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Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Monumental Art

Documentary which charts the creation of world-renowned artist Christo's first public work of art in the UK, Mastaba, and looks back on his and his wife Jeanne-Claude's careers.

In the summer of 2018, on the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park, world-renowned artist Christo created his first public work of art in the UK. Inspired by ancient Mesopotamian tombs, the Mastaba is constructed from 7,506 painted oil barrels and weighs six hundred tonnes. It is the latest work in a career spanning half a century and stretching across the world. His work to date have included surrounding 11 islands off the Florida coast with pink polypropylene and wrapping Berlin's Reichstag and the Pont Neuf in Paris.

This programme charts the creation of the Mastaba - from the first barrels being put on the water to its final unveiling - and paints a portrait of Christo as he looks back on a life spent making provocative works of art with his wife and partner Jeanne-Claude.

Christo reveals how he funds his projects with a unique business model, and how the long, tortuous and often combative process of gaining permissions and winning people over is part of his artistic
endeavour. He also talks about his escape from the communist east and his early work in 1960s Paris.

A cast of friends, fellow artists, collectors and critics lend their voices to the documentary, including performance artist Marina Abramovic, New Yorker journalist and architectural critic Paul Goldberger, former New York major Michael Bloomberg, writer and art critic Marina Vaizey and architect Sir Norman Foster.

59 minutes

Last on

Fri 28 Apr 2023 01:35
BBC Four

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:00

    Primal Scream

    Burning Wheel (New Edit)

  • 00:02

    Cold Specks

    Hector

  • 00:04

    alt-J

    Intro

  • 00:07

    The Temper Trap

    Clapping

  • 00:10

    Édith Piaf

    La vie en rose

  • 00:15

    Pixies

    Where Is My Mind?

  • 00:16

    Herbie Hancock

    Cantaloupe Island

  • 00:18

    Pj Harvey, Polly Jean Harvey

    Let England Shake

  • 00:21

    The Chemical Brothers

    Where Do I Begin

  • 00:26

    Big Deal

    Homework

  • 00:30

    John Cale

    Pablo Picasso

  • 00:27

    Regina Spektor

    On the Radio

  • 00:34

    Philip Glass

    Glassworks III: Islands

    Conductor: Michael Riesman. Ensemble: Philip Glass Ensemble.
  • 00:37

    Brakes

    Oh! Forever

  • 00:38

    Cranes

    Astronauts

  • 00:40

    The Broken Family Band

    I See How You Are

  • 00:42

    Michael Riesman, Philip Glass Ensemble

    In The Upper Room: Dance II

  • 00:43

    Charlie Cunningham

    Minimum

  • 00:46

    Depeche Mode

    Useless (The Kruder and Dorfmeister Session)

  • 00:49

    Sébastien Tellier

    Broadway

  • 00:52

    Roxy Music

    Virginia Plain

  • 00:47

    Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

    The Message

  • 00:53

    Roxy Music

    Virginia Plain

  • 00:55

    Kevin Morby

    I Have Been To The Mountain

  • 00:57

    Sébastien Tellier

    La Ritournelle

  • 00:59

    Billy Stewart

    Summertime

Credits

Director Zoe Dobson
Executive Producer Franny Moyle
Production Company IWC Media

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