Christo & Jeanne-Claude as visionaries
September 6th, 2010 by bruno boutotThe great art critic and historian Greg Allen wrote about an ATT commercial that ends with this disclaimer: #
“The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with AT&T.” #referring of course to Christo’s & Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates. #
At the same time, I had been strucked by a much more disturbing collision of images from Christo & Jeanne-Claude. #
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has brought so much pain and destruction that I didn’t dare to bring art into it until today. #
I have had these images since May 24, 2010. Four months later, they still haunt me. #
An oil containment boom is deployed to the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: Official U.S. Navy Gallery’s photostream
Protective booms surround islands near mouth of the Mississippi River south of Venice, Louisiana.
Source: The Boston Globe – The Big Picture by Alan Taylor – AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
In my mind, these two pictures are an incredibly dramatic, yet elegant echo of this work of art, created 27 years ago: #
Source: Christo & Jeanne-Claude from the project Surrounded Islands, 1983
Gives me the bumps. #
