Rare Autographs, Manuscripts and Aviation Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/27/2016
Surrounded Islands was a work of art which underlined the various elements and ways in which the people of Miami live, between land and water.CHRISTO (American, b. 1935). Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida), 1983.
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who created environmental works of art. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were born on the same day, June 13, 1935; Christo in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, and Jeanne-Claude in Morocco. They first met in Paris in October 1958. They then fell in love through creating art work together.Jeanne-Claude died, aged 74, on November 18, 2009, from complications of a brain aneurysm.
Although their work is visually impressive and often controversial as a result of its scale, the artists have repeatedly denied that their projects contain any deeper meaning than their immediate aesthetic impact. The purpose of their art, they contend, is simply to create works of art for joy and beauty and to create new ways of seeing familiar landscapes. Art critic David Bourdon has described Christo's wrappings as a "revelation through concealment."[3] To his critics Christo replies, "I am an artist, and I have to have courage ... Do you know that I don't have any artworks that exist? They all go away when they're finished. Only the preparatory drawings, and collages are left, giving my works an almost legendary character. I think it takes much greater courage to create things to be gone than to create things that will remain."
CHRISTO (American, b. 1935). Surrounded Islands (Project for Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida), 1983.
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