Boomers still remember. On September 22, 1985, Christo, a naturalized American artist of Bulgarian descent, and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, made headlines by wrapping the Pont-Neuf in Paris with 40,000 square meters of ocher fabric, surrounded by ropes. Forty years later, another artist, the Frenchman JR, is preparing to pay tribute to them. In September, the photographer, a master of the art of mirage, will transform the same bridge into a rock-walled arch open to pedestrians and closed to cars for sixteen days.
It was Vladimir Yavachev, Christo’s nephew, who, to celebrate the anniversary of the Pont-Neuf packaging, contacted JR. In 2023, the artist of excess gave the facade of the Palais Garnier a makeover as a cave. Four years earlier, using a giant trompe-l’oeil, he had discovered the foundations of the Louvre Museum. “Like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, JR is involved in public art and wants to reach as many people as possible, those who are not used to going to museums.” argues Vladimir Yavachev in Bulgarian-accented English. “You can love it or hate it, but it creates debate. »
You still have 84.49% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
