PNC to Open Christo and Jeanne-Claude Retrospective Exhibit

CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE , THE GATES, CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY, 1979-2005 Photo: Wolfgang Volz . COPYRIGHT CHRISTO 2005 Download photo here. Required caption.

WESTVILLE – The Purdue University North Central Valparaiso Academic Center will exhibit a selection of photographic posters that are reproductions of project drawings and photographs of more than 40 years of the public works of art around the world by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

The show “Christo and Jeanne-Claude Selected Works 1962 – 2005” will run from March 21 to July 21. It is free of charge and open to the public. The Valparaiso Academic Center (VAC), at 600 Vale Park Road South, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The exhibit is a gift to Purdue University North Central from the artists. Christo and Jeanne-Claude received worldwide coverage most recently for their project, “The Gates,” which was installed in New York’s Central Park after 26 years of planning. Like their other temporary art installations, the project involved industries and hundreds of paid workers. The cost of all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects are borne by the artists themselves. During its two-week display, “The Gates” drew millions of visitors to its 7,532 saffron-colored flowing panels of fabric, mounted individually on free-standing gates, on 23 miles of paths.

Among the 15 works exhibited at the VAC are “Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin;” “Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida;” “The Pont Neuf, Wrapped, Paris;” “The Umbrellas, Japan-U.S.A.;” “The Gates Central Park, New York,” and a work in progress, “Over the River, Project for the Arkansas River, Colorado.” Detailed explanations accompany each piece of art.

None of these works of art are permanent, and depictions can be seen on the Christo and Jeanne Claude Web site www.christojeanneclaude.net.

Information about the exhibit is available by contacting Judy Jacobi, PNC director of marketing at 800-872-1231, ext. 5593. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact ext. 5593.

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