Creativity from Without: Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo and Jeanne-Claude
The Umbrellas, Japan - USA, 1984-91
Photo: Wolfgang Volz ©1991 Christo

Not creativity from within, but creativity from without.  Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude find inspiration outside of themselves while working in rural and urban environments.  Specifically with the project The Umbrellas, urban development of two inland valleys, one in Japan and one in the U.S. served as inspiration.  As stated by the artists themselves, "This Japan-USA temporary work of art reflected the similarities and differences in the ways of life and the use of the land in two inland valleys...creating an invitational inner space, as houses without walls, or temporary settlements and related to the ephemeral character of the work of art"(http://www.christojeanneclaude.net).

Christo and Jeanne-Claude use their projects to emphasize certain characteristics of the surrounding environment as elements of the valleys affected the artistic choices of The Umbrellas.  Because the Japanese rice fields are cultivated with water year round, the umbrellas were blue.  Because the Californian uncultivated grazing land was covered by dry blond grass, the umbrellas were yellow.  The umbrellas, large and open reflect the availability of the land and the land's usages through color and placement.  Umbrellas were placed alongside roads and highways, adjacent to barns, temples, churches, gas stations, schools, habitations and cattle.

All of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's works are temporary installments.  They do this because they have love and tenderness for things that do not last, like life and childhood.  Finding inspiration in temporal qualities encourages them to endow their work with this love and tenderness as an additional aesthetic quality.  The land that they work with is also temporal as nature is always changing and going through its own cycles.  Here is one of my favorite Jeanne-Claude quotes:

      "The fact that the work does not remain creates an urgency to see it.  For instance, if someone were to tell you, “Oh, look on the right, there is a rainbow.”  You will never answer, “I will look at it tomorrow.”

This urgency also draws attention to the land and methods used by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.  The artists often restore and care for the land they use.  In addition, after removing installations, pieces are recycled and reused.  These activities influence people to care for the environment, to appreciate the beauty in it and the magnified beauty of it through the artists' work.

While finding inspiration outside of themselves, Christo and Jeanne-Claude serve as an external inspiration for myself.   

Another work entitled: Wrapped Trees,  Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park; Riehen, Switzerland, 1997-98

Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Wrapped Trees, Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park,
Riehen, Switzerland 1997-98
Photo: Wolfgang Volz, ©Christo 1998

For more Christo and Jeanne-Claude, visit: http://www.christojeanneclaude.net