The Floating Piers, Christo & Jeanne-Claude

Arts , Food - Drink - Wandering , Public spaces - Hacking , Urbanism Juin 18, 2016 No Comments

Voici la nouvelle performance/installation de Christo, le « spécialiste » des longs voilages dans l’espace public : des ponts artificiels flottant sur le lac italien Iseo. Il est recouvert d’un long voile orange-jaune. Il est très intéressant de voir ces liens flottants re-dessiner totalement la géographie de la région, ignorant les différences entre eau et terre (le voile court également dans les rues), ignorer les formes naturelles de la région en liant trois éléments ensemble -en temps normal séparés par les eaux du lac. Un travail de hacking topographique et spatial tout à fait intéressant !

Some figures:

100 000 m2 de tissus jaune chatoyant
3 km de pont
1,5 km de tissus dans les rues
16 jours d’installation : 18 juin au 3 juillet
projet vieux de 46 ans
projet de 15 millions d’euros
22 mois de travail pour mettre en place l’installation
0€, entrée gratuite, ouverte 24h/24, 7j/7
11 années depuis la dernière installation en plein air de Christo

« »I know these projects are totally irrational, totally useless, » he added. « The world can live without them, nobody needs them, only me and Jeanne-Claude. She was always made the point that they exist because we like to have them and if others like them, it’s only a bonus. » […] Christo said it was about positively exploiting “the incredible chemistry of humans” from all walks of life, each member of the team focusing energy on “something that does not exist” — to the point where it does. He was also relieved that there was never a discussion with officials about installing a safety fence along the sides of the walkway, allowing visitors to walk to the edge of the water. “The moment you have a parapet, forget it,” he said, the feeling of walking on water is gone. […] “Lake Iseo won’t be the same after this event,” said Fiorello Turla, the mayor of Monte Isola. “Monte Isola will change skin,” as its exposure to the global spotlight puts it on the map, he added. “It’s a great opportunity that we’ve been given and that we want to seize and bring forward.” » (extraits de l’article The New York Times)

« ‘like all of our projects, ‘the floating piers’ is absolutely free and accessible 24 hours a day, weather permitting,’ christo says. ‘there are no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners. the floating piers are an extension of the street and belong to everyone.’ » (extrait de l’article de DesignBoom)