Package 1974 1974

This is Christo’s Package from 1974, made with fabric, twine, and who knows what else. I love the way Christo messes with our expectations. The brown paper wrapping and twine are so familiar, conjuring up the banality of the everyday, but in bringing these textures into the gallery, he asks us to slow down and consider the beauty of the mundane. I always wonder what's actually inside. Is it something precious or just a load of old junk? It doesn’t really matter. It’s the way the fabric folds and drapes, the tension of the string, the shadows cast by the folds, that really gets me going. Like a still life painting, Christo composes with found materials. The way this piece echoes Man Ray’s enigmatic wrapped objects suggests art is an ongoing conversation, always asking questions, never giving easy answers.