Something still and wrapped

The Gates, Central Park     —- Fabric coming from ceiling and moving larger than life flats/screens

Wrapped monument, Wrapped Trees

Umbrellas

In searching for images  that will somehow convey what my brain is visualizing to my design team I have become fascinated with the lives of the artists who have created the images I am drawing from. What is it that drives Christo and Jean -Claude to wrap their environment?  They wrapped a whole island and a coast line! Is it having the limitless canvas to play with? Or is it simply the challenge of getting these massive installations done? Part of me thinks it’s slightly egotistical to create on such a grand scale, especially when it’s to cover up something that already exists. Yet I’m absolutely fascinated with the idea, I mean who else is saying “I’m gonna wrap up really large things and make it art?”–its brilliant! Giant gifts. Something still and wrapped. The fabric gives instant motion and dimension to something that even though it may have been beautiful, its stillness means it was most likely taken for granted. Like a building or a whole coast we look at everyday without noticing it, until its covered. Then we realize something familiar is missing and we try to guess where that rock we used to notice is, or that curving shape that used to catch our eye.  Maybe we even feel a tiny sense of rage that someone is covering up something we at one time used to notice, therefore we can claim some territorial stake to it. Maybe this is why we are so afraid to leave ourselves exposed, if we expose ourselves everyday people will take us for granted and stop noticing us.

Interesting that Christo and Jean Claude have been together since 1958, must be that covering up the world has given them common aim and an ability to stay open to each other.