1.2 million people have seen 2016 Cristos “Floating Piers” in Italy. The documentary “Walking on Water”, the giant art event once again. In Berlin, the Film is now celebrating its world premiere.
“All engines stop”, cries out to Christ, and wagging vigorously with the poor. The mechanics he has, what are the iron chains should complain to the fuel plan. Then you see the artist in the helicopter; control from above. In the Trailer for the movie “Walking on Water” is clear: This restless 81-Year-old bursting with vitality and is constantly in use.
The documentary filmmaker Andrey Paounov has accompanied the Bulgarian-American wrap artists Christo 2016 in Italy in his mammoth project “Floating Piers”. Over 1.2 million people were able to walk on floating orange glowing bars on the Iseo lake. 26. March celebrates Paounovs movie world premiere in Berlin. Artist and Director will be present.
Floating Piers – planned long in advance
Christ: “As you would go over the back of a whale”
Already in the 1970s, Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude had the idea to convert to “The Floating pier”, a structure made of fabric-covered pontoons, which enable it, through the water. Desire places for the realization of the Rio de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina, and later the Bay of Tokyo were actually. But not least for environmental reasons the artist was able to achieve few of the project never.
In Italy, the Northern Italian lake Iseo, between Milan and Venice, and succeeded in Christ, then, finally, to convince nature conservation organisations, authorities and conservationists of his idea. The gigantic project was since the death of his wife Jeanne-Claude in 2009, the first large-scale project that took Christ back in attack.
In front of the mountain panorama of the Italian Alps, a three-kilometre long art of swimming was extending webs, the Islands of Monte Isola and San Paolo, with the village of Sulzano Association. “All of our works of art are completely useless. You only exist because I and Jeanne-Claude wanted to see and to realize,” says Christ in the Film.
Logistical challenge on the water: The giant fabric panels are easy to lay
Panels from a German production
The Bulgarian Director Andrey Paounov the turbulent emergence of the “Floating Piers” and behind-the-Scenes followed. “Walking on Water” shows the technical challenges, the obstacles and resistance, the struggle against Wind and weather, but also the many moments of Success. And again, Christ with his Temperament, the effervescence of him quickly, but just as quickly relent.
Polyethylene cubes serve as a supporting surface for the webs
100,000 square meters of Nylon sheets, from a German production were sutured, and then at the floating dock system is attached. This roll the dice, in turn, consisted of 220,000 to each other that are anchored in Plastic, which was recycled after all the action, as well as the plastic tracks.
Christo is famous for his spectacular installations and abstract works of art in the landscape. So he wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin, trees in Switzerland or trails in Kansas City. And sometimes, he covered just air in the large “air packages”.
The substance he puts on his objects, or constricted, stands for the transience of the works of art. You should not belong, and no one should pay the entrance fee. Just 16 days, the “Floating Piers were open to” in the North of Italy to the visitors. Over 15 million Euro has cost Christ to the fun. The money he has earned, as always, only with the sale of own sketches, photos, and works.
The speed over the water: closed Temporarily due to Overcrowding
Floating Piers: A “Madness”Project
About 800,000 visitors had hoped for, mayor Fiorello Turla for the small town of Sulzano. Over 1.2 million people had come in June of 2016. Already on the opening day of 55,000 people on the webs wanted. This led to logistic problems, which was fear of accidents. Added to this were the severe weather. At times, the webs had to be closed due to the large influx of people.
Also, the Material of the pontoons, the duration of exposure is not threatened. The movie shows what effort had the folder, the masses of people to hold back. Media representatives hurrying with their cameras on the panels through the streets of Sulzano and applied to Christ: “Then it will 200,000, that’s insane.”
“Walking on Water”
In front of an Italian school class, Christ declared: “I love real things, real Wind, real dryness, real Wet. Real fear and real joy.” Christos joy seemed to be during the storm, when the waves beat over the 16-Meter-wide webs, is particularly large.
Already in the preparations for the workers of the Wind and weather had to defy
“Christ has stood by and was happy as a little child,” said Robert Meyknecht at the time of the DW. His lübeck company had cut tracks, the dahlias yellow Nylon, sewn together and on the Piers moved.
On its Homepage, Christ himself describes the feeling as you jump over the water or the back of a whale. The artist loves the rough nature. His art projects in the open and its visitors are exposed to all weather conditions unprotected. “This is no picture, no movie and no TV, but the reality of it,” says Christo of the DW in an Interview.
This time, it has become, however, but a Film. A documentary for all who could not at the time be or want to re-live the spectacular event of subsequent performance. A Film of the in addition to action-Packed scenes also promises to be a sensitive, humorous Portrait of the artist at work. Officially Walking on Water “starts” at 11. April.