Alan Bostelman
IART_1180_105_LEC_FALL_2012-13
Christo's Valley Curtain Christo’s Valley Curtain is a three part video series which takes the viewer through the process by which Christos curtain was developed and erected. The video looks at the process from multiple groups which also have their very specific viewpoints. After watching this I realized that the video series puts a bold emphasis on the multiple points of view that the various groups have dealing with the curtain. Each group sees the process and product in a different way. Christo himself states at the beginning of the film that the excitement for him comes from dealing with the multiple engineers and construction workers as well as the multiple problems that come with constructing a work of such magnitude and scale. As the artist, Christo obviously appreciates the product and process, though his emphasis is that he cannot be in absolute control of the outcome due to many reasons, therefor the artwork almost takes on a shape of its own in his eyes. The construction workers themselves see the process itself as a pain, though when the project is finished they all appreciate its beauty due to all of the work that they have put into the project. This shows that they cannot appreciate the concept until the erection of the piece is finished. Contrary the foreman is objective because he had no direct involvement in the projects labor or idea. Lastly the golfers who have an almost isolated outside view only care about the final outcome and debate upon the concept rather than the work involved, due to the fact that they are too secluded to appreciate the labor. All these viewpoints come together to show a common theme that art can be viewed from many different standpoints due to involvement or opinion of the subject in view. This video has many viewpoints that are all somewhat different, and are all