How can such a seemingly simple act of covering a national monument with plastic evoke so much excitement and pleasure around the world?
This week, Christo’s L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped was all over the Internet, with both professional and amateur photographers alike swooning at its grandeur. The installation is actually the final work of expositional art by husband and wife team, Christo and Jean-Claude, who had first met and fell in love with Paris. This installation was scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to the global pandemic. It is now finally being displayed 60–years after Christo became enthralled with the idea. The final product is one of shimmering silver fabric, which resembles blue during some hours of the day, tied together with red rope. In the right light, it casts the colors of the French flag.
And just like that, the 19th century beauty has gone, and 21st century and the world is posting.
Mesmerizing Timelapse
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The transformation was a show in and of itself, requiring almost the span of the entire summer to transform the monument.
Transformation of the Everyday
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Workers were suspended by ropes down the monument.
Red, White & Blue
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The Arc de Triomphe is wrapped in a shimmering silver wrap and adjusted with red rope. Compared to the vibrant pink that the artists used to cover some islands in Florida and the orange curtain that they hung in the midwest, this color-scheme is quite subdued but imbued with meaning for the country they both loved so much.
International Eyeswoon
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As Paris Fashion Week commences, tourists and fashion people from all around the world are marveling at the work of art and honoring what will be the artists’ last piece.
Detail Incroyable
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Impressive from afar, it is also a mesmerizing art installation up close with its detailed fabric plissé effect as if outfitted for Fashion Week itself.
The World Remains in Awe
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The rest of the world stands in awe of Paris’ ability to emerge from the pandemic with pure beauty and wonder with the single act of a wrapped installation.
