Christo Claude
Born 13th June and died at 31st May
Artist Material practice
Christo Claude was a Bulgarian artist, he was very well known for utilizing nature to
enhance his body of art. For his art work he uses different types of materials such as, big
cloths, flowers, bottles, cans, tape etc. to fill in the empty space of the areas. Oil barrels
became an imperative medium for Christo in 1958. He had previously been using
smaller, every day, affordable objects like beer cans, however, the barrels initiated a
significant shift towards larger works, while still adhering to a distinct type of sculptural
form. This can be seen in his famous 1962 art piece, ‘’Wall Of Oil Barrels,’’ where
Christo and Jeanne Claude blocked the ‘Rue Visconti Street’ in Paris with 89 oil
Barrels. It obstructed most of the traffic of the Paris Left Bank. The artists decided to
leave the artwork void of alteration and left the industrial colors of the oil barrels, the
brand names and the rust visible.
Conceptual practice
Christo Claude is well known for doing contemporary art and realism art with his wife Jeanne Claude.
Christo and Jeanne commenced their art by using whatever materials they could afford. Oil barrels were a
particular focus of their early work. They were cheap and easy to stack to formally imposing effect, whilst
simultaneously alluding to the West’s dependency on oil, opening up a frame of reference that
encompassed politics, economics, and environmental matters.
Structural features
Christo Claude’s painting ‘’Wall Of Oil Barrels’’ was the biggest project made by Christo the dimensions
were 13.7 x 13.2 x 2.7 feet. The ‘’wall of oil barrels’’ was a very important aspect of Christos art, this art
consist of 86 barrels, that is wrapped up with rope to hold it in place. The whole artwork took 8 hours to
make, it took place in the city and some parts of the city had to be blocked so that the artwork can be
commenced. when Christo made this specific artwork, this reminded him of the cold war and the berlin
wall. There was lots of disturbance when they made this, lots of security told them to dismantle their art
work because it is a nuisance to others.
Cultural features
In the artwork ‘’wall of oil barrels’’, people can see that there is a lot of different coloured barrels stacked
on top of each other. The barrels that Christo Claude used in his sculpture was rusted. The barrels have
also been painted with yellow, orange and white paint. The art work was held in place by steel rods and
was bolted together to prevent it from falling. After the exhibition finished all the materials went back to
their normal place.
Subjective frame
People have mixed feeling of Christo Claude’s artwork. ‘’I believe that the prime time for every work of
art exists in the time in which it was done. After that its continuous transformation’’. Christo wanted to
show others that art can be made for anything, they don’t need to be beautiful as long as people have an
idea about what they want to make.
Born 13th June and died at 31st May
Artist Material practice
Christo Claude was a Bulgarian artist, he was very well known for utilizing nature to
enhance his body of art. For his art work he uses different types of materials such as, big
cloths, flowers, bottles, cans, tape etc. to fill in the empty space of the areas. Oil barrels
became an imperative medium for Christo in 1958. He had previously been using
smaller, every day, affordable objects like beer cans, however, the barrels initiated a
significant shift towards larger works, while still adhering to a distinct type of sculptural
form. This can be seen in his famous 1962 art piece, ‘’Wall Of Oil Barrels,’’ where
Christo and Jeanne Claude blocked the ‘Rue Visconti Street’ in Paris with 89 oil
Barrels. It obstructed most of the traffic of the Paris Left Bank. The artists decided to
leave the artwork void of alteration and left the industrial colors of the oil barrels, the
brand names and the rust visible.
Conceptual practice
Christo Claude is well known for doing contemporary art and realism art with his wife Jeanne Claude.
Christo and Jeanne commenced their art by using whatever materials they could afford. Oil barrels were a
particular focus of their early work. They were cheap and easy to stack to formally imposing effect, whilst
simultaneously alluding to the West’s dependency on oil, opening up a frame of reference that
encompassed politics, economics, and environmental matters.
Structural features
Christo Claude’s painting ‘’Wall Of Oil Barrels’’ was the biggest project made by Christo the dimensions
were 13.7 x 13.2 x 2.7 feet. The ‘’wall of oil barrels’’ was a very important aspect of Christos art, this art
consist of 86 barrels, that is wrapped up with rope to hold it in place. The whole artwork took 8 hours to
make, it took place in the city and some parts of the city had to be blocked so that the artwork can be
commenced. when Christo made this specific artwork, this reminded him of the cold war and the berlin
wall. There was lots of disturbance when they made this, lots of security told them to dismantle their art
work because it is a nuisance to others.
Cultural features
In the artwork ‘’wall of oil barrels’’, people can see that there is a lot of different coloured barrels stacked
on top of each other. The barrels that Christo Claude used in his sculpture was rusted. The barrels have
also been painted with yellow, orange and white paint. The art work was held in place by steel rods and
was bolted together to prevent it from falling. After the exhibition finished all the materials went back to
their normal place.
Subjective frame
People have mixed feeling of Christo Claude’s artwork. ‘’I believe that the prime time for every work of
art exists in the time in which it was done. After that its continuous transformation’’. Christo wanted to
show others that art can be made for anything, they don’t need to be beautiful as long as people have an
idea about what they want to make.
