Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s final artwork, the wrapping of L‘Arc de Triomphe in Paris, has been chronicled in a new, limited-edition book by Taschen.
Titled Christo and Jeanne-Claude, L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, Paris, 1961-2021, it explores every aspect of the project, from its earliest sketches to its spectacular realisation in September 2021, a year after Christo's death.
For 16 days, the famous landmark was cocooned in 25,000 square metres of recyclable, silvery blue polypropylene fabric, held in place by 3,000 metres of red rope. As with all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's works, it was intentionally monumental and free to visit.
While memorable, and beautiful to behold — especially at dusk when the setting sun lit the shimmery fabric a dazzling gold — the idea took an astonishing 60 years to come to fruition.
First conceived in 1962, when the pair stayed near the Arc de Triomphe on their first arrival in Paris, it began as sketches and a photomontage showing the monument wrapped in cloth. The couple returned to the idea again in 1988, with collages.
Having met in 1958, together Jeanne-Claude and Christo enjoyed a lifelong artistic collaboration that resulted in audacious, site-specific projects all over the world. They wrapped the Reichstag in Germany in 1995, while in the early 1970s they hung a curtain between two Colorado mountains.
Following Jeanne-Claude's death in 2009, Christo continued working, creating a three-kilometre-long floating bridge connecting an island to mainland Italy in 2016. However, it was not until 1994 that Jeanne-Claude received any kind of recognition as a co-creator, with only Christo being given the credit.
The new book, at 450 pages, and limited to only 2,000 copies, has been created with the couple's studio, and follows their remarkable final artwork, from first sketches through to realisation — and has been seen by about six million people.
With all of their projects envisioned as deliberately short-lived, this expansive book gives a sense of permanence to something originally so ephemeral, and seems a fitting tribute to such a visionary pair.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
The%20specs
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Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Your Guide to the Home
- Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
- Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
- Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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The five pillars of Islam
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
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Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0