|
 For just a few weeks, "The Floating Piers" will rest on the
surface of the picturesque lake, 100 km (62 miles) northeast of
Milan, with a 3-km walkway allowing visitors to set off from the
mainland town of Sulzano to the islands of Monte Isola and San
Paolo, usually accessed by boat.
Some 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes have been attached
together and anchored by divers for the project. Covering them
are 100,000 square meters (1,076,391 square feet) of shimmering
yellow fabric, which will also feature along 1.5 km of Sulzano
streets.
The piers, some 16 meters (52 feet) wide and 35 centimeters (14
inches) high, will "undulate with the movement of the waves" as
visitors make their way, according to the project's website.
They will be on display June 18-July 3, which the 81-year old
artist said is all part of its beauty.
"The temporal character is also related to the dynamics of the
project," Christo told Reuters, speaking in English.
[to top of second column] |
"The project is designed to a particular moment of a voyage of many
years ... The work of art is not the 14 days or 16 days. The work of
art is ... that journey to that 14, 16 days."
Works by Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009, have
featured in various cities, such as "The Gates" in New York, where
the artists put up 7,503 gates with saffron fabric panels in Central
Park.
According to the project's website, Christo and Jeanne-Claude came
up with "The Floating Piers" concept in 1970 and Christo picked Lake
Iseo as the location in 2014.
Access to "The Floating Piers" will be free and organizers say
volunteers will be present in case anyone should fall into the
water.
(Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian;
Editing by Mark Heinrich)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
