A Bridge to Christo: discussion and film screening in London on 22 June

On 18 June 2018 bulgarian born artist Christo will unveil an extraordinary floating structure in London’s Hyde Park, titled The Mastaba. The sculpture comprises 7 506 barrels and will reach more than 20 metres in height. Christo and his late wife Jeanne-Claude became famous for their large scale unique works, including the wrapped Reichstag and a 24,5 miles veiled fence running across Northern California, US.

Join Yva Alexandrova, Nada Nesheva, Evgenia Atanassova and Wood Roberdeau from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on 22 June at Goldsmiths, University of London, Media Research Building, Screening Room 05 for a film screening and public discussion about Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work. We will screen ‘Bridge to Christo’ – a documentary about another floating project – The Floating Piers in Iseo, Italy – the biggest art event of 2016, visited by 1.2 million people in 16 days. 

Yva Alexandrova,  Nada Nesheva and Evgenia Atanassova met at the course A companion to contemporary art, organized by Nada Nesheva. By focusing on London’s Mastaba the discussion will explore different aspect of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work:

Yva Alexandrova, event coordinator, will open the event by touching on the new social relations created through the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Nada Nesheva, PhD in art history, will discuss Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the context of Land Art movements in US and Europe. The focus of her talk will be the manifestation of beauty in Christo’s work and the political significance of non-political art.

Evgenia Atanassova, journalist, PhD researcher and author of the film ‘Bridge to Christo’, will discuss barrels as a recurring theme and medium of Christo’s work. She will analyse the way in which this topic is linked to the artist’s childhood in Bulgaria and his earliest attempts in contemporary art.

Wood Roberdeau, Visual Cultures Deptartment, Goldsmiths University, will moderate the event. He will also discuss art criticism surrounding the practice of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, touching the themes of consumerism, ecologies and the scale effects of their works.

The film “Bridge to Christo” follows the creative process of ‘The Floating Piers’ in Iseo in 2016, the viewers will encounter the main characters acting in the biggest art event of 2016. The film shows how, in the name of a completely irrational idea millions of people and involved institutions become participants and co-authors of a temporary work of art, turning it into a social experiment on a large scale.”
“I do not own the work. Freedom is an enemy of possession. The possession is equal to permanence. Nobody can buy that work; nobody can make money of that work. Like our life – it`s gone and will stay only there, somewhere…” Christo says.

This is a free and interactive event with questions from the audience and a discussion following the film screening. No prior knowledge is needed.

photos: Yva Alexandrova