Wrapped Walk Ways (Project for Jacob L. Loose Memorial Park, Kansas City, Missouri)

Artist Christo (American, born Bulgaria, 1935 - 2020)

Artist Wolfgang Volz (photograph) (German, born 1948)

Date1978

MediumGraphite, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, photostat, fabric, staples, map, and fabric sample on paper

Dimensions.1 (left): 28 × 11 inches (71.12 × 27.94 cm)
.2 (right): 28 × 22 inches (71.12 × 55.88 cm)

Credit LineGift of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation

Object number2024.68.12.1,2

SignedSigned and dated lower right on left panel

On View

Not on view

Gallery Location

Collections

Contemporary Art

Terms

Mixed Media

DescriptionThis two-paneled collage shows a horizontally oriented park map delineated with gold lines to the left, with a large swatch of saffron-colored fabric beneath it. To the right is a vertically oriented, primarily black-and-white photograph/drawing of a manicured garden with pathways covered by a drawing of a saffron-colored cloth. The top half of the composition is a photograph, while the bottom half is drawn. The path starts at the bottom of the composition then flows down some stairs separated in the center by a handrail and surrounded by a stone wall to the left and right. The path extends forward and recedes into the distance while branching off to form an oval shape that circles to meet itself again. Within the oval is a manicured garden dotted with soft red that alludes to flowers. The path continues to recede into the distance while another stairway leads out of the oval garden. Past the stairway, a person walks on the path. Trees rise in the distance and cover the path, which branches off to the left and right before approaching another stairway. Along the top of the composition are handwritten notes in black ink.
Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Gallery Label

The majority of Loose Park features meandering paths that contrast with the experience on the north side (the right third of the map and the focus of Christo’s large sketch). There, geometric paths complement a formal arrangement of pavilions, stairs, arbors, and flower gardens. Wrapped Walk Ways temporarily unified these disparate sections of the park, creating a cohesive experience through more than two-and-a-half miles of shimmering fabric—a sample of which Christo incorporated into this work.

Provenance

The artists, New York, NY, 1978–2024;

Gifted by The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation (New York, NY) to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, 2024.

Published References

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