fabric Reichstagchristo010.jpg
Workers preparing to drape the fabric

Wrapped Reichstag, Project for Berlin is a 1995 environmental artwork by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude included as the wrapped up Berlin Reichstag building in fabric.

Contents

History

A German citizens' group unsuccessfully advocated for the project in 1978 but the building, which held deep German national identity symbolism prior to reunification, required unavailable political will. Rita Süssmuth, the newly elected President of the Bundestag, expressed interest in the project in 1989, precipitating its approval. [1] The project had been rejected three times across six Bundestag presidents and 24 years before its on 26 February 1994 during a debate at Bundestag an vote for approval, 296 votes for and 228 votes against. Wrapped Reichstag mounted in 1995 for two weeks as 100,000 square meters of silver fabric draped the building and fastened with blue rope. The Reichstag, which had not been in use, was later reconstructed for parliamentary use in 1999. [2] Christo described the Reichstag wrapping as autobiographical. [3] It became symbolic of unified Germany and marked Berlin's return as a world city. [4] The Guardian posthumously described the work as the pair's "most spectacular achievement". [5]

Notes

Bibliography

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Wrapped Reichstag at Wikimedia Commons

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reichstag building</span> Seat of the federal parliament of Germany

The Reichstag, a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin, is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany.

<i>The Gates</i> Art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

The Gates was a site-specific work of art by Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist Jeanne-Claude, known jointly as Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 steel "gates" along 23 miles (37 km) of pathways in Central Park in New York City. From each gate hung a panel of deep saffron-colored nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12 through February 27, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christo and Jeanne-Claude</span> Husband-and-wife environmental installation artist duo

Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks and landscape elements wrapped in fabric, including the Wrapped Reichstag, The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Running Fence in California, and The Gates in New York City's Central Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Hoschedé</span> French artists model (1844–1911)

Alice Raingo Hoschedé Monet was the wife of department store magnate and art collector Ernest Hoschedé and later of the Impressionist painter Claude Monet.

<i>Running Fence</i> 1976 art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Running Fence was an installation art piece by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which was completed on September 10, 1976. The art installation was first conceived in 1972, but the actual project took more than four years to plan and build. After it was installed, the builders removed it 14 days later, leaving no visible trace behind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loose Park</span> Public park in Kansas City, Missouri

Loose Park is the third largest park in Kansas City, Missouri, located at 51st Street and Wornall Road. It has a lake, a shelter house, Civil War markers, tennis courts, a water park, picnic areas, and a Rose Garden. The Rose Garden hosts all types of outdoor special events including theatrical performances and wedding ceremonies. The Japanese Tea Room and Garden is a small traditional Japanese garden conceived as a cultural exchange between the sister cities of Kurashiki, Japan and Kansas City, Missouri.

<i>No. 61 (Rust and Blue)</i> Painting by Mark Rothko

No. 61 is a 1953 painting by the Russian-American Abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. The work was first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1961 but is now in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Similar to Rothko's other works from this period, No. 61 consists of large expanses of color with dark shades. Rust and Blue was a part of the Color Field movement. Rust and Blue also uses layered coloring. Rothko described this as "inner light". Rothko painted in such a way that at times paint can be seen flowing upward across the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uwe Ommer</span> German photographer

Uwe Ommer is a German photographer.

<i>No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)</i> Painting by Mark Rothko

No. 6 is a 1951 painting by the Latvian-American expressionist artist Mark Rothko. It was painted in 1951. In common with Rothko's other works from this period, No. 6 consists of large expanses of colour delineated by uneven, hazy shades. In 2014, it became one of the most expensive paintings sold at auction.

<i>Untitled</i> (Rothko) Painting by Mark Rothko

Untitled is a 1952 painting by the Russian-American Abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. It was painted in 1952. In common with Rothko's other works from this period, it consists of large expanses of colour with dark shades.

<i>No. 10</i> (Rothko) 1958 painting by Mark Rothko

No. 10 is a 1958 painting by the Jewish-American Abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. It was painted in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Baal-Teshuva</span> Author and art critic, 1929-2022

Jacob Baal-Teshuva is an Israeli-American author, journalist, art critic, appraiser, collector, and curator.

L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, known as "L'Arc de Triomphe Empaqueté" in French, was a temporary art installation by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude where the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was wrapped in a silver-blue fabric and red rope for two weeks in 2021.

Wrapped Coast was a 1969 environmental artwork in which Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped a portion of Sydney's Little Bay in plastic fabric. It was funded by John Kaldor AO through Kaldor Public Art Projects.

<i>Valley Curtain</i> Environmental artwork

Valley Curtain was a 1972 environmental artwork in which artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude raised an orange curtain of fabric across a mountainous span of Colorado State Highway 325. Preparations began within a year of their Australian Wrapped Coast. The artists formed a corporation to benefit from tax and other liabilities, a form they used for later projects. Following a failed attempt to mount the curtain in late 1971, a new engineer and builder-contractor raised the fabric in August 1972. The work only stood for 28 hours before the wind again destroyed the fabric. This work, their most expensive to date and first to involve construction workers, was captured in a documentary by David and Albert Maysles. Christo's Valley Curtain was nominated for Best Documentary Short in the 1974 Academy Awards.

The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975–1985 was a 1985 environmental artwork in which artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Pont Neuf in fabric. Planning for the project started in 1979. The artists put a model of the project in the window of La Samaritaine, a department store close to the bridge, in late 1981. Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac rejected the project in early 1982. An aide to the mayor snuck the permit approval into a pile of the mayor's papers, which he signed inadvertently in August 1984. When the mayor attempted to repeal the approval, Jeanne-Claude said she would show the press the letter as a symbol of his signature's worth, after which he dropped his case. In September 1985, the artists wrapped the bridge and its 44 streetlamps in a sandstone-colored fabric. The two-week installation attracted three million visitors. Artsy described the response as "sensational".

Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980–83 was a 1983 environmental artwork in which artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude surrounded an island archipelago in Miami with pink fabric.

<i>The Umbrellas</i> (Christo and Jeanne-Claude) Environmental artwork

The Umbrellas, Japan–USA, 1984–91 was a 1991 environmental artwork in which artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude erected yellow and blue umbrella structures in California and Japan, respectively. The 3,100-umbrella project cost US$26 million and attracted three million visitors. Christo closed the exhibition early after a woman was crushed by a windswept umbrella in California. Separately, a worker was killed during the deconstruction of the Japanese exhibit.

Over the River was an unrealized installation artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude that would have suspended silver fabric over six miles of Colorado's Arkansas River. Artsy described the work as the duo's most notable unrealized work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan van der Marck</span> Dutch–American art curator and historian (1929–2010)

Jan van der Marck was a Dutch-born American museum administrator, art historian, and curator, focused on modern and contemporary art. Van der Marck authored and published many essays, articles and books about artists and art.