Review Detail

This is a biography of Christo and Jeanne Claude and their unusual idea for art. This book supports that art is made by an artist and that anything can be considered art and that even discussing what you see adds to the art. It started with the idea that we do not notice the everyday objects in our world but that if you hide them by wrapping them up it becomes new and exciting. You wonder and question what is underneath and it becomes a gift of possibility. The idea is fascinating and the illustrations are lovely but I would have loved to see photographs of some of their later projects that were bold and all-encompassing in scope. By the end, it was an event and transitory that they wrapped nature, buildings, and statues to name a few of the more unconventional things they wrapped. The books said they had many critics and that some people understood their message and others were mad and disdainful. I am not sure that if I had seen it in person if I would have understood the deeper meaning of their endeavors, but I appreciate that the book details their perspective as well as their accomplishments so that I can understand what they were reaching for by wrapping the ordinary to help us see and notice the wonder of the world again.