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The Wall |
Oberhausen, Germany |
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Christo and Jeanne-Claude are known for their wrappings of structures
and natural features, acquiring international acclaim outside
the art world with 1995's Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin. Much of
their early work though did use other materials and objects,
with six completed works using oil barrels. This work, their
seventh, is located inside a Gasometer in Oberhausen, Germany.
The structure, built in 1928 to store the gaseous by-products
of iron ore processing, is 110 m (360 ft) high with a 68 m (223
ft) diameter, with the wall of oil barrels 26 m (85 ft) tall
and 7.23 m (24 ft) deep, filling the diameter of the Gasometer.
The installation is accompanied by two exhibitions, documenting
two projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Umbrellas (Japan
and USA, 1984-91) and Wrapped Reichstag (Berlin, 1971-95). |
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Of course the wall does more than separate the space for the
two exhibitions, it transforms the space through its size and
color, (the latter indicating the massive task of assembling
and installing the work) and makes a strong statement through
the use of oil barrels. The political focus of the earlier oil
barrel works (for example Wall of Oil Barrels, Iron Curtain,
built in a street in Paris shortly after the rise of the Berlin
Wall) carry over into this most recent undertaking. The dependency
of most of the world on oil and its by-products leads to a rapid
depletion of this natural resource, while oil spills pollute
bodies of water and kill creatures that rely on the once clean
water. Yes, this is common knowledge. But what can be done to
remedy our dependence and destruction? Alternative strategies
and technologies are available, but oil has become a measure
of power between nations, making any cleaner, and possibly more
efficient, options difficult or impossible. Witness the United
State's involvement in the Persian Gulf War. Instead of using
Iraq's stronghold on oil to promote optional means and methods
(solar and wind energy, electric cars,...) to lessen a dependence
on oil, the government used military force under a smokescreen
of protecting American citizens in the Middle East. This naive
over-simplification illustrates a paradox: that which sets us
free also constrains us. |
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But why 13,000 oil barrels in a Gasometer in Germany? The location
is obvious; the structure a container for the dangerous by-products
of processing iron ore. Stacking the barrels inside hints that
if the wall of barrels collapses the oil inside will be contained.
Each material (iron and oil) has eventual destructive effects
on the planet; the Gasometer symbolizes man's futile attempt
to contain their destruction. When an oil tanker runs aground,
though, the ship's hull must be strong enough to contain the
oil. On June 26, 1998 a barge did this very thing in Biscayne
Bay off the coast of Miami, Florida, luckily without any leakage.
This near-spill is relevant because Christo and Jeanne-Claude
surrounded nine islands in Biscayne Bay between 1980-83, and
the barge was containing, yes, 13,000 barrels of oil. I do not
know if the artists knew of this occurrence next to the site
of one of their first large-scale works, but the location and
quantity seem to be much more than a coincidence. |
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With the various ways of reading Christo and Jeanne-Claude's
work no single view takes precedent, true when critiquing anyone's
work. The Wall, 13,000 Oil Barrels is simple and overwhelming
enough to elicit many interpretations outside of the one positioned
here. It is these two qualities, integral to the couple's art,
that will push them into the spotlight with each new work. |
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