Surrounded Islands

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Surrounded Islands

Christo and Jeanne-Claude , 1980–1983
Link to images and graphics of the work of art
(please note copyrights )

Surrounded Islands (English original title, in German about "surrounded islands") was an art project by the artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude , which was realized in 1983 in Biscayne Bay in the area of ​​the city of Miami (Greater Miami), Florida . It consisted of pink polypropylene fabric that covered eleven artificially raised islands of Biscayne Bay as large areas on the surrounding water.

Planning and preparation

Planning for the implementation of the Surrounded Islands project began in 1980. The islands selected by Christo were eleven artificially raised islands in Biscayne Bay between Miami, North Miami and Miami Beach , which were mainly used as garbage dumps.

and display information about the image
Panorama of Biscayne Bay, individual islands can be seen in the background

Christo and Jeanne-Claude prepared the project in the form of drawings, drafts and photographs and had to obtain numerous official permits for its implementation. The project had to be officially approved by the then governor of Florida, Daniel Robert Graham , and his cabinet as well as the administration of Miami-Dade County , the city councils of Miami and North Miami and the local government of Miami Shores . Additional permits were required from the US Department of Environmental Regulation and Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management and the United States Army Corps of Engineers . To prepare the work of art, Christo hired around 400 helpers, who cleared the islands of around 40 tons of garbage. His team also included lawyers to clarify legal issues, a marine technology engineer, a construction company and four civil engineers, as well as a marine biologist , an ornithologist and another zoologist specializing in manatee biology .

The required lengths of fabric were sewn together from November 1982 to April 1983 in a rented factory in Hialeah from 79 molded parts, each of which was adapted to the contours of the islands. Strip-shaped floating bodies were sewn into the seams and the finished parts were put together in an airship hangar in Grandpa Locka so that they could later be easily unfolded again on the water.

implementation

The implementation of the project took place from May 4th to 7th, 1983, during which the fabric webs were installed in motor boats by 120 supervisors and the unfolding was monitored by them. The selected islands were surrounded by a total of 60 hectares of woven polypropylene fabric strips that were specially sewn for the respective islands. The lengths of fabric protruded about 60 meters from each island to the surface of the water.

The work of art existed for a total of 14 days and was then dismantled again. In addition to private images, there are above all the official photographs by photographer Wolfgang Volz as well as processed drawings and sketches by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Reception and interpretation

Surrounded Islands was rated as one of the most spectacular projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Jacob Baal-Teshuva described it as a “gigantic project - adapted to the natural environment, a symbiotic connection of art, city and nature without harming nature” and as a “work of great beauty, grace and poetry”.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Jacob Baal-Teshuva: Christo & Jeanne Claude. Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Cologne 1995; P. 56 ff. ISBN 3-8228-8795-1
  2. ↑ Surrounded Islands on the homepage of Christo and Jeanne-Claude

literature

  • Jacob Baal-Teshuva: Christo & Jeanne Claude. Benedikt Taschen Verlag, Cologne 1995; P. 56 ff. ISBN 3-8228-8795-1

Web links