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Online Talk
"LIFE with Christo and Jeanne-Claude"
We are pleased to present an online talk with photographer Wolfgang Volz, who has worked with Christo and Jeanne-Claude for over 50 years. Born in Germany, Volz has been Christo and Jeanne–Claude's exclusive photographer, photographing landscapes for Christo's preparatory drawings, documenting negotiation activities and construction, and capturing the beauty of the realized projects.
Most of the photographs in this exhibition are by Volz, who, in addition to being Christo and Jeanne-Claude's most trusted photographer, played a crucial role in the realization of each project. Indeed, Volz held the position of Project Director for "Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971–95," "The Wall, Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany, 1998–99," and "Big Air Package, Gasometer Oberhausen, Germany, 2010–13," and he was always deeply involved in the production process of the fabric, as well as during the negotiations with the contractors and material suppliers.
The realization of each one of Christo's and Jeanne-Claude's projects involves a "working family," who have followed the artist couple, working with them very closely, for decades. Volz is one of the veterans and pillars of this family. Over the course of almost 50 years, he has been standing at the sites of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, seizing their fleeting beauty through his eyes, creating indelible memories of what was once in a lifetime and never again. On the occasion of this talk, we'll learn about his life–long friendship and collaboration with Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Paris, June 2009, Christo and Jeanne-Claude and Wolfgang Volz/ Photo Didier Gicquel
- Date
- December 16 (Fri), 2022
- Time
- 20:00 - 21:30 JST
- Venue
- Zoom
- Speakers
- Wolfgang Volz, Noriko Kawakami
- Language
- Japanese, English (Sequential Interpretation)
- Special Sponsor
- Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
- Participation fee
- Free
- Registration
- Start from December 8 (Thu) on this page
- Participation condition
- Please install the Zoom app on your device and check your operating setup in advance.
Wolfgang Volz
Volz is a photographer born in Tuttlingen, Germany in 1948. He worked as a member of a rock band until 1968, before going to study photography at Folkwang University of the Arts (formerly Folkwangschule) in Essen, Germany. He met Christo and Jeanne-Claude for the first time in 1971. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and collaboration. Since then, Volz documents the artists' life and works on camera. Their collaborations have resulted in the publication of many books and more than 400 exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world.
Noriko Kawakami (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Associate Director)
Worked in Editorial Department of AXIS design Journal, and since 1994, freelance design journalist. Curatorial advisor for London Design Biennale 2016, Guest Curator for Japon Japonismes: Objets inspirés, 1867-2018, 2019, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and Associate Director of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT. Also serves as Guest Professor in Department of Industrial, Interior and Craft Design, and concurrently as Lecturer in Department of Scenography, Display and Fashion Design, Musashino Art University.