Michelangelo and Christo

Christo is a modern artist who undertakes with his work for years. His temporary large-scale environmental works (both urban and rural environments) have elements of painting, sculpture, architecture and urban planning. What is very interesting about his work is that he and his wife pay for the whole project so that way they are totally free in their artistic expression; they are not attached as Michelangelo was to his patrons will.

Michelangelo was attached to his work at the Sistine chapel for more than 5 years (for the first part of the project) he had to paint all the ceiling with frescos about the subjects the Pope commanded, so he had a contract till he finished the ceiling paintings. He was not free to paint as he wanted, he even was asked to paint over his nude “immoral” paintings, but he took some vengeance painting people he didn’t like in hell (like the pope himself)

Took 27 years until Christo could complete “The Gates” (Central Park, New York) project. The 7,503 gates were spaced at 3,65 meter intervals. The gates and the fabric panels were seen from far away through the leafless branches of the trees. The work of art remained for 16 days, then the gates were removed and the materials industrially recycled. The first 25 years were used to get the New York government permits, just as Michelangelo times change and the artist also had to accept a lot of orders of what not to do. Michelangelo was ordered to paint the apocalypse by the Medici Family as a payback of his betray. Christo believes that his art is a kind of pay back to nature and men, in doing so; they could see and perceive the whole environment with new eyes and a new consciousness.

Christo and Michelangelo are great artists who were compromised with their work, both undertook big projects, but Michelangelo’s work have a long time life, and Christo’s work are just about few days.

The chalk Zuccone

With the Zuccone, Donatello had to thought about where the viewer was going to be. So while he was constructing his sculpture he deform parts of it, in a way that viewers,30 meters below, could be able to distinct Zuccone facial gestures and clothing. By the perspective of the viewer everything was in the correct proportion, but facing the sculpture the deformations were visible.

This kind of perspective game is visible in the work of Julian Beever.
Julian is an urban chalk artist, what is very interesting about him is that he works with perspective using anamorphosis which is a distorted projection requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image; the work of Julian is appreciated only in a special angle, in which the objects he draw seems to jump out the pavement.

Sebastian and the Tsuru

At the Renaissance, art and knowledge were the keys for prestige and power. The quality and the expensive the work of art was represented the wealthy, the power and the taste of the patrons were and in some point gave them the power to adjust the history to the way they like. In the case of the artist was very usual to draw up contracts which specified details of the work of art, normally the patrons used to had an upper hand in this issus but if an artist became very prestigious he was able to be freer with the work itself. Just like now a days when the artist can be “creative” with his work but like at the Renaissance the patron has the last word.

T he Renaissance art wasn’t as didactic as the medieval was, so they used a different graphic language or must I say a language for “illuminated” people, because they were not just showing their taste and power with this works of art, they were demonstrating why they were there , was a matter of social hierarchy.

Now, I compare this with the work of the Mexican artist Enrique Carbajal “Sebastian” who (just like Ghilberti) won a competition about the construction of the Kadoma city (Japan) symbol “the Tsuru”. He defeated 2 of the most prestigious Japanese artists, then he began the construction in his work shop along with his team of workers, in times of the Renaissance Sebastian would be the sculpture master and his team play the part of the assistants, the difference with the renaissance is that the work team are metal specialist and not apprentices or assistants which will turn into masters. Sebastian had specifications for the sculpture as Ghilberti.

Nowadays patrons are philanthropists, and also wealthy people and associations, but instead of power they look for pleasure, expression and unique art pieces.

So things change but the essence remains