After almost 60 years of its initial ideation, Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s temporary installation, the complete wrapping of L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris has opened to the public on September 18th, attracting thousands of tourists and locals. In this new photoseries, photographer Jared Chulski captures the wrapped monument, focusing on the details of the temporary intervention and how it compliments the city's urban fabric.
One of the particularities of the award lies in its focus on honouring the built project rather than the design practice, thus acknowledging the contribution of all parties involved in the realization of an architectural object, from the client to the various engineers, planners, contractors and craftsmen. In the words of Farrokh Derakhshani, Director of the AKAA, “ The achievements of no project are the result of the work on an architect or architectural firm. Architecture is not a piece of art that has an artist « creating » a masterpiece.”
The monument was wrapped with twenty-five thousand square meters of recyclable silvery-blue fabric, held together by 3,000 meters of red rope. As it was one of the artist's wishes to follow through with the project, the intervention was carried out by his team, following the artist's passing in 2020. The project will be on display until October 3rd.
