Iron Wall by Christo & Jeanne Claude

I am here to review another artwork that was assigned to me during my modern and contemporary art exam, which I initially knew nothing about. However, after conducting thorough research, I grew to truly appreciate this piece of art.

“ THE WALL OF IRON CURTAIN BY CHRISTO & JEANNE CLAUDE”

Also known as “wall of oil barrels” is a temporary artwork occupied the street “Rue Visconti” for total eight hours. Geographically the Rue Visconti connects other two famous streets of Paris; Rue Bonaparte & Seine. The street is also known as one of the narrowest streets in Paris. Many famous artists are known to lived there…

In history, the Berlin Wall built in August 1961 and Algerian war protests were already taking place in the Paris at the same time. The creation of the artwork is the evening of 27 June 1962. Such close dates, Christo & Jeanne Claude closed the Rue Visconti road with 890 oil barrels. Their creation is a direct attribution to the Berlin Wall with its structure and both being four-feet tall explains a lot.

The artists did not alter the industrial colors of the oil barrels, leaving the brand names and the rust visible on barrels. It is 140 meters long with width of 3 meters. Solely constructed with metal barrels for transporting gasoline and oil.

Wall closed the street to traffic and cut the communication between two streets like the Berlin Wall divided the city in two and separated families from each other. The name “ Iron Curtain” is a resemblance for barricade and transforms the street into a dead end.