Christo and Jeanne-Claude
5 Episodes
Environmental-art superstar Christo, who passed away in May this year, and his longtime collaborator, Jeanne-Claude, transformed the world’s landscapes into epic canvases for their awe-inspiring site-specific installations. Though their staggering achievements—including an enormous curtain hung between two Colorado mountains and a floating fabric walkway built on an Italian lake—were designed to be ephemeral, they frequently inspired filmmakers, particularly documentary masters Albert and David Maysles, to preserve their creations on celluloid. Films like RUNNING FENCE, which depicts the artists’ struggle to build a twenty-four-mile fence out of white nylon fabric, capture the monumental vision, superhuman determination, and unique relationship that drove an extraordinary artistic partnership.
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26:18Episode 1Christo’s Valley Curtain
Episode 1
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Ellen Giffard • 1974 • United States
Nominated for an Academy Award, CHRISTO'S VALLEY CURTAIN celebrates the Bulgarian-born artist's dramatic hanging of a huge orange curtain between two Colorado mountains. Since the late 1950's, Christo's large-sca...
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57:19Episode 2Running Fence
Episode 2
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin • 1977 • United States
RUNNING FENCE depicts the long struggle by the artists, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, to build a 24 mile fence of white fabric over the hills of California disappearing into the Pacific. Cost: 3 million dollars. ...
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Islands
Episode 3
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin • 1987 • United States
For two brief weeks in May of 1983, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's piece entitled Surrounded Islands blossomed on the waters of Biscayne Bay, Florida. Eleven scrub-pine islands were surrounded by 6.5 million squa...
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58:18Episode 4Christo in Paris
Episode 4
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Deborah Dickson, and Susan Froemke • 1990 • United States
Christo and Jeanne Claude's first grand-scale urban project, wrapping the oldest bridge in Paris - the same bridge where Christo courted Jeanne-Claude. A love story set in the heart of Paris: bet...
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Umbrellas
Episode 5
Directed by Albert Maysles, Henry Corra, and Grahame Weinbren • 1994 • United States
UMBRELLAS takes a poignant, in-depth look at the concept and realization of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s project “Umbrellas.” The film presents the artists at their most triumphant and most vulnerable moments—fro...
