Tributes for ‘ground-breaking’ artist who put Little Bay on the map
Tributes have been paid to “ground-breaking” international artist Christo Javacheff who died at the weekend and helped put Sydney’s Little Bay on the map – wrapping the coastline in one million square feet of fabric.
Southern Courier
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Tributes have been paid to “ground-breaking” artist Christo Javacheff who helped put Sydney’s Little Bay on the map – wrapping the coastline in one million square feet of fabric in 1969.
Christo died on Sunday at his home in New York aged 84, according to a statement on his Twitter page.
Christo, alongside his late wife Jeanne-Claude, were famous for their gigantic environmental art installations around the globe which included wrapping large buildings and landscapes in fabric.
The couple visited Sydney in the late 1960s to complete the famous work Wrapped Coast at Little Bay.
The project saw a huge team of rock climbers, workers and students cover the coastline in fabric, transforming it into something resembling a large ice field.
It has been remembered as one of the most ambitious art projects in Sydney.
Randwick Council mayor Danny Said paid tribute to the artist on Monday, after hearing of his death.
“I wassaddened to hear of the passing of globally renowned artist Christo Javacheff overnight,” he said.
“Only last year, Randwick City Council marked the 50th anniversary of this artistic endeavour (Wrapped Coast).”
He said the “ground-breaking” art work had left a legacy in the area.
“Few artists have made their presence felt in Randwick City as much as Christo and this legacy will endure for decades to come.
“The Wrapped Coast installation remains to this day an incredible outdoor artwork using some 56 kilometres of rope and 90,000 square metres of fabric to literally wrap the coast.
“Acclaimed by many, and criticised by some for its environmental impact, Wrapped Coast to this day challenges our concept of the natural environment.”
The Southern Courier spoke to renowned Sydney art patron John Kaldor last year, who was responsible for attracting Christo and Jeanne-Claude to Sydney to complete the work.
“The dedication and the single mindedness of both Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude was a great example of how to do things, not only in art but anything else in life,” Mr Kaldor said.
He said even when a storm ripped through and threatened to ruin the project Christo and Jeanne-Claude showed great character and leadership.
“Christo and Jeanne-Claude were so charismatic and said that if we work with nature this is what we have to expect and let’s get on with it.”
He said at the time, in 1969, the art work drew incredible responses from the public.
“I could sum up the response in one word: amazement; it completely transformed the landscape. It looked like an enormous ice field.”