Islands

For two brief weeks in May of 1983, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's piece entitled Surrounded Islands blossomed on the waters of Biscayne Bay, Florida. Eleven scrub- pine islands were surrounded by 6.5 million square feet of bright pink fabric. A three-year struggle, a work of art; a political drama interwoven with two other projects-in-progress; the wrapping of the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin.
This film goes beyond art. In each one of their projects, Christo and Jeanne-Claude fuse country, culture, and economics. Instead of museums, their mammoth 'sculptures' need space...and people. Their works are collective efforts, designed to evolve with community input. From raucous public debates with Miami officials to a private tour of Christo's studio with politico Willy Brandt; from intimate discussions with Jacques Chirac, the Mayor of Paris, to frantic boat rides between islands during the final unfurling. The artists are at work, probing, politicking, debating the meaning of art-- creating the social impact that gives each project its strength.
Then comes the crescendo: Christo's first flight over the completed project, a parade of water lilies in the Bay. An unrepeatable moment, unmatchable energy... art history in the making.
In the film, Christo discusses the work. "Most artists do work that they hope will last for one hundred years, even thousands. But my projects are purely poetical gestures, like rainbows that appear and then are gone. They are the ultimate temporary: I come to a space and I disturb it to make people readjust, re-examine their senses. Then I leave. All I ask of them is to have pleasure, to be surprised."