Talk:Christo and Jeanne-Claude/Archive 1

Untitled
Yes, Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude were born on the same day in the same year, but given my problems on Charles Darwin, I'll leave the pleasure of inserting this to someone else. Vincent 04:14, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC)

What a gimmicky hack. -Branddobbe 02:19, Jan 1, 2005 (UTC)


 * At least he's a fully self-supporting, government-funding-rejecting hack--ArminTamzarian 22:54, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, that would be just about the only positive thing you could say for this poseur. Hmmm...but he does use government coercion/support, because he sets up his derivative, obvious, always-cloth "art" in government-managed and public places. All the people who will be robbed of their usual enjoyment of quasi-natural setting of the park are not equally allowed to install their own "art", there. I suppose if they bribe the mayor with three million bucks, they'll get special treatment, too...but the only proper role of the government does not include special treatment for people who can afford the bribe. Kaz 22:19, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)


 * Please lets not turn talk pages into critical debates. There are lots of websites (not to mention usenet) for that. Try to concentrate on the article's content, eh? --Camembert

Move
The least you could have done was also move the discussion page. Aside from how extremely dubious this whole "share their page" nonsense is. It doesn't matter what affectations they have, this is an encyclopedia, not a Poseur Support Group. They should have articles based on what's most accurate, not what they "want". Kaz 17:58, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Deletion, undeletion
Just thought I'd better note: this page [Talk:Christo] was deleted on June 30, 2005 (I assume by mistake, since it certainly shouldn't be deleted with all the history it has). I have just restored it. --Camembert 13:28, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

German article
I started a translation from German. feel free correct, more to come later.--Cain 11:21, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Translation details

 * Article: de:Christo und Jeanne-Claude
 * Corresponding English-language article: Christo
 * Worth doing because: broaden people's knowledge.
 * Originally Requested by:--211.128.71.202 09:53, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Status: In Progress --Cain 12:46, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Done but should be checked --Cain 12:22, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * Checked and completed. There's still a list of "selected works" on the German version, but the major works are covered in the article anyway.  SteveW | Talk 15:52, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Other notes:

Bush
There was a publication a month ago about Laura Bush inviting Christo and Jeanne-Claude to wrap GWB's Texas ranch. Any confirmation? --Vladko 15:48, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Timeline correct?
Christo's site lists the date for the Wrapped Walk Ways at Oct, 1978 instead of 1977 as cited here. Which is correct? --69.242.11.27 01:08, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

Tone
Much of this is a little bit too familiar, tonally, and could stand some tightening.--Adoorajar 02:25, 19 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Comme le Lapin 08:41, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

The Simpsons reference?
I've removed from this article what seemed to be an unneccessary section titled Christo in pop culture, which included a superfluous mention of a reference to Christo on The Simpsons. I've created this list as a repository of cultural references made on The Simpsons, which I think is a reasonable compromise. Comme le Lapin 00:11, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

The Simpsons episode where Homer needs inspiration refers to Christo as a transsexual artist - was that a fact? or a comment on the amount of fabric he works with? Julia Rossi 06:04, 6 April 2007 (UTC) PS does the strikethru mean someone disagreed with you?


 * Actually, the conversation about Christo on The Simpsons goes as follows:


 * Lisa: Well, Dad, if the museum didn't inspire you, maybe you should do something really radical, like Christo.
 * Homer: Is he that jerk that revealed the magicians' secrets?
 * Lisa: No, Christo is a conceptual artist who does huge outdoor projects.  He once wrapped the Reichstag in plastic.
 * Homer: Not the Reichstag!
 * Lisa: Oh, yes, and he also set up hundreds of yellow umbrellas along the California highway.
 * Homer: Why did he do that?
 * Lisa: To make the world a more magical place, I guess. [sadly] Although they did blow over and kill some :people.


 * --DearPrudence 16:43, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Vandalism?
I'm strongly inclined to think that the following sentences in the section under the subhead "The Couple" are BS information that someone inserted as a joke (I'm certainly unable to find corroboration via Google):

"On a personal note,Christo has recently indicated his interest in bisexuality, a theme that will soon be embodied in his future works concerning the nation of human kinetics, in the work "VEIN". "VEIN" will be an effort on Christo's part to revamp the popularity of the Washington monument, the backdrop of his over the top project."

I'm going to remove the sentences; if they're legit after all, it'd be great if someone could provide a citation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Andrewjnyc (talk • contribs) 05:26, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Stateless persons?
Why does the article category box list them as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stateless_persons (or, why does the category site contain their names)? I can't see anything in the article about this topic, and, as they travel (= fly) a lot, I wouldn't think that they really are "stateless persons"; or does it not mean that they actually now are stateless, but once in their lifetime had this status? If they've been so in the past (?) - the article doesn't state anything about that, too... and: sources??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.62.12.61 (talk) 01:42, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Correct name transliteration?
Is the Christo Vladimirov Javacheff correct transliteration from bulgarian? In bulgarian the name is Христо Владимирав Явашев witch transliterates to Hristo Vladimirov Yavashev in Official Bulgarian transliteration. --Scroch (talk) 11:48, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Apocryphal story re. ball bearings
As have others, I have previously deleted this content claiming that Christo is related to the developer of the first modern, commercial ball bearing, Friedrich Fischer. It keeps reappearing so I want to clarify that there is no supporting reference for this claim. The citation, a May 4, 1975 article in the New York Times by Farnsworth Fowle, is as fabricated as the story. There was in fact a NYT article on Christo and Jeanne-Claude published that date titled "Art Notes: The 'In' Couple; And a Suspiciously Real Novel; Art Notes: A Kinetic Event" by Grace Glueck, so like all good fabrications it has an element of truth. If someone has a valid reference, then cite it and I will leave this be. Otherwise, please stop vandalizing this page! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.176.43.115 (talk) 22:19, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

Better picture?
Does anyone have a better picture of Christo and Jeanne-Claude than we have up right now? They look terrible. --DearPrudence 16:44, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Next to her, he looks great. He should have wrapped her head in a burlap flour sack. WMFEssaywriter (talk) 06:00, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Scare quotes
If there's anything more NPOV than putting the word 'artistic' in quotes in the first sentence of the article, I'll eat my hat. MMZach 07:45, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree, it's definitely NPOV. "Attempted art" may be a better term, or "stunt." As David Blaine is to magic, these two are to art. But if art is supposed to make you feel something, the loathing and hatred I feel for their "art" validates it as Art. WMFEssaywriter (talk) 06:02, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

AT&T commercial controversy
A recent AT&T commercial appropriates the style of Cristo and Jeanne-Claude with a strange disclaimer saying the artists have no affiliation with AT&T. Is this worthy of mention in the article? More info:  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.138.214.5 (talk) 00:24, 8 June 2010 (UTC)


 * As I read the article, I got the idea that the couple are very litigious, so a disclaimer was put there obviously by some lawyer who didn't want these old frauds suing AT&T, although the idea of a trial is hilarious. Imagine them having to defend their "art" and getting bankrupted by a large American corporation.  That would be true justice.  Oh, sorry, the old bag is dead.  So Christo would have to do the defending. WMFEssaywriter (talk) 05:50, 5 August 2010 (UTC)


 * The old fraud talked to his attorney. See this link. WMFEssaywriter (talk) 06:08, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

It seems like any hint of negativity regarding christo's works has been removed.
Seriously, how can this article not mention the fact that one of his idiotic umbrellas killed a person?


 * I'd second that. There's but a single phrase at the beginning, "their work is visually impressive and often controversial as a result of its scale".  There has been a lot ink spilled over their art's visual aesthetics and it's environmental impact.  You could almost say "often controversial" are weasel words.  Controversial when?  To whom?  This is Wikipedia, right?  Citations please ...  70.116.11.171 (talk) 13:59, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Financed by Selling Drawings to Whom?
I don't buy it. Who buys 26 million dollars worth of napkin sketches? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.241.2.38 (talk) 17:41, 19 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Oh, it happens. People will buy the oddest things for outrageous sums of money when it comes to art by famous/popular artists. I don't see anything about napkins though. Most of the preparatory drawings and sketches that are financing Over the River are huge. A sketch doesn't mean something tossed-off or small. It's just a planning work, often very well-executed. They even end up in museums.MultK (talk) 13:31, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Charles M. Schultz Museum reference error
The link in reference 16, to the Charles M. Schultz Museum, is currently dead. The proper link should be http://schulzmuseum.org/explore/permanent-exhibition/ .I already changed the link in the External Link section. Whattheclop (talk) 06:08, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

Reference to Arkansas River Project
The proposed site is known as The Royal Gorge and should be included in the narrative. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Homebuilding (talk • contribs) 13:05, 9 October 2011 (UTC)

That is incorrect. Over the River is intended for Bighorn Sheep Canyon, NOT Royal Gorge, which is about 5 to 25 miles to the east and mostly on private property. I am correcting the geographical errors in the article. --Danbob wind (talk) 19:34, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Well, 2 miles to the east is Canon City and 25 miles to the east is Pueblo, and between there isn't the most exciting landscape. You must mean to the west of the Royal Gorge, but where?2601:1:8A82:B500:C1:1727:C008:4D4E (talk) 04:35, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

The record of descision has been released by the BLM. I am adding this information.--Danbob wind (talk) 19:51, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

He and she
Evidently Christo and Jeanne-Claude are he and she. I added a caption that helps convey that before the fourth paragraph where he is quoted. I sorted their identities at WorldCat too, now the second and third External links.

They seem to be well identified by the world's libraries. He and she:

Christo at Library of Congress Authorities --a useful catalog entry point

Jeanne-Claude at LC Authorities

--P64 (talk) 23:56, 1 July 2013 (UTC) --P64 (talk) 21:34, 7 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I added templates Authority control to the personal redirects and . --P64 (talk) 17:43, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Possible Plagiarism
In making copy edits, I discovered that much of (OK, almost all of) the section on "Surrounded Islands" is nearly verbatim from Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website. I have not deleted anything since I'm an almost complete novice on Wikipedia, but I suspect that this section and perhaps others should be deleted and written from scratch.70.211.129.169 (talk) 00:16, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-christo-jeanne-claude-pyramid-mastaba-20121125%2C0%2C5715701.story
 * Added tag to http://www.sculpture.org/documents/awards/life.shtmlLifetime
 * Added archive http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090704134550/http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/otr.html to http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/otr.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 15:41, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120201072559/http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/planning/otr/otr_record_of_decision.html to http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo/planning/otr/otr_record_of_decision.html
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-christo-jeanne-claude-pyramid-mastaba-20121125,0,5715701.story

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 02:42, 10 September 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 external links on Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111023172557/http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2002/christo/reichstag.shtm to http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2002/christo/reichstag.shtm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100524024206/http://www.theartnewspaper.tv/content.php?vid=1046 to http://www.theartnewspaper.tv/content.php?vid=1046
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100524001610/http://www.theartnewspaper.tv/content.php?vid=1009 to http://www.theartnewspaper.tv/content.php?vid=1009

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 08:10, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

More background
Is this article supposed to be primarily about the artist(s) or the works? In either case, it seems rather sketchy. How did he/they develop their concept/style? Not just for individual works, but what made them choose the medium and scale that they did? How did they obtain materials for works that cost nearly a half-million dollars to set up? Where did they get their materials? Did they have a preferred supplier who was well-equipped to do things like produce 14,000 square meters of pink cloth at the drop of a hat? Was it necessary to develop special techniques to make and/or handle the materials? How were exhibits removed, and materials disposed of after exhibitions? What were the controversies surrounding the works, that are hinted at in the opening section? Etc.

As it stands, all the article really tells us is that Christo made extremely large scale absurdist works -- but anyone who's ever heard of Christo already knew that much. Details, details... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.89.176.249 (talk) 01:28, 12 September 2018 (UTC)

Excessive external links

 * Interview with Wolfgang Volz, photographer and technical director of The Floating Piers
 * Interview with Christo and Jeanne-Claude
 * Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the Vogel Collection at the National Gallery of Art
 * artfacts.net entry, including exhibition information
 * The Gates @ Central Park Community blogging project about Christo's February 2005 NYC art installation.
 * Wrapped Snoopy House at the Schulz Museum
 * Over the River information from the artists' website
 * Rags Over the Arkansas River (ROAR)
 * The Pont Neuf Wrapped, 1985. Photos: Eric Baudelet
 * Christo in Paris (1990) Documentary movie on wrapping the Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris.
 * Christo and George Gurney of the Smithsonian American Art Museum talk about the Running Fence archive
 * Christo talks about Over The River
 * Christo vs Colorado, 2010, September 11
 * Vote for Christo's Wrapping of the Reichstag Speech in the German Bundestag, 1994 by Konrad Weiß (Berlin)
 * Art Signature Dictionary, genuine signature by the artist Christo Javacheff Here are several dated examples of Christo Javacheff signature.
 * Jeanne-Claude
 * Obituary in The Guardian
 * Obituary in The Independent by Marcus Williamson
 * Obituary in the Daily Telegraph
 * Obituary in the Daily Telegraph

Resolved the "external links" maintenance tag by chopping down the number of links. Pasting them above as potential refs to add back into the article. czar 23:52, 31 May 2020 (UTC)

The Atlantic article


Was reading the obituary in The Atlantic this morning and couldn't help but notice how strikingly similar its points were to this article. Not that this article is original, being paraphrased from reliable, secondary sources, but having done most of that sourcing/rewriting in the last 48 hours (both here and in the child artwork articles) to prep this article for WP:ITNC, I do know that many of the choices of what to include were somewhat arbitrary, hence why it's odd that this The Atlantic article repeats many of the same points in the same ordered structure. Food for thought. czar 01:46, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 05:30, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Reichstag wrapped.jpg

Exhibition Section
Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been in 169 solo shows and 751 group shows over the last 61 years, including biennials. An exhibition section should probably be included however I am a new user and am not confident to make these changes on the main page. If an experienced user sets up the section, I would be happy to add to it. Here are some sources: https://artfacts.net/artist/christo-jeanne-claude/659 https://artfacts.net/artist/christo-jeanne-claude/659/biography Igbofur (talk) 02:11, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 04:24, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Reichstag wrapped.jpg

No
He died in 2028 actually 195.224.97.242 (talk) 10:55, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

2028? ? ? Wis2fan (talk) 03:27, 13 June 2022 (UTC)